UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The UConn women's hockey team opened the 2023-24 season with an upset 2-0 win over the no.11 ranked Penn State Nittany Lions. Junior goaltender Tia Chan posted 33 saves in the shutout while Riley Grimley and Kathryn Stockdale were the goal scorers for the Huskies.
The Huskies started the game strong pressuring the Penn State defense early. UConn's first chance of the game came early as junior Brianna Ware collected a turnover at the blue line and was left all alone however her back hand shot was saved but the Nittany lions netminder. UConn continued to pressure, however the Penn State defense stayed strong. Penn State threatened early but junior goaltender Tia Chan made back-to-back saves to keep the game scoreless.
Both defenses were tested throughout the first period, however in the end, the goaltenders shined as both teams' netminders made multiple saves to keep the game scoreless heading into the second period. Through one period, Tia Chan made seven saves, while Penn State goaltender Josie Bothun made six.
The second period mirrored the first as the Huskies came out pressuring from first puck drop. Penn Sate had a chance to break open the scoring but Tia Chan with some help from the post knocked the puck away for the save. UConn countered and Brianna Ware had her second chance for a goal, but Josie Bothun of the Nittany Lions made a diving save across the goal line to keep the game scoreless. Penn State dominated possession for the majority of the second period however Tia Chan once again stood strong, keeping the no.11 Nittany Lions off the scoreboard. Through two periods, UConn had 15 shots on goal to Penn States 17.
Heading into the third period, both teams were fighting for the first goal. The Huskies eventually found it as Riley Grimley stole the puck, broke through the Penn State defense, and fired a shot over the shoulder of the Penn State netminder. UConn didn't stop there as three minutes later, the Huskies won the faceoff in the Penn State zone, and following a shot by graduate student Camryn Wong, the puck found the stick of Kathryn Stockdale who tipped the puck in to give the Huskies the two-goal lead. The two-goal lead paired with stellar goaltending from Tia Chan proved to be enough as the Huskies went on to take game one of the series and upset the no.11 Penn State Nittany Lions.
The Huskies will wrap up the two-game series tomorrow Saturday September 30. Puck drop is scheduled for 2:00pm and can be streamed live on BigTen+.
