The UConn women’s hockey team brought out the brooms against Holy Cross, defeating the Crusaders 2-1 at home on Friday and pitching a 2-0 shutout the next day after traveling to Worcester, Mass. The sweep leaves the No. 10 Huskies undefeated in Hockey East conference play at 5-0 with a 6-4 record overall.
On Friday, the first period began with a shot on goal for UConn’s Jada Habisch, but it was saved by Holy Cross goaltender Abby Hornung. From there, the teams traded shots until the Huskies were given a huge advantage by two consecutive penalties on the Crusaders, putting UConn in a very favorable 5-on-3 situation a little more than halfway through the period. The Huskies were unable to capitalize, however, as a flurry of shots went wide, were blocked or were captured by Hornung, leaving the score 0-0 after the power play.
After that, momentum began to turn towards Holy Cross, as Habisch was whistled for tripping at 15:52 in the period. A few seconds later, defenseman Maya Serdachny was also called for a penalty, and suddenly Holy Cross had their own 5 on 3 advantage. This led to a series of great opportunities for the Crusaders, and those chances culminated in a goal by Emily Crovo on the power play, her sixth of the season, giving Holy Cross a 1-0 lead.
In the second period, UConn was looking to tie the game, but once again their efforts were denied, despite another power play given to them at 14:12. At the same time, Holy Cross also didn’t get much going, attempting just six shots in the period. Heading into the second intermission, the Crusaders still held a slim lead.
Holy Cross maintained a power play into the third period after Riley Grimley was called for boarding with 50 seconds left in the second. However, they only managed two shots on goal, which were both saved by Huskies goaltender Tia Chan, who made 16 saves in the game overall. UConn continued to pile on shots throughout the third, seeking to get on the board, and eventually their patience paid off at 15:40 in the period. After shots by Habisch and Ava Rinker, Connecticut’s leading scorer Claire Murdoch broke through and finally put the puck past Hornung, who had stifled them for so long. Hornung made 36 saves in total as she worked to stave off the UConn onslaught, but now the game was tied at one all with just a few minutes left in the period.
Neither team was able to break the deadlock in regulation, as UConn’s last buzzer-beater attempt by Meghan Duchesne-Chalifoux was saved, and the game went to overtime. In overtime, a shot from Holy Cross’ Hannah Deck was blocked by Habisch. Alexia Moreau’s effort went wide before Ashley Allard of the Huskies scored the game-ending goal to secure a thrilling 2-1 victory.
In the second game of the weekend, Connecticut started out well with the first four shots on goal, including two by Serdachny, putting immediate pressure on Hornung, who served as goalie in back-to-back games for the Crusaders. This pressure quickly led to a breakthrough for UConn, as junior forward Kyla Josifovic scored at 3:50, assisted by Grimley. This would prove to be the deciding goal on the day, as UConn goalie Megan Warrener kept the Crusaders off the board for all three periods, making 15 saves.
In the second period, Connecticut tacked on another goal with an effort by Murdoch on a power play, which counted as the fifth goal for the freshman forward. Things went smoothly for UConn the rest of the way, as Holy Cross was largely unable to mount an effective comeback. A few chances came for the Crusaders in the final minutes of the third period as they went with an empty net, but every close effort was saved by Warrener, and the game ended in a dominant 2-0 win for the Huskies.
Next, UConn will face Northeastern in Hockey East conference play on Nov. 8 and 9. The first game will be played at home on Friday at the Toscano Family Ice Forum, while the second on Saturday will move to Northeastern’s territory in Boston, Mass.
Holy Cross, who dropped to 4-5-1 after the two losses to Connecticut, will host Vermont next weekend on Nov. 9 for a single-game series.