The No. 9 ranked UConn women’s hockey team faces off against the No. 12 Penn State Nittany Lions at home over the weekend. The teams will play two games, one on Friday, Oct. 4 and the second on Saturday, Oct. 5. Both games will take place at the Toscano Family Ice Forum in Storrs, Connecticut.
The Huskies are looking to move on from two straight losses against No. 2 Minnesota that opened the season. In the first game, they fell 1-4 in a lopsided contest, and although the second produced a closer fight, Connecticut lost in overtime. The team will search for ways to improve the number of shots on goal taken, which was a struggle in the Minnesota contest with the Gophers adding up 86 shots to the Huskies’ 23 in both games. Several UConn players provided bright spots including junior Megan Woodworth, who got the Huskies on the board in the first contest, and goaltender Megan Warrener, who made a career-high 45 saves in the second game. Senior forwards Riley Grimley and Brianna Ware both notched their first goals of the season in the overtime loss. In addition, graduate student Jada Habisch and junior Christina Walker contributed with assists.
Penn State, under the direction of head coach Jeff Kampersal, is coming off a two-game slate against No.13 Northeastern in which they split the series. Northeastern took the first matchup 3-1, capitalizing on costly Nittany Lion penalties, but Penn State rallied to overcome a one-goal deficit in the second game. The team completed the comeback in the second period when Maddy Christian broke a 1-1 tie with her first goal of the season. The Nittany Lions then held back the Northeastern attack to secure the 2-1 victory. On that goal by Christian, captain Tessa Janecke provided an important assist after scoring Penn State’s opening goal earlier in the game. Janecke, a junior, was recently named to the 2024 Team USA Rivalry Series roster for November, which marks her fourth appearance on the team. Janecke is also ranked fourth all-time for the Nittany Lions in career points, having racked up 103 points in total with 40 goals and 63 assists. Other important players on the Penn State roster include defenseman Lyndie Lobdell and forward Mya Vaslet. Lobdell, a graduate student and assistant captain this year, is entering her fifth season with the team. In the past two seasons, she has helped the squad to two straight NCAA tournament appearances. Vaslet, another assistant captain, begins her senior year having scored 16 goals in the 2023-24 campaign. In last year’s AHA Championship, she blasted the puck through the net for Penn State’s only goal to win over Mercyhurst.