HOCKEY EAST HEADLINES

#1 UConn (21-11-2/19-6-2 HE) claimed the top seed and regular season crown for the second consecutive year after sweeping Boston University for a necessary six points.

The Opening Round of the league’s 23rd postseason begins Wednesday, February 26 with two games to determine the quarterfinal pairings on Saturday, March 1. #10 Merrimack (8-22-4/5-18-4 HE) travels to #7 New Hampshire (15-16-3/11-14-2 HE) while #9 Holy Cross (10-19-4/6-17-4 HE) will travel to #8 Vermont (8-24-2/7-18-2 HE) for their first clash in the Hockey East Tournament.

Two quarterfinal match ups are already known. #3 Boston College (20-12-2/16-9-2 HE) has earned a top-four seed in the tournament each year since 2010, the longest such streak in league history and will play host to

#6 Maine (11-20-3/10-14-3 HE). It will be the fourth all-time postseason meeting between the programs, all coming in quarterfinal series, with the Eagles owning a 3-1 mark. Boston College took three wins over the Black Bears during the regular season by a combined score of 13-2.

#5 Northeastern (20-13-1/15-11-1 HE) will hit the road to #4 Providence (20-11-3/16-9-2 HE), the Huskies’ first quarterfinal away from home since 2011. Northeastern carries an all-time postseason mark of 5-1 against the Friars, and the match up renews a recent rivalry between the two squads who have clashed twice in the championship game since 2021. Providence swept Northeastern, 3-0-0, in the regular season and the Friars were only Hockey East team able to top the Huskies three times. Providence is one of the hottest teams in the nation, going 13-3-0 in 2025.

Tickets to the 2025 Hockey East Women’s Championship game can be purchased online at UConnHuskies.evenue.net/events/WHE. The game is set for Saturday, March 8 at Toscano Family Ice Forum and will be broad- cast live nationally on ESPNEWS.

HOCKEY EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Ava Rinker - UConn

Ava Rinker (Sr., D; Elverson, Pa.) scored two goals and notched an assist for a three-point weekend to push UConn to their second straight regular season title. In Friday’s win over No. 12 Boston University, Rinker assisted UConn’s opening goal and also blocked two shots. On Saturday, Rinker netted the opening and game-winning goals for the Huskies, propelling UConn to their second straight Hockey East regular season title. Rinker recorded four shots and three blocked shots in the win.

PRO AMBITIONS ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Sadie Hotles - UConn

Sadie Hotles (Fr., F; Markham, Ont.) potted two goals and added an assist to help push UConn past No. 12 Boston University twice and secure the regular season title. Hotles had her best performance in a UConn uniform on Friday as she scored the Huskies first two goals, including the game-winning strike, in her first career multi-goal game. Hotles once again came up clutch for the Huskies in Saturday’s win, assisting the game-winning goal.

HOCKEY EAST DEFENDER OF THE WEEK

Mattie Robitzer - Northeastern

Mattie Robitzer (So., G; Kennett Square, Pa.) started both games of a split weekend at Vermont and earned her first career victory on Saturday in just her second career start. Robitzer made 18 saves and allowed just one goal in her first NCAA win. Through over 90 minutes of action in two games against UVM, Robitzer made 28 saves and averaged .966 save percentage and 0.64 GAA.

STOP IT GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK

Noemi Martinez - New Hampshire

Noemi Martinez (So., G; Glenn Ridge, N.J.) matched the UNH program records for saves in a game (52) and a period (22) in the Wildcats’ 1-1 tie against No. 13 Boston College on Friday. She stopped two of three attempts in the shootout but UNH was edged 1-0 in three rounds. Martinez stopped every shot in the first (11) and second periods (15), then made 22 saves in the third period. She sent the game into a shootout with four saves in the five-minute extra session. Martinez helped to keep BC scoreless on three power plays.

HOCKEY EAST TOP PERFORMERS

Gaby Roy, BC (Gr., F; Marshfield, Mass.) Scored in the shootout to lift the Eagles over UNH on Saturday after a 1-1 tie. On Friday, Roy dished out for and assist on Friday’s game to secure a 2-0 victory.

Alanna Devlin, BC (Fr., F; Marshfield, Mass.) Had a goal on Friday to secure a 2-0 victory over UNH. In two games, Devlin won 14 faceoffs and had two blocked shots.

Molly Jordan, BC (So., D; Berlin, Conn.) Ended the weekend with one assist and tied for a team-high five blocks.

Grace Campbell, BC (Jr., G; Kensington, Md.) Posted a record of 1-0-1 against UNH, including a shutout on Friday in a 2-0 win. Campbell saved a total of 53 shots for a save percentage of .981 and a goals-allowed average of 0.48. Campbell recorded her fifth shutout of the season and second against UNH on Friday.

Luisa Welcke, BU (Jr., F; Heidelberg, Germany) Scored a goal that tied the game at the time against UConn on Saturday and blocked one shot.

Tessa Demain, BU (Fr., D; Wolfeboro, N.H.) Led BU in blocked shots Friday with three and tied for the lead in blocked shots on Saturday with two.

