BOSTON, Mass. - The UConn women's hockey team secured their second straight Hockey East regular season title on Saturday afternoon, as the Huskies defeated the 12th ranked Boston University, 3-1. UConn finishes the regular season at 19-6-2 in Hockey East, putting the Huskies one point ahead of Boston University (58 points).
Senior goaltender Tia Chan was phenomenal in between the pipes, making 33 saves, picking up her 13thwin of the season.
UConn opened the scoring as senior defender Ava Rinker scored her second goal of the season for the Huskies. After serving a two-minute minor penalty, Rinker came flying out of the penalty box, finding the back of the net just 18 seconds after exiting the box.
UConn went into the first intermission with a 1-0 lead. Shots favored the Terriers 25-12 in the first period.
Boston University came out strong in the second period, forcing Chan to make 12 saves in the period. The Terriers found an equalizer late in the second period off the stick of Luisa Welcke, knotting the game at 1-1.
The game remained tied for the remainder of the second period. Shots favored the Terriers, 23-16 in the second period.
Rinker once again came up big for the Huskies, scoring the game winning goal six minutes into the third period, putting UConn in front, 2-1. This is Rinker's third game winning goal of her career, and her first career multi-goal game.
Boston University continued to pressure the Huskies, but UConn's defense held strong, holding the Terriers to only one goal for the second straight game.
Senior forward Jada Habisch sealed the win for the Huskies with an empty netter late in the third period, the third empty net goal of her career. Habisch has now found the back of the net for the eighth time in her last eight games, giving her a team high 14 goals this season.
Up Next
With today's win, UConn has clinched the one-seed and home ice in the upcoming Hockey East Tournament. UConn will await their quarterfinal opponent after the opening round games on Wednesday, February 26.
