In what was the last home game for the UConn Huskies in the Mark Edward Freitas Ice Forum, Boston University took away the first win of the series.
The scoring started early as both teams netted goals in the first period, starting with UConn’s Jada Habisch’s unassisted score. This was Habisch’s seventh goal of the season, which leads her Huskies squad. The point also ties her with captain Coryn Tamala for total points with 12.
The lead didn’t last for long as the Terriers fired back in the next four minutes as sophomore Christina Vote scored her second goal of the season, tying the score at one each.
It took just a few minutes into the second period for BU to take their first lead of the game with freshman Brooke Disher scoring her first ever collegiate goal. The go-ahead goal by Disher would prove to be enough to hand the Terriers the win in game one.
Terriers goalkeeper Andrea Brändli held UConn to just one goal allowed while blocking 38 shots, collecting her fourth win this year.
After winning by a score of 2-1 in Game 1, the Terriers became even more explosive in Game 2.
This game started to look like a back-and-forth battle as the first goals for each team were netted nearly a minute apart from each other. BU’s Catherine Foulem opened up the scoring with a goal in the first period. With this goal and the two assists she collected in the opening game of the series, her point total increased to eight, tying her for third best on the team.
UConn was able to respond quickly with a goal of their own, this time by Katherine Stockdale, her first since a September contest versus Stonehill.
Boston University was able to capitalize on a power play in the middle of the second period, which has proven to be hard to do against this stellar UConn defense this season. It was only the second power play goal they’ve allowed this season out of 34 opportunities. Even more impressive as UConn currently ranks second in all of the nation in penalty kill percentage (.941).
UConn yet again responded with a goal from Kate Thurman, her third on the season. What looked like a good sign for the Huskies turned into a disaster as the Terriers responded in a big way, tallying three unanswered goals in the remainder of the game.
Haylee Blinkhorn scored two consecutive goals for the Terriers, one in the second and another in the third period. This was the senior’s first goals of the season and her fourth and fifth of her college career.
Blinkhorn’s senior counterpart Julia Nearis pushed the lead to three with her sixth goal of the season. Nearis leads Boston University with 14 points, six goals and eight assists. As much as UConn tried to contain her, it was inevitable she would find a way to make an impact as the Massachusetts product has played a vital role in the Terriers game plan this season.
Both teams used a different goaltender in the second game. UConn played with regular Tia Chan in Game 1 and turned to the Sophomore Megan Warrener for the second. Similarly, Boston University had Andrea Brändli start Game 1 and then played Callie Shanahan in Game 2. This was Shanahan’s second win this season, coming off her first from a week before against an impressive Vermont team. Megan Warrener was credited with allowing four goals in this game, a little out of the normal being just a year removed from becoming the programs single season leader in save percentage.
This was the seventh consecutive Hockey East series for the Huskies and they’ve fared pretty well at .500 with a record of 6-6-2. Boston University comes out of this series with a 5-7-0 division record but is set to face off against really good opponents in the upcoming weeks.
This coming weekend, the Huskies will be participating in the Nutmeg Classic which will be taking place in Hamden, Connecticut on the home ice of Quinnipiac. The Bobcats host UConn, Sacred Heart and Bemidji State for the annual event.
Boston University moves on to play in the Henderson Collegiate Hockey Showcase with a matchup with No. 6 Yale University. They’ll enter a competitive field with not only Yale ranked but also the other two opponents, No. 1 Minnesota and No. 11 Penn State.
As for the new arena, UConn will play their first ever home game in the new Toscano Family Ice Forum on Jan. 13 against Hockey East opponent Merrimack and then Vermont the next day.
