The No. 11 Connecticut Huskies split their weekend games with matchups against Northeastern and Holy Cross. Playing teams on opposite sides of the standings, UConn looked to better their resume with two weekends left.
After sweeping Northeastern in November, UConn headed into Boston looking to lockdown the season sweep of their Husky rivals. Early in the game, it didn’t look like that would be possible.
Northeastern jumped in front with a Taze Thompson goal in the first period, then doubled it in the second with a Mia Langlois goal. Down two to nothing, UConn needed to mount a comeback to at least force OT.
Ashley Allard cut the lead to one with her fifth goal of the year, while Ainsley Svetek later netted the equalizer with her third.
Neither team gained the advantage, and it would be Northeastern walking away with two points with a shootout win.
Game two of the weekends also took place on the road, with the Huskies visiting the Crusaders in Worcester to face Holy Cross. The Crusaders were looking for payback from their previous meeting in November, in which UConn swept with a 3-0 in Storrs and then a 3-1 win in Worcester.
UConn quickly shut down Holy Cross’ opportunity with an offensive onslaught. Halfway through the second period, UConn had already scored thrice with goals from Coryn Tamala, Megan Woodworth and Riley Grimley. Millie Sirum put the Crusaders on the board, but Ava Rinker and Kathyrn Stockdale buried two more goals to build a 5-1 lead for UConn.
At the end of the weekend, UConn sits on top of the Hockey East standings, seven points above both Northeastern and Boston College.
With the season winding down, the Huskies only have four games left in the regular season. Before finishing the year with a weekend series against Boston University, UConn will take on Merrimack and Vermont on the road.
Merrimack, their first opponent, is on the wrong side of the Hockey East standings, currently sitting eighth in front of only Maine and Holy Cross. Despite a rocky season, the Warriors have played strong in their last couple of games, winning three of their last four. In their first matchups of the year, UConn walked away with the victory, including a 2-1 overtime win in December and a regulation win in January. Friday’s game starts at 4 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+.
After Friday’s game, UConn will head to Burlington to take on the Vermont Catamounts. These teams met just a few weeks ago in a late January matchup. Hosted by the Huskies, UConn won in commanding fashion to start the weekend. Leading scorer Jada Habisch scored twice while the Huskies capitalized on two power play-chances en route to a 3-0 win. The Catamounts held the Huskies scoreless throughout three periods and overtime, but UConn came out on top in the shootout. The game starts at 1 p.m. in Vermont and can also be streamed on ESPN+.