UConn Wins Battle of the Huskies

The Northeastern Huskies won Hockey East and were slotted #1 for the postseason tourney. The UConn Huskies were runners up in the Hockey East regular season and ended up as the 2 seed. Well, the favorites made it all the way through, as we have a battle of the Huskies for the championship for the 3^rd time in the last 5 years. And due to the closure of Historic Matthews Arena, the NU Huskies had to take their game on the road to Toscano Family Forum for the championship game. 

It took extra hockey, and then some more extra hockey; but at the end of 84:37 it was the UConn Huskies who got the win and are your new Hockey East Champions. 

This matchup featured the 2 best goalies in Hockey East (statistically – don’t @ me) and 2 of the top ‘tendies in the nation. In net for UConn was Tia Chan (.948%SV – 1.59GAA – 5 shutouts), the current and defending Hockey East Goalie of the Year. At the other end of the sheet in the NU net stood Lisa Jönsson (.939%SV – 1.62GAA – 4 shutouts), the Big Cat has been dialed this postseason run giving up 2 goals against in 2GP with a .964%SV over that span. So yeah, these goalies are pretty good.

The game opened up with a frenetic pace and a ton of physicality. These two teams are very familiar with each other and as the saying goes: familiarity breeds contempt. The game didn’t start at “contempt level”, but it was certainly on that trajectory.

There were surges of offense in both directions but neither squad had setups in the other’s zone for the first 5min of game time. As the period progressed, the physicality ramped up but the refs kept their hands down and the question began to bubble up: How long would this last?

Turns out: not very long. With about 5mins to play, NU had the best sequence of the first off an icing call to UConn. NU had multiple looks as they kept the puck in the UConn zone, but Chan was up to the task. And then Stripes got involved. A stick lift by Éloïse Caron caused the UConn player to fall and Caron was whistled for a “trip”? I mean if you’re calling that a trip – call the embellishment too. And if we’re being honest here, Caron spilling Chan on her way to the bench was way worse than the phantom trip.

On the ensuing PP, UConn got setup but NU kept them to the perimeter and Jönsson denied everything else. The horn sounded with :38 on the player advantage for UConn.

NU shut down the remaining penalty time, but were caught flat-footed after the kill. UConn was pressing hard with a prolonged possession but couldn’t get one past Jönsson. NU was gassed and looked to be on their heels, but a dislodged net bailed them out with a whistle. 

UConn broke the ice when Sadie Hotles got them on the board with about 3mins played in the middle frame. Livvy Dewar put a shot on net and Hotles crashed the cage and was the first to find the puck in a goalmouth scramble at the left post. Hotles punched it home and UConn was out in front. Great effort by Hotles to find that puck amidst 3 NU defenders. 

That score held until a NU power play with about 7mins to play in the 2^nd period.  After a good-looking advantage where NU was snapping the puck around the zone, Stryker Zablocki smoked a pass across the zone to Riley Jones at the right half wall. Jones put a drag snap on net that beat Chan over the glove to tie it back up. Great revenge for Letterkenny on the uncalled boarding call she suffered a few years back on that same end of the ice.

As time wound down in the middle frame the play was wide open with chances by both teams. Both squads were getting looks and working the puck extremely well, but as we talked about earlier: Both of these goalies are next level. Neither team could get one past Chan or Jönsson and you had to wonder how that affected the frustration of the skaters? A shorthanded bid by Zablocki and Lily Shannon didn’t go, but Shannon got mixed up with Ashley Allard behind the net and both players were whistled. It seemed as if the refs might have lost a bit of the handle on this one.

Chan was sharp throughout but the clip below gives a good view of what NU had to deal with all night.

To open the 3^rd, UConn had :23 of power play left and Shannon and Allard were in the box.. With the penalties coming at the end of the period and whistled as matching minors, they were locked in their respective sin bins until a whistle. Well, that whistle didn’t come for 7mins of game play. This was shinny with pads; wide open and flying up and down the ice. And even after that first whistle there wasn’t another one for another 6mins of game play. Hands down this was one of the most entertaining periods of hockey that I’ve witnessed this season.

