This weekend, the UConn Women’s Hockey team (6-4-2) is set to play a Friday-Saturday series against a fierce Hockey East competitor, No. 15 Boston College (6-3-1). The first game will be played at Freitas Ice Forum at 6 p.m. Friday. For game two, the Huskies will travel north to Chestnut Hill for a 2 p.m. start on Saturday.
Coming off last weekend’s series split with Maine , UConn looks to strengthen its offense, an area it somewhat lacked throughout both games against the Blackbears. UConn scored two total goals on the weekend, which both came in game two on Saturday — scored by junior forward Jada Habisch and senior captain Claire Tormala. On the defensive side, the Huskies were stout, as they held Maine to only one goal scored across both games. A solid chunk of this lockdown defense UConn exhibited can be credited to sophomore goaltender Tia Chan, who had 80 saves total on the weekend and earned herself Hockey East Goaltender of the Week honors.
For Chris MacKenzie’s skaters, this weekend is going to be a true test. Boston College has shown pure dominance in Hockey East play, sporting a 5-1 record in arguably the best college hockey conference in America. The Eagles are led by senior captain Hannah Bilka, who is already a Hockey East Player of the Year candidate, as she has tormented the defense of nearly every opponent the team has faced. With eight goals and nine assists, Bilka leads the team with 17 points on the season. Another notable threat on the Eagles roster is sophomore forward Abby Newhook, who has four goals and nine assists so far.
The biggest flaw for UConn’s talented roster this year has been its struggle to find wins in Hockey East play. The team started out the season 4-0 after sweeping non-conference opponents RIT and Stonehill in a two-game series. However, the Huskies have since only won two of their last eight games, and they currently sit at 2-4-2 in conference play. Senior forward Coryn Tormala (nine points), junior forward Jada Habisch (seven points) and senior defensemen Claire Peterson (seven points) currently are the top three offensive leaders for the Huskies. The team, which has not found the back of the net much this season, will need to turn to them to get things rolling offensively in this critical home-and-home series.
For UConn, winning this weekend is absolutely essential for its conference record and standings. There should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that the team will leave it all on the ice this weekend, especially after its momentum surge coming off a shutout win against Maine last weekend.
Game one will be streamed on ESPN+, and the second will be streamed on NESN+.