Spring Break
Huskies take on Hockey East rivals
Andrew Callahan
Issue date: 10/30/09 Section: Sports
The UConn women's hockey team (4-3-1) is going on the road, stopping in Durham, New Hampshire, where the Huskies will battle the No. 4 UNH Wildcats this Saturday before returning home on Sunday to skate with the Providence Friars. These in-conference opponents employ vastly different styles of play, but each will provide a tough test to the Huskies this upcoming weekend.
Upon entering Durham on Saturday, the Huskies will revisit the site of their first defeat of the season, a 3-1 loss to UNH almost a month ago. After an early 1-0 lead in the contest, courtesy of junior forward Brittany Murphy, a second Husky score was called back by the referees, slowing the team's momentum. The Wildcats were then able to take a permanent lead a few minutes after tying it up with power play goal. Part of the difficulty in playing at New Hampshire is their larger ice surface which is something experience and greater team speed should help in dealing with.
"Well I hope that having played there before as a team will help," said head coach Heather Linstad. "The players understand the concepts and philosophy we've tried to put into place in terms of moving and sharing the puck. I also think we've improved and gotten faster but during the first period of Union last weekend, we didn't move the puck and looked like we were just standing there. Of course we started playing faster afterwards and went on to win but we've got to play our game."
Since defeating the Huskies on Oct. 3rd, UNH has stuck to their winning ways, outside of a few ties and a 6-2 loss to No. 3 Clarkson. A large part of this winning formula has been their success on powerplay opportunities from which more than half of the Wildcats scoring has come from. Limiting their opponents' chances of victory with a man advantage will be key for the Huskies to take down their explosive Hockey East rival.
Providence, known for their overly physical play and attempts to play mind games with their opponents, is certainly a sizeable group. With the tallest line-up in the Hockey East, the Friars come to the Mark E. Freitas Forum riding a roller coaster of a season, filled with big wins and huge losses.
"They try to dictate play with their size and try to get us flustered by banging and slamming," said Linstad. "What we have to do is win one-on-one battles and come away with the puck. They lost 5-1 to Brown last weekend but they always get up for a Hockey East rival team, that's their M.O. We just have to play a good 60 minutes."
Perhaps the top-offensive threats for the Friars are a trio of forwards who top the team in penalties. Jessica Cohen, Laura Veharanta and Alyse Ruff will all look to get back in their scoring groove after being held without a goal in their past two contests. Keeping that streak alive will be up to defensemen and alternate captains Cristin Allen and Jody Sydor, who have thus far served their roles well both on and off the ice, and captains Amy Hollstein and Michelle Binning, according to Linstad.
Upon entering Durham on Saturday, the Huskies will revisit the site of their first defeat of the season, a 3-1 loss to UNH almost a month ago. After an early 1-0 lead in the contest, courtesy of junior forward Brittany Murphy, a second Husky score was called back by the referees, slowing the team's momentum. The Wildcats were then able to take a permanent lead a few minutes after tying it up with power play goal. Part of the difficulty in playing at New Hampshire is their larger ice surface which is something experience and greater team speed should help in dealing with.
"Well I hope that having played there before as a team will help," said head coach Heather Linstad. "The players understand the concepts and philosophy we've tried to put into place in terms of moving and sharing the puck. I also think we've improved and gotten faster but during the first period of Union last weekend, we didn't move the puck and looked like we were just standing there. Of course we started playing faster afterwards and went on to win but we've got to play our game."
Since defeating the Huskies on Oct. 3rd, UNH has stuck to their winning ways, outside of a few ties and a 6-2 loss to No. 3 Clarkson. A large part of this winning formula has been their success on powerplay opportunities from which more than half of the Wildcats scoring has come from. Limiting their opponents' chances of victory with a man advantage will be key for the Huskies to take down their explosive Hockey East rival.
Providence, known for their overly physical play and attempts to play mind games with their opponents, is certainly a sizeable group. With the tallest line-up in the Hockey East, the Friars come to the Mark E. Freitas Forum riding a roller coaster of a season, filled with big wins and huge losses.
"They try to dictate play with their size and try to get us flustered by banging and slamming," said Linstad. "What we have to do is win one-on-one battles and come away with the puck. They lost 5-1 to Brown last weekend but they always get up for a Hockey East rival team, that's their M.O. We just have to play a good 60 minutes."
Perhaps the top-offensive threats for the Friars are a trio of forwards who top the team in penalties. Jessica Cohen, Laura Veharanta and Alyse Ruff will all look to get back in their scoring groove after being held without a goal in their past two contests. Keeping that streak alive will be up to defensemen and alternate captains Cristin Allen and Jody Sydor, who have thus far served their roles well both on and off the ice, and captains Amy Hollstein and Michelle Binning, according to Linstad.
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