UConn women's hockey (2-0) appears undefeated as it continues its non-conference play with two video games against Stonehill College this weekend. The first match will be played at home on Friday from 6pm and the second at Stonehill on Saturday from 5pm.
On May 22, 2021, Stonehill College announced that it would add a women's ice hockey team to its sports program as part of the Division 1 New England Women's Hockey Alliance for the 2022-2023 season. After a massive amount of recruiting by coach Tara Watchorn, the Skyhawks look to get into the winning column for their first game in program history against the Huskies this Friday.
The Huskies have very different plans, however, as they aim to add to their team's momentum by claiming a series win against RIT Finals weekend. Winning the series this weekend is especially important for UConn as they open play in the Hockey East conference the following week.
It was all about UConn last weekend when they beat the RIT Tigers 6-2. Despite the difference in scores, they were defeated 69-64. Fortunately, goalkeepers Tia Chan (Sun) and Megan Warrener (Sun) were able to close the down online, which was a great half of the game for the Huskies that saw them win over RIT. Chan, who played the first reply of the set, recorded a shutout to open the season.
All of UConn's goals were scored by different players: Carlie Mage (Gr.), Claire Peterson (Sr.), Coryn Tormala (Sr.), Camryn Wong (Sr.), Meghane Duchesne-Chalitoux (Fr.), and Kate Thurman (Mr.). The Huskies' ability to find the back of the net is no joke, and as such, they have a number of offensive weapons that can pull it off. If the group continues to discover offensive power with such a large number of skaters, they are on the road to success.
In the Hockey East women's preseason standings, UConn placed mid-table, sixth out of 10 groups. However, her early dominance has placed her just outside the top 15 of the USCHO rankings nationally with 21 votes. If they still make it through this weekend undefeated, they can probably distinguish themselves not only with additional votes, but also with a potential top-15 finish.
Although UConn finished just under .500 (9-10-1) last season, UConn managed to find a spark when they appeared in the Hockey East playoffs and used all means for the championship where they went 3-1 without losing any except the Northeastern Huskies, with whom they could play next weekend. It will certainly be a revenge sport for UConn, though they should digest their appetizer this weekend first.