Hockey East Roundup: Feb. 6-8, 2025

It’s a UConn-centric week here in the Hockey East Roundup, and it’s because the Huskies have been making some quiet moves to cement themselves as a top contender again this year. But they’ve got a dangerous opponent looming on the horizon, and they’re gonna need to be on their A-game heading into the last weeks. 

Series Rewind: UConn nabs all six possible points to secure series wins over Holy Cross, Boston University 

I’ve realized that Connecticut has not gotten nearly enough love from me this year, and I’m looking to correct that this week. The Huskies have been outstanding once again this season, at a 19-9-2 overall record heading into the last two weeks of the year. That productivity was evident over the weekend, as they took down BU on Friday, before shutting out Holy Cross Saturday in two tight matchups. 

Their first contest of the weekend was the highly anticipated matchup against the Terriers. The two top teams in the conference were squaring off for the first time this season, and will then reunite to close out the regular season in a week.

Funnily enough, both squads were coming off an overtime contest against Northeastern — although UConn had dropped a 4-3 decision at home the previous Saturday, while BU went into Matthews Arena and ended a 10-year drought, winning for the first time at NU since January of 2015 by a 3-2 score. 

UConn scored at all strengths in the contest, walking into Walter Brown and skating to a comfortable 3-1 win. Brianna Ware struck first on the power play for the Huskies, a rare advantage goal converted by the Terriers, who going into the weekend had the second best penalty kill in the nation. Ware’s goal was the senior’s fourth of the year, and was the first overall point for her in the spring semester. 

Freshman sensation Claire Murdoch picked up an assist on the play, and followed it up 10 minutes of regulation play later with an even-strength tally of her own. Sophomore Ashley Allard had an assist on the play, as the two top-scorers for the Huskies connected once again. The two youngsters are the only skaters on UConn to have registered over 20 points so far this season, and both are crucial when it comes to the Huskies’ success. 

Neely Nicholson made it a one goal game later in the second period, scoring her first goal since Nov. 11th, and her fourth goal of the season overall. Liv Haag, who registered the secondary assist on the play, scored her first point of the season with the helper in her 24th game played this season. 

While BU was pressuring — and with a power play chance mid-way through the final period, Jada Habisch sank the dreams of tying things up with a short handed tally with 9:12 left to play. It was just the second short handed goal of the season for UConn — the other of which was also scored by Habisch back in November. 

Tia Chan made 33 saves en route to the road win, including 14 in the final period to keep BU from tying up the game. Callie Shanahan on the other side made 30, marking her first back-to-back 30+ save efforts of the season. 

Chan got the start again on Saturday, and earned her fourth shutout of the season in a 24-save effort. It was the 20th overall shutout of the senior's career, and her second of the spring semester. 

The lone goal scorer on Saturday was none other than Habisch again, and she had two familiar characters helping out on the play in both Murdoch and Allard. Habisch may be departing the program at the end of the year after graduation, however, knowing Murdoch and Allard will be cornerstones of the program for at least the next two years is a welcome sight for UConn. 

The Huskies in total nearly doubled up the Crusaders in shots in the win, putting 42 on goal — their highest total to this point in the season. Brooke Loranger made saves on all but one of the shots she faced, though it ended up being the only thing UConn needed to secure their 19th win of the season. 

With only four games remaining in the regular season, these wins for UConn were crucial. I’ll touch more on their upcoming schedule later on, but considering the gauntlet of teams they’ll play over the last weeks of the regular season, picking up these six points here was huge, especially as they continue to build momentum to close out the 2024-25 regular season. 

Weekly Awards:

Player of the Week: Rose-Marie Brochu, F, Vermont – Sophomore 

After the drubbing on Thursday, Vermont bounced back in a big way Saturday, and the main reason for that was Brochu. The sophomore was a factor in all three Vermont goals in their 3-2 win over nationally-ranked BC on Saturday, including two goals – the first multi-goal game of her career. Brochu is now third in scoring on the Catamounts with 11 points, a new single-season high. 

Pro-Ambitious Rookie of the Week: Claire Murdoch, F, UConn – Freshman

Every time Murdoch has a productive weekend, I’m more impressed by her growth and talent that she’s displayed this season. The rookie is now riding a five-game point streak, after scoring three points (1 G, 2 A) this weekend in the aforementioned games. Murdoch continues to lead UConn in scoring, with 13 goals and 25 points this season. Additionally, she now has three game winning goals over the course of her young career, including Friday’s against BU. 

