UConn’s Leah Lum (#7) brings the puck into the zone in a game against Penn State on Oct. 21, 2016. The game ended in a 0-0 tie in overtime. (Tyler Benton/The Daily Campus)
After being swept by Boston College last weekend, the UConn women’s hockey team (4-4-1, 0-2 Hockey East) is set to face Merrimack College and the University of New Hampshire this weekend.
“We are focused on playing our game. If we have strong execution, we will give ourselves a great opportunity to gain our first points in Hockey East play.” UConn head coach Chris MacKenzie said.
So far this season the Merrimack Warriors are 4-5-1 and 2-2 in conference play.
The biggest threat from them offensively is sophomore forward Katelyn Rae, who has nine points this season with eight goals and one assist. Merrimack’s goalie situation will be something the Huskies have to look out for. Last season current sophomore Samatha Ridgewell was the most frequently used goalie and led Hockey East with 916 saves, good for fifth in the nation. This year Merrimack has been employing freshman Léa-Kristine Demers most often. So far this season Demers has 240 saves. Sophomore Kyra Smith has also been goaltending for the Warriors totaling 172 saves so far this season.
Last season these two teams met four times with UConn winning three out of four times and the last game ending in a tie.
After the game in Massachusetts the Huskies will travel to New Hampshire to face the UNH Wildcats.
So far this season the Wildcats are 2-7 overall and 2-2 in conference play.
The player to watch for UNH will be Jonna Curtis, a senior forward who has 10 points so far this season with five goals and five assists.
The Wildcats will be coming off an exciting 4-2 win against the University of Vermont and will be hoping to add another win in Hockey East.
Last season, these two teams became very familiar with each other as they dueled a total of five times. UConn won three out of the five games including the best of three Hockey East Quarterfinals which sent them to the Hockey East Championship.
These upcoming games will be UConn’s first back to back road game series. Currently, their road game record is 3-2-0.
“Back to back games on the road will provide a physical and mental test,” Mackenzie said.
The first game this weekend starts on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Lawler Rink in North Andover, Massachusetts.
Mariana Dominguez is a campus correspondent for The Daily Campus. She can be reached via email at mariana.dominguez@uconn.edu.