University of Connecticut Athletics
No. 8/7 Connecticut to Take on No. 7/8 Northeastern in Hockey East Quarterfinal
2/26/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Ice Hockey
Feb. 26, 2010
Game Notes 
| B2 Coverage of Hockey East Tournament
STORRS, Conn. - For the fourth-consecutive season the No. 8/7 University of Connecticut women's ice hockey team earned a berth in the Hockey East Tournament and is set to face No. 7/8 Northeastern in a quarterfinal match up on Saturday at 4 p.m. The Huskies head to Matthews Arena where their regular season ended less than a week ago in a 2-0 loss.
In a three-game regular season series that saw a mere four goals scored between the two teams, it will undoubtedly be another defensive battle for Connecticut on Saturday. The Huskies have outshot the other Huskies in every previous meeting this year and were stonewalled in back-to-back games in the final weekend of the regular season. Junior Leah Sulmya, now eighth in goals-against average (1.47) and second in save percentage (.955) in the NCAA, turned aside each Connecticut shot.
It is UConn's Alexandra Garcia (Pointe-Claire, Que.) who leads the Hockey East with a conference goals-against average (GAA) of 1.42. Garcia is third in overall GAA behind both Northeastern netminders, Florence Schelling (1.38 GAA) and Sulyma (1.47). The sophomore starter in 30 games this season boasts a 1.60 overall GAA. She leads all of the Hockey East with six shutouts on the year with four against conference opponents, including last weekend's shutout in the 0-0 tie with the other Huskies.
Northeastern (16-8-6, 9-6-6-4) finished in a three-way tie for second to earn the No. 4 seed in the Hockey East Tournament. It is the first time in six years that the other Huskies will host a playoff game and the second-consecutive playoff appearance for the team. Neither Northeastern or Connecticut surpassed the quarterfinals in 2009 after the tournament expanded to six teams.
The top two Hockey East defenses take to the ice for the third-straight game with Northeastern leading in overall team defense 1.47, edging Connecticut's 1.68 team GAA. The Huskies have the edge in conference contests, allowing 1.57 goals per game while the other Huskies have a 1.62 Hockey East team GAA.
Facing the conference's top-ranked penalty killing unit for the past two games stalled a successful UConn power-play, holding the Huskies scoreless in each contest a week ago. The Huskies power play (17.0) was more successful in the regular season than the other Huskies (13.4). Over a 10-game span during the Huskies' 11-game unbeaten streak, UConn scored at least one power-play goal in each game. Connecticut went 7-0-0 against Hockey East teams during that span with senior Michelle Binning (Oshawa, Ont.), sophomore Monique Weber (Rogers, Minn.) and junior Jennifer Chaisson (Cumberland, Ont.) leading the Huskies power-play scoring efforts.
UConn is 15-2-2 when scoring at least one goal on the power play and have scored 14 power-play goals on the road this year. Seven of Binning's team-best 18 goals have been on the power play, scoring three on the road. Binning, along with Weber, lead the team in overall scoring each with 27 points. Weber has scored five of her 14 goals on the power-play.
Chaisson and senior Cristin Allen (Pickering, Ont.) have each contributed 23 points to UConn's Hockey East Tournament appearance. Both lead the team in scoring in conference contests with Chaisson scoring 17 points and Allen 16 points en route to a 10-5-6-1 Hockey East record.
Puck-drop is 4 p.m. at Matthews Arena with free admission to students with a Connecticut ID. Those unable to attend can watch the game live on the B2 Network by following this link. Individual games will be sold for $8 while the entire Women's Hockey East Tournament may be purchased for $20. Fans have the opportunity to own a copy of the game by downloading the event from B2onDemand (www.b2tv.com) for $19.95.
