University of Connecticut Athletics
2010-11 Women's Ice Hockey Blog - #4
11/30/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Ice Hockey
Nov. 30, 2010
Inspired by Dee
After our hard week of practice, as Chase said "really focusing on the little details," we were prepared for our two game series against University of New Hampshire. It was a huge weekend; we had a lot to prove. After a hard fought game, we finally beat them in their own arena. This was the first time in UCONN history to ever beat UNH on their huge ice surface. We took the long bus ride home thinking about the challenges we were about to face the next day. Proving to ourselves, we defeated UNH yet again by winning 2-1.
During the following week of practice we were a little nervous about our game against University of Vermont. We knew it would be difficult and that the Catamounts would put up a fight. Prior to the weekend we had a guest speaker, Mr. Donald Rowe. For those who do not know D Rowe, he is a very accomplished man in sports. He was the UCONN Men's Basketball coach from 1969- 1977, he built an athletic program at a New England prep school, was an assistant coach of the U.S. Olympic Men's Basketball Team, along with many other accomplishments. His teams made an NCAA appearance reaching the final 16, had two NIT appearances, and three ECAC tournament appearances with one championship. D Rowe gave us a very motivational speech which talked about always challenging ourselves, and the importance of teammates. He said a team is like your family, you have to believe in each individual player and believe in your coaching staff. He explained that we must trust everyone in making the best decisions for the team, and how important it is to have the passion of "love." Love of the game, love within the dressing room, and love the challenge to make yourself and your teammates better. We were all fired up and excited for the weekend to come. We arrived at Vermont, and came away with a 2-0 victory.
Previously during Thanksgiving break we had The Nutmeg Classic. Our first game was played against Yale, however falling just short and losing the game. We were all very disappointed in this game and our efforts. We learned how important our routines were, and that we cannot get distracted from our goals. The next day we played Scared Heart defeating them 11-0. During this game we stressed the importance of practicing our good habits. We ensured that we played with passion and made smart decisions.
We are now coming into a huge weekend, with two Hockey East games. It will be the first time we play Boston University and Providence College this year. We plan to capture four Hockey East points ultimately improving our rankings. In preparation, we will remember what D Rowe said, quoting Jimmy Valvano, "Don't Give up, Dare to Dream." We will continue to challenge ourselves and we will continue fighting our way up the rankings.
-Hewett #18
