The No. 10 UConn Huskies look to host Mercyhurst at Toscano Family Ice Forum this weekend. They’ve fallen to No. 8 after two losses to No. 7 Princeton, including one in overtime.
Mercyhurst is 5-3 through its first eight games, with a 3-1 Atlantic Hockey America conference record. The team is on a three-game winning streak after sweeping Lindenwood and winning the second game of its previous weekend series against Syracuse.
In the Oct. 9 game against Lindenwood, goaltender Lexington Secreto posted a complete-game shutout with 22 saves as the team outshot Lindenwood 42-22.
This season, Mercyhurst has outscored its opponents 18-13 and is currently averaging 34.6 shots per game while allowing only 24.8.
On the penalty kill, it has only allowed one power-play goal in 28 opponent opportunities. It has an 18.2% conversion rate on its own power plays (4-22).
Across three goaltenders, Mercyhurst has a 1.63 goals-against average and a 93.4% save percentage. Magdalena Luggin, as the primary goalkeeper, holds a 3-3 record with a shoutout and a 93.5% save percentage. Grace Kipfer had a 94.7% save percentage through her first start.
Halle Duchene leads Mercyhurst in points with three goals and five assists in eight games. Julia Perjus has seven points with four goals and three assists, including two game-winning goals. Holly VanNetten leads all defensemen with four assists.
Historically, UConn is 2-8-3 all time against Mercyhurst. It won their most recent matchup on Oct. 25, 2025, in a close 4-3. In that game, 14 of Tia Chan’s 24 saves came in the third period.
In UConn’s last game, it led 5-2 midway through the third period after Maya Serdachny’s second goal of the afternoon. The Huskies looked on track to seal a statement victory over Princeton and split the series until they scored four goals in the third period. Despite the loss, Serdachny had a multi-point performance with an additional assist, and Taylor Belchetz made 14 saves while under siege.
Caileigh Tiller is the team leader in overall scoring with four goals and assists. Claire Murdoch is the team’s assist leader, with five. Julia Pellerin leads the Huskies in volume shooting with 21 shots on goal, and Chelsea Tiller leads the team with a +4 rating.
Belchetz has played all six games in net with a 3.01 goals-against average and an 89.8% save percentage.
UConn has been undefeated at the Toscano Family Ice Forum (2-0) but has all four of its losses on the road, and it’ll rely on that home-ice advantage to dictate the tempo early and build momentum. Mercyhurst hopes to neutralize UConn’s penalty kill, the thing UConn tends to score on more often than not.
Mercyhurst outshoots its opponents heavily, so UConn must rely on its defense around Belchetz and on high-volume shooters like Pellerin and Murdoch to even the ice.
Puck drop for Friday’s game is scheduled for 6 p.m. Saturday’s game will kick off at 1 p.m.. Both games are viewable through ESPN+.