The No. 8 UConn Huskies (2-2) prepare to open a two-game weekend series on the road against the No. 7 Princeton Tigers at Hobey Baker Rink in Princeton, N.J., running from Oct. 16–17, 2026. Princeton enters the matchup to open its 2026–27 regular-season schedule, eager to build on last year’s momentum.
Guided by head coach Courtney Kessel, Princeton comes off a season in which it clinched a share of the ECAC Hockey regular-season title, tying Yale at 46 points atop the conference leaderboard. The Tigers finished their 2025–26 season with an impressive 23–11 overall record and a 16–6 mark in ECAC play. Offensively, Issy Wunder anchored the attack with 27 goals and 16 assists for 43 points, alongside Mackenzie Alexander, who posted 22 goals, 20 assists for 42 points and led the squad with 183 shots on goal. In goal, primary starter Uma Corniea posted a standout 1.79 GAA, a .935 save percentage and six shutouts across 27 starts last season.
Historically, Princeton holds the overall series advantage over UConn with a 10–5–2 all-time record, including a dominant 6–1 mark at home in Hobey Baker Rink and a 4–3–2 record in Storrs. However, the Huskies have recently turned the tide, entering Friday night on a three-game winning streak against the Tigers. UConn swept both regular-season meetings in October 2025 (2–1 and 3–0) before knocking Princeton out of the postseason with a 4–1 victory on March 12, 2026, powered by Kyla Josifovic’s two goals and Tia Chan’s 41 saves on 42 shots.
UConn comes in at 2–2 overall (2–0 at home) following a dominant 4–0 shutout victory over No. 11 Clarkson on Oct. 3. The Huskies’ offense has been driven by forwards Caileigh Tiller (three goals, three assists) and Claire Murdoch (two goals, four assists), who share the team scoring lead with six points through four games. UConn’s power play has proven lethal early in the season, converting all four goals on the woman advantage in the win against Clarkson. In net, Taylor Belchetz holds a .924 save percentage and is fresh off a 43-save shutout performance against Clarkson.
The Tigers aim to pounce early to halt their three-game slide against UConn, but penalty discipline will be vital. Princeton logged 86 penalties last season, a vulnerability that UConn’s surging power-play unit will look to exploit. If the Tigers can stay out of the box and rely on Corniea’s steadying presence in net, they stand a strong chance of defending home ice; if UConn executes on special teams, its recent dominance in the rivalry will continue.
The game kicks off at 6 p.m. It can be viewed on ESPN+.