Julia Shaunessy, BU (Gr., D; Marshfield, Mass.) Blocked a shot in each game against UConn and recorded eight shots on net.

Callie Shanahan, BU (Sr., G; Commerce, Mich.) Made 14 saves Friday in relief and 18 saves Saturday in two games against UConn while allowing three goals.

Jada Habisch, UConn (Gr., F; Buffalo, Minn.) Helped the Huskies to their second straight Hockey East regular season title by sweeping Boston University. Habisch has scored eight goals in her last eight games. In Friday’s 4-1 win, Habisch scored the Huskies’ fourth goal and adding four shots. On Saturday, the Husky captain scored an empty-netter with two minutes left in the third period, sealing UConn’s win over BU and securing the regular season title.

Tia Chan, UConn (Sr., G; Hamilton, Ont.) Made 33 saves on Saturday at Boston University, only conceding once and backboning the Huskies to the regular season title.

Reghan Chadwick, HC (So., F; Port Hope, Ont.) Scored a goal and added an assist in a 0-1-1 weekend for Holy Cross. Her assist came on Charlotte Sonntag’s game-tying goal with seven seconds left in regulation to force the game into overtime on Saturday. She also took five shots and made two blocks on the weekend.

Kaitlin Sullivan, HC (Fr., D; Needham, Mass.) Had and assist and took five shots and made two blocks on the weekend in a 0-1-1 series at Maine.

Carmen Elliott, HC (Sr., D; Stephenville, N.L.) Earned a point with an assist to teammate Charlotte Sonntag’s game-tying goal with seven seconds left in regulation to force Saturday’s game at Maine into overtime. She also made five blocks on the weekend.

Abby Hornung, HC (Jr., G; Ashland, Maine) Started both games in a 0-1-1 series at Maine, making 50 saves. She also stopped both Maine shootout attempts to earn an extra point on Saturday.

Mikayla Boarder, Maine (So., F; Richland, Va.) Registered a three-point weekend (1g, 2a) in a 1-0-1 series with Holy Cross adding six shots on goal and three blocked while earning a plus-three rating.

Stephanie Jacob, Maine (Fr., F; Winnipeg, Man.) Scored two goals in a 1-0-1 weekend against Holy Cross, firing eight shots on net and going plus-three with three blocked shots. She currently leads all Maine rookies with three points.

Danielle Brunette, Maine (Jr., D; Chisago, Minn.) Had one goal and one assist in a series over Holy Cross, getting three shots to the net, blocking one shot, and earning a plus-three rating.

Kiia Lahtinen, Maine (Fr., G; Porvoo, Finland) Earned a .960 save percentage in a 4-1 win Friday over Holy Cross, saving 24 of the 25 shots she faced to earn her sixth win of the season.

Rachel Bjorgan, MC (Gr., F; Ennismore, Ont.) Scored two goals and added an assist in Merrimack’s 4-2 win over Providence on Friday.

Abby Poitras, MC (Fr., D; Whitby, Ont.) Dished out two helpers, including setting up the game-winning goal in Friday’s 4-2 win over Providence.

Margaux Favre, MC (Fr., G; Fribourg, Switzerland) Made 57 saves on 62 shots in a split weekend against Providence, including 36 in a 4-2 win.

Charlie Rauch, UNH (Fr., F; Ramsey, N.J.) Netted her first career goal on Friday in a 1-1 tie against Boston College.

Hannah Johnson, PC (Sr., F; Redfield, Maine) Scored two goals and added two assists over the weekend against Merrimack, her eighth and ninth multi-point games of the season.

Hope Walinski, PC (Sr., G; Lincoln, R.I.) Earned an 11-save shutout against Merrimack on Saturday, her fourth perfect game of the season.

Evelyne Blais-Savoie, UVM (Sr., F; San Jose, Calif.) Netted the game-winning goal over No. 14 Northeastern, helping Vermont secure home ice in the Opening Round of the Hockey East Tournament. She notched two shots on goal, three blocked shots, and went 25-42 from the face-off circle during the two game series (59.5%). Blais-Savoie’s game-winning goal was her sixth of the season, tied for a team high.

Oona Havana, UVM (Fr., F; Turku, Finland) Tallied an assist in both Friday and Saturday’s games against No. 14 Northeastern. Havana is on a three-game point streak and has recorded an assist in four of her last five games. She recorded five total shots on net over the two-game series.

Ashley Kokavec, UVM (So., D; Parkland, Fla.) Recorded two points on one goal and one assist, earning a point in each game of a split weekend with No. 14 Northeastern. She now has 15 points on the season, tied for sixth most amongst defenders in HE), recorded two shots on goal (81 on the season, third most amongst blue liners in HE), blocked six total shots over the series and helped Vermont kill all five Northeastern power-plays over the weekend.

Jane Gervais, UVM (Sr., G; Valcourt, Que.) Anchored UVM to a 3-2 victory over #14 Northeastern on Friday, clinching Vermont home ice in the Opening Round of the Hockey East Tournament. It was her third win this season over a top 15 nationally ranked team. She made 25 saves and posted a .926 save percentage, the 12th time this season posting 25 or more saves.