Fresh off their overtime thriller in the Hockey East final, the UConn women’s hockey team woke up Sunday and got their NCAA Tournament assignment.
The Huskies will play Princeton in the regional at Penn State on Thursday at 7 p.m.
“We’re happy to come out on top, we’re happy to keep playing,” UConn coach Chris MacKenzie said. “Anyone you’re playing is going to be good, they’re going to be a champion or a highly ranked team. It’s just understanding what you’re about, play your game and enjoy it. It’s a fun experience, I’m so proud of this group for getting us there.”
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Quinnipiac, the ECAC champion, will play Franklin Pierce on Thursday night in the regional at Wisconsin. Yale, which lost the ECAC final, will play Minnesota-Duluth in the regional at Ohio State, as Connecticut gets three teams in the 11-team field. UConn, Quinnipiac and Yale were sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively, in the ratings index, but the NCAA looks to avoid conference rivals playing in the first round. So rather than face the 11th seed, automatic qualifier Franklin Pierce, UConn gets Princeton, ninth in NPI.
The Huskies defeated Princeton in back-to-back games in October, and has five wins in eight games against teams in the field of 11, including wins over Yale and Quinnipiac in the Nutmeg Classic, and the 2-1, overtime win over Northeastern in which goalie Tia Chan, the tournament MVP, made 56 saves, 33 in 25 minutes of sudden death OT to stake the Huskies. Senior Kyle Josifovic scored the winning goal with 4:37 left in the second overtime period.
Quinnpiac (28-8-3) beat Yale 5-1 at Lake Placid, N.Y., on Saturday night to secure its conference title. Kahlen Lamarche scored a school record 42 goals, with 19 assists in 39 games and, like Chan, is a finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award, given to the top player in the nation.
Yale (25-9) is led by Jordan Ray, who has 17 goals and 33 assists, and Carina DiAntonio, who has 26 goals and 22 assists. Molly Boyle is an all-ECAC first-teamer on defense.
All three Connecticut teams have goalies in the top 10 in the nation in save percentage, including Chan (.950), who is third, Quinnipiac’s Felicia Frank (.942, fifth) and Yale’s first-year player Samson Frey (.937, 10th).
Ohio State, Wisconsin, Penn State and Minnesota are the top four seeds, in that order, and host the quarterfinals. The Frozen Four will be played at Penn State.
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