Over the weekend, the UConn women’s hockey team had a slate of games against the Merrimack Warriors. The Huskies have been decent this year, posting a 6-6 record; however, there is some room to improve for this team.
The Warriors came into the game riding a 4-5-1 record on the year, making this one of the Huskies’ easier tasks to date. The Warriors are the lowest-ranked team in Hockey East, so the Huskies were looking to take both.
On Friday, Nov. 15, in North Andover, Mass., the Warriors got off to a great start to set the tone early in game one. Maria Lindberg forced a turnover in the first and took the puck to the net to give the home team the advantage. The lead would not last long though, as the Huskies responded 64 seconds later with an Ashley Allard goal.
However, the Huskies were not finished yet, as Maya Serdachny netted and scored, putting the Huskies in front.
In the second, UConn got in penalty trouble; however, they did a great job in killing the penalty. During the kill in the second period, Jada Habisch took the puck to the net to score a shorthanded goal and put the away team up two goals. Lindberg then tallied another goal for Merrimack to keep the Warriors in the contest for the third period. With nine minutes left, this game was a one-score game. Megan Warrener held strong as she fended off the Merrimack comeback attack, securing the Huskies the road win.
The next day, both teams traveled down to Storrs, Conn. to play the final game of the series at Toscano Ice Forum. Junior Kyla Josifovic got the Huskies going early, as she gave her team an early lead in the first period. At the end of the first, the Huskies had outshot the Warriors 15-4. In the second, it was more of the same dominance, as UConn added another with a Brooke Campbell goal. The Huskies, once again, outshot the Warriors 11-5 in the second period and had most of the possession time.
There was little action in the third, as Merrimack could not push a goal across to tighten the match. UConn goalie Tia Chan played great throughout the contest, pitching a shutout on 13 saves.
This was a great weekend for the team as they swept Merrimack, a conference opponent. The Huskies dominated consistently, controlled the puck when they needed to and made key plays down the stretch to execute two great wins. These wins put the Huskies at 7-2 in conference play, which will come in the postseason. Their overall record has some work to do, as they will look to add a couple more wins to their 8-6 total.
Next week, the team will take on Boston College in what will be a big test for the Huskies. The Eagles are ranked just above the Huskies in the pool at No. 12 and will prove to be a battle for the team.