Defensive Player of the Week: Mari Pietersen, G, Boston University – Sophomore

Pietersen has become a staple in the weekly award, this time securing the defensive player of the week honors following a career-high 36 save effort against Providence on Saturday. It was the lone start of the weekend for the sophomore, and she managed to hold the red-hot Friars to just one goal. Pietersen is now 4-1-0 with a .949 save percentage in the second semester. 

Stop-It Goaltender of the Week: Kiia Lahtinen, G, Maine – Freshman

It’s been a rough season for Lahtinen, but none of that mattered on Friday against No. 13 Northeastern, when the rookie made 33 saves en route to her first collegiate shutout. The win was the first victory against a nationally-ranked opponent for the Black Bears in 2024-25, and was just the fourth win of Lahtinen’s young NCAA career. In the second semester, the freshman has allowed just six goals on 119 shots, good for a .949 SV%.

Complete Scoreboard: 

Thursday: 

New Hampshire 4 vs. Merrimack 3 – OT 
Boston College 7 vs. Vermont 1 

Friday: 

UConn 3 at Boston University 1
Providence 3 at Holy Cross 2
Maine 2 vs. Northeastern 0 

Saturday: 

Boston University 4 vs. Providence 1
New Hampshire 3 at Merrimack 2
Vermont 3 vs. Boston College 2
UConn 1 vs. Holy Cross 0

What to Watch: Providence/UConn 

Friday at UConn, 6 PM | Saturday at Providence, 3 PM 

This upcoming weekend is critical for both teams listed here, both in terms of standings and momentum. 

For the Huskies, they’re just one point behind BU for first place in the conference, and have flip-flopped with the Terriers throughout the year for that top spot. With BU playing a UNH team that already gave them some trouble earlier this year, wins this weekend are critical if UConn wants to reclaim the top spot heading into the last weekend of the regular season. 

Providence is in a similar boat, as they’re just one point behind Northeastern for fourth place in the standings. The Friars do currently hold the tie-breaker against NU, but if they want to secure home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs, they’re going to need to find a way to leapfrog Northeastern to get into those top spots. Not to mention, they’re also only two points behind Boston College for third – and BC is playing NU this weekend. 

It’s no secret the Friars have been red-hot in the second semester, as they’ve lost just two games since returning for the January schedule. UConn has them beat, however; the Huskies have lost just once in their 10 games since the break, though they have tied two opponents in that span. 

The last time these two teams met was all the way back in October, where UConn went down to Providence and beat the Friars in their home barn, 3-2. Martha Mobarak’s first goal in the NCAA was the difference in that contest, as Tia Chan posted 28 saves in the win – Hope Walinski on the other side made just 18. 

What I’m intrigued about is the difference in the styles of plays in both teams. Providence’s offense is much higher on average, as they’re scoring at a 2.8 goals per game clip throughout the season. UConn on the other hand doesn’t struggle to score per se, but they do heavily rely on their netminders ability to turn away opponents. Their 1.6 goals against average is the lowest in Hockey East, though they’ve scored 20 less goals altogether than Providence this season (85 vs. 65). 

However, if there’s one place that both teams have struggled this year, it’s been their power plays. Neither have the worst PP in the conference, however Providence’s 12.3% and UConn’s 16.8% are certainly nothing to write home about. They are fairly even on the penalty kill, though (both hovering around the 84% success rate), which could make those numbers go up over the course of the weekend. 

When it comes to players to watch, I’m giving it to the two goaltenders. Chan is the perennial name at the top of Hockey East at this point. In 19 starts, the senior has the second-best save percentage in the conference at a .946, and has allowed more than two goals in just three starts all season. Additionally, she’s coming off that 24 save-shutout against Holy Cross I mentioned above, which will hopefully bolster her heading into the weekend. 

Walinski, on the other hand, is a conundrum. The senior has a .923 SV% in 28 starts this season, the most of any netminder in Hockey East. However, Walinski has been a sub-.900 goaltender over her last three starts, including a 3-2 win over Maine where she made just 11 saves. If Providence is going to get the wins here, they’re going to need Walinski on her A-game, and I’m curious to see if she is after giving up three goals in three minutes in Saturday’s third-period collapse against BU. 

Full Upcoming Schedule: 

Streaming Details are Available Here

Friday: 

Maine at Merrimack – 2 PM
Northeastern at Boston College – 2 PM
Providence at UConn – 6 PM
Boston University at New Hampshire – 6 PM 

Saturday: 

Maine at Merrimack – 2 PM
UConn at Providence – 3 PM
New Hampshire at Boston University – 6 PM
Vermont at Holy Cross – 7 PM 

Sunday: 

Boston College at Northeastern – 2 PM
Vermont at Holy Cross – 3 PM