Connecticut opened conference play this past weekend, taking on the New Hampshire Wildcats on both Friday and Saturday. The Huskies, ranked No. 9 in the country, traveled to Durham, NH, on Friday to face off against New Hampshire at the Whittemore Center.
After a slow start to the first period, UConn senior forward Jada Habisch scored her first goal of the season, giving the Huskies an early 1-0 lead towards the end of the first. UConn overall played stellar defense and dominated the puck, having had 21 shots in the first period to New Hampshire’s eight.
In the second period, Connecticut took over. Junior forward Brooke Campbell kicked off the scoring, finding the back of the net just over a minute into the period. Just four minutes later, freshman forward Claire Murdoch scored her second goal of the season, giving the Huskies a strong 3-0 lead just five minutes into the second period.
But the Huskies weren’t done yet, as junior forward Kyla Josifovic scored with seven minutes left in the period. And to top it all off, Habisch scored her second goal of the game with under two minutes left, notching Connecticut’s fourth goal of the period and extending the Huskies’ lead to 5-0 over the Wildcats.
New Hampshire had no response, scoring their one and only goal with under 10 seconds left in the game and falling by a score of 5-1.
The Wildcats would have their opportunity to take down the Huskies the next day, as both teams traveled to Storrs, CT to face off yet again, this time on UConn’s home ice at the Toscano Family Ice Forum.
During the first period, neither team could find the back of the net. Like their matchup the night prior, the Huskies dominated the puck, taking 26 shots to the Wildcats’ nine. Sophomore defender Maya Serdachny scored her first career goal two minutes into the second period, giving the Huskies a 1-0 lead. Then, 10 minutes later, Murdoch scored her first goal of the game and second of the weekend, giving Connecticut a strong 2-0 lead heading into the third period.
The game ended how it started, with neither team finding the back of the net. The Huskies won 2-0 and senior goalie Tia Chan recorded 25 saves, giving UConn their first shutout of the season.
Following this weekend, UConn sits at 3-3 overall and 2-0 in Hockey East play. Connecticut travels to both Providence and Harvard next weekend and looks to continue winning and dominating the Hockey East competition.