Tia Chan. Enough said.
The graduate goaltender had another fantastic weekend for Connecticut after allowing one goal and recording 32 saves. Chan now leads the Hockey East in conference wins with 15 and boasts a .949 save percentage.
She is now one of 12 semifinalists for the Goaltender of the Year award.
The UConn women’s hockey team clinched the 2 seed in the Hockey East Tournament after a fast start vs. New Hampshire (16-13-3, 10-10-2) helped lead the Huskies to a 5-1 victory.
The Huskies, now 23-7-2 (16-5-1) also downed Boston University (9-18-3, 7-12-2), 2-1, to earn their fourth consecutive win.
Game 1: Connecticut 5, New Hampshire 1 – Friday, Feb. 13
Junior forward Ashley Allard opened the scoring just over a minute into the contest by netting a turnaround shot to make the score 1-0.
During a power play later in the period, junior forward Livvy Dewar received a pass at the circle and ripped a slapshot past the goalie, extending UConn’s lead to 2-0 with 10:29 left on the clock.
To start the second period, New Hampshire dominated possession of the puck. The Wildcats strung together six consecutive shots in a span of 90 seconds. Sophomore defender Addison Finn led the charge, with two during that span.
Minutes later, Dewar skated up the ice with the puck and found sophomore forward Sadie Hotles in stride and her shot found the back of the net to make it 3-0 with 8:12 remaining.
Over the next few minutes, Connecticut kept the pressure on, and junior forward Danika Botterill converted a scoring chance off a faceoff to make it 3-1 UConn at the 7:50 mark of the period.
UConn’s shooting prowess continued into the third period when senior forward Megan Woodworth’s shot struck gold to extend the Huskies’ lead to 4-1.
Twenty-nine seconds later, Hotles scored again for the blue and white off a Walker miss, 5-1. The goal also marked the second time in her career that Hotles has had a multi-goal game.
UConn outshot New Hampshire 24-22 in the contest and Chan wound up with 21 saves.
Game 2: Connecticut 2, Boston University 0 – Saturday, Feb. 14
Boston University entered their matchup with UConn shorthanded due to injuries and the 2026 Olympic Winter Games. The Terriers sent six women’s hockey players to Milan. Ohio State is the only university to send more players at 12.
Despite a multitude of opportunities, Connecticut failed to score after one period of play. The Huskies outshot the Terriers 11-4.
Graduate student goaltender Michelle Pasiechnyk recorded two saves, including a Murdoch shot that rang off the post, during a UConn power play to keep the game scoreless.
Early in the second period, freshman forward Anežka Čabelová was sent to the penalty box for slashing. During the penalty, Pasiechnyk made four more saves, bringing her game total to 18.
However, Connecticut’s constant shot taking eventually resulted in a score with 12:15 left in the period. Senior defender Emma Eryou netted her second goal of the season off a Murdoch assist, 1-0.
After being outshot 17-2 in the second 20 minutes, the Terriers saw signs of life midway through the third when Allard committed a penalty, but sophomore forward Kaileigh Quigg was sent to the box 40 seconds later to squander the player advantage.
When Quigg reentered the game, she attempted two shots that nearly went in, but Chan held serve to keep the lead at 1-0 with just over eight minutes remaining.
With just over three minutes to play, Pasiechnyk was pulled from goal opening the door for senior forward Christina Walker to score the games second goal and put it out of reach for Boston University (BU).
Connecticut had 36 shots on goal to BU’s 11. Chan also picked up her fifth shutout of the season. UConn has two regular season games remaining. They’ll host No. 8 Northeastern on Friday and Merrimack on Saturday. Both games will be broadcast on ESPN+.