The Women’s Hockey lost 1-3 to the Boston University’s Terriers last Friday, a tough loss as a season closer. (Photo by Eric Wang/The Daily Campus)
Another regular season has come and gone, and the UConn women’s hockey team is going to the Women’s Hockey East Tournament for the seventh year in a row.
The No. 7 seeded Huskies (14-16-4, 9-14-4 Hockey East) will take on the No. 2 seeded Boston College Eagles (23-10-1, 19-7-1 Hockey East) in Chestnut Hill this weekend in a best-of-three quarterfinal series. Game 1 is Friday at 2 p.m., Game 2 is Saturday at 2 p.m. and, if necessary, Game 3 will be Sunday at 7:30 p.m.
In the regular season, UConn and BC met three times, and BC dominated, winning all three games by a combined score of 10-0. Head coach Chris MacKenzie talked about struggling to score goals against the solid BC defense and what needs to be done differently this weekend.
“It’s not from a lack of chances,” MacKenzie said. “I think it’s more of the same. Just put pucks on net in key moments, make sure we’re hitting the net, testing the goalie and create traffic in front.”
Before this season though, UConn defeated BC 4-2 in the Hockey East semifinal last year as part of their magical run to the championship as a seventh seed. One year later, they stand as a seven seed again, and there are 14 returning players that remember what it feels like to go on that Cinderella streak.
“The experience definitely helps for sure,” MacKenzie said. “It’s a new season. We’re starting fresh now. BC is a great opponent and I think we will have to be at the top of our game here this weekend and I think we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
UConn has been carried all season by the unbelievable play from sophomore Natalie Snodgrass. She leads the team with 26 points on 13 goals and 13 assists. Juniors Briana Colangelo and Catherine Crawley have also had successful seasons with 24 points each.
On defense, senior captain Jaime Fox has had her most productive scoring year, registering five goals and five assists this season. She is also second on the team with 52 blocked shots. In net, junior Morgan Fisher has been solid all year, posting a .915 save percentage and earning three shutouts.
For BC, the two-headed monster of senior Megan Keller and Daryl Watts has been unstoppable this season. Both players rank in the top 20 in the country with 41 and 39 points respectively. Keller has the most points of any defenseman in the country.
In net for the Eagles, freshman Maddy McArthur has done great in her first season, allowing just two goals per game and recording five shutouts.
MacKenzie said that it will be key for his players to stick to their game plan whether they are up or down and just trust in their abilities.
On paper BC has a clear advantage, but we all saw last year what can happen if this UConn team gets hot at the right time, and that time is now.
Danny Barletta is a campus correspondent for The Daily Campus. He can be reached via email at daniel.barletta@uconn.edu .
