STORRS, Conn. (February 20, 2011) - Sami Evelyn (Nepean, Ont.) recorded her fifth goal of the season in the middle of the first period and Alexandra Garcia (Pointe-Claire, Que.) posted a career-high 43 saves to lead the University of Connecticut women's ice hockey team to a 1-1 tie with Northeastern this afternoon in the Freitas Ice Forum. With the tie, UConn will now face Northeastern in the quarterfinals of the Hockey East tournament, as NU earned the fifth seed following the outcome of today's contest.
Prior to this afternoon's game the Huskies honored the senior trio of Brittany Murphy, Jennifer Chaisson and Jody Sydor as today's contest marked the final regular season home game for the 2011 senior class.
Evelyn posted the first goal of the game at the 11:35 mark of the first period when she took control of the puck at the defensive end and skated through the Northeastern defense, earning a one-on-one shot with the NU goalie. Evelyn's shot beat NU's Florence Schelling at the bottom of the right post to give UConn the 1-0 lead.
Connecticut held the lead until the middle of the second period as Garcia recorded 13 of her saves during the first 20 minutes of action. NU's Lori Antflick tied the game at the 10:37 mark of the second period when she scored off of a blocked shot by her teammate that was rebounded by Siena Falino, tying the game at 1-1.
Kelly Horan (Methuen, Mass.) had a chance to give the Huskies a 2-1 lead at the start of the third period when she had a breakaway shot that hit off the pipe. Horan was awarded a penalty shot though, as an NU player was called for hooking on her breakaway opportunity. Horan was unable to convert the penalty shot, as Schelling made a fantastic save to keep the score knotted at 1-1.
UConn, who held Northeastern scoreless on five power play opportunities, was also unable to take advantage of the extra skater, including at the end of the third period when they had a man advantage for the final two minutes of the contest. Connecticut has now held its opponent scoreless on power play opportunities during 10 out of the last 11 games.
Garcia recorded 40 or more saves for the third time this season, as she notched a career-high 43 stops. She also posted at least 40 saves at Minnesota Duluth and at Boston College earlier this year, recording 41 during each contest.
The Huskies will be back in action next Saturday (Feb. 26) when they host Northeastern in the quarterfinals of the Hockey East tournament. The contest will begin at 1:00 p.m. in the Freitas Ice Forum. Check back to www.UConnHuskies.com throughout the week for more information regarding the Hockey East Tournament.