The No. 14 UConn women’s ice hockey looks to get back in the win column this weekend as they have a two game series against the No. 15 Vermont Catamounts. UConn will go on the road for game one, which is set for Friday at 6 p.m. They then will return back home for a 3 p.m. game on Saturday.
The Huskies come off an ugly slate last weekend, being swept by No. 3 Northeastern in a two game set. UConn’s only goal came from senior Camryn Wong early in the first period of the second game on Saturday, as their explosive offense they had exhibited their first four games was shut down. As a unit, the team was outshot 74-43 on the weekend and saw the end of their undefeated season, as they were 4-0 entering the series.
However, the team looks to bounce back from their recent losses and capture their first Hockey East conference wins of the season this weekend. A player to keep an eye on this weekend is sophomore goaltender Megan Warrener. With a team-leading .936 save percentage, she has certainly been near perfect in the crease. Warrener was named to the Hockey East All-Rookie team for her freshman season (2021-2022) and is undoubtedly a huge part of the Huskies’ defense trying to restrengthen after being battered down against Northeastern. The team is likely going to turn to senior captain Coryn Tormala to help them get back into their groove offensively, as it is certain they have to be on their top of the game against the conference opponent in Vermont.
The Catamounts are currently 3-1 on the season as they also come off of a weekend conference series in which they battled Holy Cross. They split the series 1-1 with the Crusaders and are 1-1 in Hockey East conference play. Graduate forward Theresa Schafzahl leads Vermont in goals, with five on the season. Another big contributor to the team’s offense is junior forward Natálie Mlýnková, who has six assists across the team’s four-game season so far. Not only is the Catamounts’ offense impressive, but their defense is too. The team is a dominant 10-11 (92%) on penalty kills, meaning the Huskies are going to have to bring their A-game when given power play opportunities in order to crack the tough Catamounts’ penalty kill defensive line.
Vermont is currently tied for fourth in the conference standings, whereas UConn can be found in the seventh slot. The Huskies are most definitely going to have to perform this weekend, as Vermont will not be easy on them as they look to add to their conference wins. UConn head coach Chris MacKenzie, who is in his ninth season at the helm, is no stranger to tough conference matchups and what it takes to pull the win off. Therefore, it is certain the Huskies are going to leave it all on the ice this weekend, as they need to come out ahead in order to not fall further in conference standings so early on in the season.
Great read!
These were all great reads. I’m glad to see UConn students are still supporting the Daily Campus.