Spring Break
Women's Hockey Filled With Talent, Skill
Matt Flachsenhaar
Issue date: 1/29/07 Section: Sports
The talent level is UConn is unquestionable. It is a team that has been skilled enough to take down the No. 10, No. 9, No. 5 and No. 4 teams in the nation this year. However, sometimes the lack of desire and ferociousness of the team are the shackles that restrain the Huskies from becoming an elite hockey power.
UConn had both faces of the team on display on Saturday, as two periods of lackluster hockey were followed by a third in which the Huskies seemingly flipped switch and easily registered a win. After going into the third tied with a Northeastern squad which, on paper, was easily overmatched by the Huskies, UConn outscored Northeastern 3-0 in the third to bring home the win.
"It's what they needed to do," said head coach Heather Linstad. "Each player needed to look each other in the eyes and realize what they needed to do."
One crucial factor that led to the third period dominance was the ability of UConn to play as a team, working the puck around quickly and effectively, as they out-shot Northeastern 19-7.
"We haven't done that in awhile," said Captain Jaclyn Hawkins. "It was nice to get good shots off and their goalie was a little shaky and gave up some rebounds."
Northeastern controlled the puck in UConn's end for the majority of the first period, getting shots off while keeping its goalie away from the action.
"They wanted to beat us and they came out hard," Hawkins said. "We had trouble coming out in the first five to 10 minutes; which has been trouble for us lately."
Even when UConn did gain possession of the puck and push it into its opponent's end, the results were minimal, as few clean shots were taken in the first two periods, and play was sloppy. Crisp passes were fumbled and open shots were ripped wide.
"It was a lack of focus," Linstad said. "We need to play our game and focus. Sometimes we work harder in practice than we do in the games."
Going into the third, the light on top of UConn's collective head may have been turned on, as a 'we must beat this team' realization floated around the locker room.
"We're sitting in fourth in Hockey East," Hawkins said. "We got to get going. Trying to make the playoffs in itself is enough motivation."
Northeastern was able to play above its ability level to even hang with UConn for as long as it did. They came out with the notion that they must play all sixty minutes of the game; an idea Linstad constantly preaches to her players.
"Our girls played well," said Northeastern head coach Laura Schuler. "They were able to capitalize on their chances, and we didn't capitalize on ours."
The game the following day went much smoother for the Huskies, as motivation was not an issue at all during the game. UConn was able to easily take care of Northeastern, 2-0 in Boston.
UConn had both faces of the team on display on Saturday, as two periods of lackluster hockey were followed by a third in which the Huskies seemingly flipped switch and easily registered a win. After going into the third tied with a Northeastern squad which, on paper, was easily overmatched by the Huskies, UConn outscored Northeastern 3-0 in the third to bring home the win.
"It's what they needed to do," said head coach Heather Linstad. "Each player needed to look each other in the eyes and realize what they needed to do."
One crucial factor that led to the third period dominance was the ability of UConn to play as a team, working the puck around quickly and effectively, as they out-shot Northeastern 19-7.
"We haven't done that in awhile," said Captain Jaclyn Hawkins. "It was nice to get good shots off and their goalie was a little shaky and gave up some rebounds."
Northeastern controlled the puck in UConn's end for the majority of the first period, getting shots off while keeping its goalie away from the action.
"They wanted to beat us and they came out hard," Hawkins said. "We had trouble coming out in the first five to 10 minutes; which has been trouble for us lately."
Even when UConn did gain possession of the puck and push it into its opponent's end, the results were minimal, as few clean shots were taken in the first two periods, and play was sloppy. Crisp passes were fumbled and open shots were ripped wide.
"It was a lack of focus," Linstad said. "We need to play our game and focus. Sometimes we work harder in practice than we do in the games."
Going into the third, the light on top of UConn's collective head may have been turned on, as a 'we must beat this team' realization floated around the locker room.
"We're sitting in fourth in Hockey East," Hawkins said. "We got to get going. Trying to make the playoffs in itself is enough motivation."
Northeastern was able to play above its ability level to even hang with UConn for as long as it did. They came out with the notion that they must play all sixty minutes of the game; an idea Linstad constantly preaches to her players.
"Our girls played well," said Northeastern head coach Laura Schuler. "They were able to capitalize on their chances, and we didn't capitalize on ours."
The game the following day went much smoother for the Huskies, as motivation was not an issue at all during the game. UConn was able to easily take care of Northeastern, 2-0 in Boston.
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