The UConn women’s hockey team finished off their regular season this weekend with two contests against Hockey East rival Boston University. The Huskies notched two wins in this home-and-home series, etching themselves as the Hockey East regular season champions for a second year.
The Terriers came into the weekend ranked No. 12 in the nation while the Huskies just missed out on the poll. In the team’s previous meeting this year, the Huskies beat the Terriers by a score of 3-1 to secure a victory on the road.
In the first game of the series, which was senior day for UConn, the Huskies came to play. Sadie Hotles opened the scoring for the for the program, as she put one through the net just seven minutes into the game. Their lead would remain at one, as the two teams would head into the first intermission with the Huskies on top.
UConn got hot in the second period, as they started to wreak havoc on the offensive end. Hotles scored again with her second of the game to make it a two-goal lead for the home squad. Sophomore Martha Mobarak netted her second goal of the season, as the Huskies added another to their score total. Two goals in the period were not enough, however, as the Huskies’ sharpshooter Jada Habisch notched her 13th goal of the year to give UConn a four-goal lead. The shot totals in this game were even with the Huskies holding a slight advantage, although the looks the Huskies got were significantly better. In the third, the Terriers put one down to make the deficit three, but that’s all they were able to muster. In addition, Megan Warrener was imperative in this one for the Huskies only letting up one goal with 24 saves.
Following the win on Friday, the Huskies shipped up to Boston, as they looked to sweep the Terriers in the regular season. UConn would have a chance to secure the Hockey East regular season title with a win. Time and time again the Huskies started their matchups strong, and in this game, history repeated itself. Ava Rinker netted one in the first to provide the lone goal in the first frame, giving the visitors the advantage. The Terriers came out strong in the first period, as they put pressure on the UConn defense. They would net one before the end of the second period, tying the game up at one. In the third, the Huskies’ offense gained momentum again, as Rinker netted her second of the game putting UConn ahead. The lead would stay the same as goaltender Tia Chan made 33 saves to propel the Huskies towards victory. Habisch also netted one empty netter to put the game away at 3-1 with less than three minutes left into the game.
The team will now shift their focus to Hockey East tournament play, as they will look to win the tournament again and make a push towards a national title. Their next game will be Saturday, March 1; however, they will have to wait eight days as they await their next opponent. Puck drop for that game is scheduled for 4 p.m.