NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. - The UConn women's hockey team punched its ticket to the Hockey East championship game with a resounding 4-0 shutout victory over the New Hampshire Wildcats Saturday afternoon at Lawler Rink.
UConn advances to take on the Huskies from Northeastern in the final, with puck drop slated for 2 pm. The game will be broadcast live on NESN+ and streamed online at CBS All-Access.
The Huskies were led offensively by junior Morgan Wabick, who netted two goals on her only two shot attempts of the game. Junior Taylor Wabick and sophomore Viki Harkness also chipped in goals for UConn while defensively, senior netminder Morgan Fisher made 20 saves between the pipes - including 10 in the final frame.
Taylor Wabick got the Huskies rolling less than five minutes into the game on her eighth goal of the season. The junior jumped into the play, took the puck up center ice and put a shot past UNH goalie Ava Boutillier to give UConn a 1-0 lead at 4:11. Harkness doubled the lead at 12:20, taking a pass from Leona Sim and slotting one short side.
Morgan Wabick gave UConn a three-goal advantage at the 3:57 mark of the second. Wabick made a nice move at the blue line, splitting defenders as she danced inside before going five hole on Boutillier to put the Huskies ahead 3-0.
UNH was much more aggressive in the final frame as the team looked to cut into the deficit. The Wildcats peppered Fisher with 10 shots but the Vernon, Conn., swatted each one away to keep the visitors out of the net. Wabick put the finishing touches on the win with her second tally - an empty netter - at 14:50.