No. 2 New Hampshire (22-6-5, 19-4-3 ECAC)

Conference: Eastern College Athletic Conference

Coach: Karen Kay (Providence '85, 7th season)

Polls: Tied for second with Minnesota in the U.S. College Hockey Online Poll.

Key players:

Senior defenseman Nicki Luongo (14 goals, 28 assists) was one of three finalists for the Patty Kazmaier Award for national player of the year. Luongo was an easy First-Team All-ECAC pick, as she provided needed stability to an otherwise inexperienced defensive unit. Her passing ability and trademark slapshot make her a terror at the point of UNH's highly effective power-play unit. She has seven goals and 17 assists in man-advantage situations, a point total second only to Harvard's Tammy Shewchuk (27 points).

Junior forward Carisa Zaban (28, 36), a Second-Team All-ECAC selection, rebounded from a torn ACL last season to finish fifth in the nation in both scoring and assists. Junior forward Samantha Holmes (29, 23) finished seventh in the country in scoring and sixth in goal scoring. Senior forward Melisa Heitzman (22, 22) and sophomore forward Michelle Thornton (19, 25) round out the 'Cats' full staple of All-ECAC forwards, with freshman forward Kelly McManus (11, 17) making the All-ECAC Rookie Team.

Last weekend, Heitzman, Zaban and Luongo were all named to the ECAC All-Tournament Team for helping take the Wildcats to the league championship game, where they lost to Harvard in overtime, 5-4.

Vulnerable but consistent junior goaltender Alicia Roberts ranked seventh in the nation with a 2.01 GAA, and eighth with a .912 save percentage. She's a marathoner between the pipes, logging 1762:27 minutes in goal, more than anyone else in the country.

Outlook:

At 6.06 goals per game, New Hampshire is the only team that even comes close to matching Harvard's high-powered 6.47 goals-per-game offense. And when the Wildcats are clicking on all cylinders, they can be a nightmare to opposing goaltenders: Zaban, Heitzman and Holmes can match up with any three forwards in the league, except perhaps Harvard's.

Where this team truly excels is in special teams, as Luongo captains the nation's best power-play unit. The 'Cats convert an astounding 35.4 percent of their man-up opportunities, and UNH ranks third in the ECAC in penalty killing.