The UConn women’s hockey team (3-3-1, 2-3-0 Hockey East) is looking to pick up where they left off last Friday after an almost flawless performance against Providence College.
They’ll travel to Boston, Massachusetts to take on No. 13 Northeastern University (7-4-0, 3-2-0 Hockey East).
Both teams began their season against Penn State, with Connecticut going 1-0-1 while Northeastern went 1-1-0.
Both teams have suffered losses early in Hockey East play so far, with Northeastern losing to Merrimack College and the College of the Holy Cross and UConn getting swept by No. 14 Boston College and splitting a two-game series against the University of New Hampshire.
However, despite the early losses, Northeastern is still in third place, four points behind first-place Boston College.
It will come to no surprise that the series will feature a star-studded goaltender battle.
For late September and early October, Northeastern goaltender Gwyneth Philips was named the Hockey East Stop It Goaltending Goaltender of the Month. She was awarded this honor following seven wins and four shutouts, leading the NCAA, to start the season. Out of starting goaltenders, Philips is one of the best goaltenders in the country, leading the nation in goals-against average (.820) and save percentage (.966).
On the other hand, junior Tia Chan has been in net for the most part, seeing some of her playing time go to back-up Megan Warrener as well. Chan has had a rocky start to the season but is still considered one of the best goaltenders in the conference. She’s allowed 1.76 goals per game with a save percentage of .938. It is expected that Chan gets the start in a crucial series.
For UConn’s offense, forward Coryn Tormala is coming off a two-goal game against Providence last week. The graduate student from Chassell, Michigan leads the team with those two goals and has four assists this season for a team-high six points. It’s early in the season, but there has not been a standout player statistically. Forwards Brooke Campbell, Ashley Allard, Riley Grimley, Jada Habisch, Kathryn Stockdale and Christina Walker all have two goals each this season.
However, Connecticut’s offense will have to deal with Northeastern’s defense. Defenseman Megan Carter had three blocks over two games in their series against Holy Cross. The graduate student from Milton, Ontario has been impactful on the offensive end, with six assists, tied for most out of all Hockey East defensemen. For her contributions against Holy Cross, she earned Hockey East Defender of the Week honors.
Northeastern had a clean 3-0-0 sweep against UConn last season, with now-fifth year forward Katy Knoll leading the team with four points on three goals and one assist.
Connecticut’s history against Northeastern is not pretty. Including a shootout loss, UConn is currently on a 17-game losing streak coming into the first game of the season against a conference rival. The last time Connecticut defeated Northeastern was 2018 and the last time before that was 2011. It’s safe to say UConn wins over Northeastern are rare. The overall record is lopsided, with a 45-18-12 record heading into this weekend’s series.
The first game of the series will be at the Matthews Arena in Boston, with puck drop set for 6 p.m.
The second game will be at the Toscano Family Ice Forum for $2 Beer Night and also a White Out. Saturday’s series finale will be at 6 p.m. on ESPN+.
Following the series, UConn will travel to Orono, Maine to take on the University of Maine in a two-game away series.
Northeastern will stay at home for a home-and-home against Providence next week.
