A packed home weekend brought both heartbreak and redemption for the UConn women’s ice hockey team to close out the regular season. The No. 6 Huskies opened play Friday night with a tightly contested 3-2 overtime loss to No. 5 Northeastern, battling through regular play before a sudden-death goal resulted in the rival Huskies win. UConn quickly regrouped and returned to the ice on Saturday with renewed focus, earning a statement win over Merrimack, displaying the team’s resilience.
In Friday’s matchup, UConn quickly set the tone. Junior forward Ashley Allard opened scoring just four minutes into the first period, recording her ninth goal of the season from assists from sophomore forward Claire Mudoch and senior forward Kyla Josifovic. Northeastern wasted no time, delivering a power play goal from junior Rylie Jones. UConn quickly regained the lead later in the frame with just 34 seconds remaining. Murdoch recorded a goal to send the home Huskies into the lead going into the first break.
Graduate goaltender, Tia Chan, continued to be a dominant defensive force for the Huskies. Chan turned away nine first period shots. However, in the second period Northeastern was able to overpower UConn’s defense, when freshman forward Stryker Zablocki slipped one past Chan with just over three minutes remaining.
In the third period, UConn controlled the play, firing 14 shots with intense offensive pressure. Northeastern goalie Lisa Jönsson proved to be a powerful force, denying multiple shots to force overtime.
Just over a minute into the extra frame, Huskies sophomore forward Morgan Jackson netted the goal-winner to secure the 3-2 win for the Hockey East regular-season champions.
After a tightly contested first period, UConn quickly adapted to take over both defensively and offensively. Junior forward Julia Pellerin opened scoring midway through the first period with her 11th goal of the season. Merrimack quickly answered with a goal of their own 22 seconds later. The Huskies controlled the pace of the game, outshooting the Merrimack warriors 17-4.
The second period captured the team’s dominance of the Huskies. Murdoch netted a goal early on to restore UConn’s lead. Senior forward Brooke Campbell extended the lead with a power play goal, netting her seventh goal of the season. Chan stood strong in goal to preserve the Huskies’ two-goal lead going into the third period.
The Warriors truly resembled their name by having resilience going in the third period. Their strength paid off striking twice in the opening six minutes to tie the game at 3-3. UConn answered at 8:37 with a breakaway goal by Murdoch, assisted by Pellerin. Murdoch then netted another goal in the final 30 seconds to finish off her first career hat trick. The Huskies outshot the Warriors 42-32 converting once on four power-play opportunities.
The victory secured a 17-6-1 Hockey East record and 24-8-2 overall record, giving UConn momentum heading into postseason play. The record also gives the Huskies the No. 2 seed in the Hockey East Tournament. They will host the Hockey East Quarterfinals on Saturday, Feb. 28 at the Toscano Family Ice Forum. Tickets for the postseason matchup are available now as UConn prepares to open its playoff run on home ice.