After having their four-game win streak snapped by BC on Friday, the Huskies won a close victory against Holy Cross on Saturday, making their record 5-1 in the last three weeks. This weekend, they face another two-school series, with their last games against BU and UNH on Friday and Saturday, both of which are on the road. Like last weekend, UConn has not lost a game to either school this season, so sweeps are on the table in both scenarios.
Starting with Friday’s game, the Huskies and Terriers will face off at 7 p.m. in Boston.
For BU’s offense, forward Courtney Correia leads the team with nine goals, and is second in assists with eight. Forward Julia Nearis, who leads the team in assists with nine, is second behind Correia in overall points in conference play. In goal, BU has had two primary goaltenders, Kate Stuart and Callie Shanahan. While both have posted save percentages of over .920 in conference play this season, each gave up at least four goals in their last respective start, so UConn will look to capitalize on this.
Next up is the Saturday at 3 p.m. matinee, where the Huskies will take on UNH in Durham, New Hampshire. The Wildcats have had one main offensive threat this season, with forward Kira Juodikis scoring 12 goals in Hockey East play so far. Other than Juodikis, the next most scored goals is four. Two of the players with four goals, forwards Brianna Brooks and Tamara Thiérus, lead the team in assists with nine each. UNH also has had two goaltenders primarily playing this season, Nicky Harnett and Ava Boutilier. The Huskies saw Harnett in both of their victories against UNH two weeks ago. As the two each had a start last week, it’s unsure who will be in net against UConn. Both currently have a .914 save percentage this year in conference play.
As for the Huskies, forward Natalie Snodgrass’ goal-scoring spree ended last week, but she still secured an assist in the game against BC. Forwards Viki Harkness, Morgan Wabick and Jada Habisch, all of whom are in the Huskies’ top five for goals scored this season, scored last week and will look to keep that momentum going into these games. UConn goaltenders Samantha Carpentier-Yelle and Megan Warrener both played last weekend, so it’s likely they will split starts again.
Creating shots has not been a problem for UConn — it’s been getting them to go in. In the 1-3 loss to BC last Friday, the Huskies doubled the Eagles’ shots 22-45. If they can keep up the great amounts of pressure they’ve been putting on opponents while also getting more pucks in the net, it’s a recipe for success.
After this weekend, UConn has only four games left before the end of the regular season, with two games against Providence next weekend followed by a set against Northeastern the following week. UConn currently sits two games and eight Hockey East points out of first place, so both of the games this weekend, as well as the Providence contests, are crucial for UConn’s success going into the final showdown with Northeastern.