The horn sounded for the end of regulation and (of course) we were headed to bonus hockey. As I said, both teams were getting chances and Chan and Jönsson were in a game of “anything you can do, I can do better”. Look how far off the blue paint she is!!

In OT the teams kept their feet firmly planted on the gas pedal. The game continued to be played in 5^th gear, very fast and with both teams generating chances. A bad change by NU with about 7mins to play generated UConn’s best chance as they broke into the NU zone with an odd man rush, the shot beat Jönsson but The Hockey Gods intervened as the puck clanked off the crossbar and we continue.

Chan was matching Jönsson save for save as the game turned into one of my beer league games with breakaway after breakaway, but again: ‘Tendies.

With less than 2mins to play, Shannon was dumped into Chan’s net by a UConn defender and then Caron got shouldered into the pile. Somehow this ended up as matching penalties? And the sides skated 4:4. I mean I don’t even know what Stripes was doing at this point, that scoresheet was a fantasy novel, a complete work of fiction. The refs were just making it up as they went along. The sides skated down to the horn still tied at a goal apiece and we’re headed to double OT.

The bonus bonus hockey was maybe a tick slower as both teams shortened their benches and the players were dealing with some tired legs. Of course the refs maintained their consistency and had their whistles lodged firmly in their.. hands. I mean you’ve already done the damage, why would you call any blatant penalties now?

A turnover in the neutral zone sent UConn into the zone 3:2 with speed. UConn exectured a perfect triangle as Allard put the puck to Claire Murdoch in the slot. Jönsson made the initial save but the puck bounced to the right post and Kyla Josifovic was there to bury the game-winner. 

A great game all around, I mean the refs were wildly inconsistent for both teams so I guess it evens out? (It didn’t but I’m trying to be even-handed here). Both goalies played phenomenally well as they both broke the 50-save threshold. What’s crazy is that in the NCAA tourney (the ultimate goal) this game doesn’t mean anything as both of these squads have made it past that hurdle. But don’t let that take away from UConn’s win and how great a game this was. 

Some observations from around the rink:

• First of all, congrats to everyone in attendance as a new Hockey East Women’s Championship record was set with 2168 on hand.
• NU’s Allie Lalonde was involved all 200 feet. A great game from the junior. She initiated sequences, found the open player and back-checked like they stole her car.
• UConn’s Meghane Duchesne-Chalifoux can play for Team Brownie any day. She’s a dynamic puck mover with a nose for offense. I’m going to date myself with this comp: but she reminded me of Greg Hawgood at times tonight.
• The Allards. No relation but NU’s Kristina Allard and UConn’s Ashley Allard are 2 of the slickest skaters I’ve seen in Hockey East, and both make plays with being ahead of the play. Must be the name? This is when someone tells me that they’re cousins and I look like a dope.
• There were a number of D plays/players that stood out to me:
  • UConn’s Sadie Hotles chips in at both ends of the rink. Late in the first OT, she got her blade on a puck and swiped it from the NU forward and cleared the zone in a blink of an eye.
  • NU’s Alessia Baechler had a great gap close with about 7min to play in the 2nd that nullified UConn’s bid without a SOG
  • UConn’s Julia Stephen had a shift in the 3rd where she shut down one of NU’s top scorers twice in a manner of 30 seconds in 1:1 situations.
  • NU’s Jules Constantinople was electric tonight. In my opinion, the best defender on the ice for either team. I’d wager she logged over 25TOI tonight and was there directing traffic, eating up forwards and always having a minute for niceties after the whistle.
  • UConn’s Livvy Dewar looks like an absolute pain in the ass to play against and I mean that as a huge compliment.

Good luck to everyone tomorrow on Selection Sunday!

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