On Friday night, the UConn Huskies took a 3-0 win over the Holy Cross Crusaders in front of 1,356 fans at the Toscano Family Ice Forum. On this night, UConn honored their seniors Coryn Tormala, Amy Landry, Camryn Wong, Claire Peterson, Ainsley Svetek, Kenzie Nicholas, Kaitlyn Yearwood, Kate Thurman and Carlie Magier with a pre-game ceremony.
Junior forward Jada Habisch was the first Husky to score, close to two minutes after puck-drop. The Buffalo, Minnesota native skated right through the Crusaders defense and rifled a shot past Holy Cross goalie Brooke Loranger to put UConn up 1-0.
Freshman defenseman Emma Eryou added to the Huskies lead in the first period after she fired a shot from near the blue line, finding the back of the net for the first time in her NCAA career.
Senior captain Tormala was the third Husky to score in the opening period on what was arguably one of the best goals the team has netted this season. After stealing the puck from Holy Cross, Tormala deked a defender and then fired the puck into the upper right corner of the net, squeezing it past Holy Cross’ Loranger. The goal was posted onto Hockey East’s social media page, and is certain to make the top-5 play Hockey East highlight reel later this week.
In the opening period, the Huskies controlled the game. Their offense continuously pounded the Crusaders defense while their defense held Holy Cross to only three shots on goal.
After an action-packed first period, the final two periods of the game remained scoreless, and UConn held on to its early lead and went on to win the game 3-0. Sophomore goaltender Tia Chan was credited with the shutout, saving all 23 shots that came her way. This game marked the final regular season home game for the Huskies at the new Toscano Family Ice Forum on campus.
For game two of the home and home series, the Huskies made the trip to Worcester to face the Crusaders at the Hart Center Rink. They once again shutout the Crusaders 3-0. The first goal of the game came by way of senior captain Coryn Tormala. The 5 feet 11 inches tall forward pushed the puck past Holy Cross goaltender Madison Beck to put the Huskies up 1-0 with two minutes left in the first period. UConn took a 2-0 lead at the buzzer in the first period after graduate forward Carlie Magier ricocheted the puck into the net off of a powerful shot by sophomore defenseman Ava Rinker.
In the second period, junior forward Kathryn Stockdale found the back of the net to put the Huskies up 3-0. The game remained scoreless after this moment through both the second and the third periods, allowing UConn to capture the sweep on Holy Cross. Tia Chan was awarded her second shutout of the weekend, notching 16 saves in the victory.
This win marked the end of UConn’s regular season schedule, finishing 18-12-4 overall and 12-11-4 in Hockey East conference play. The Huskies will now head into the playoffs next weekend as they make the trip to Chestnut Hill to face the Boston College Eagles at 2 p.m. EST on Saturday, February 25th.
