Huskies coach Heather Linstad is not bothered that the women’s ice hockey team seems to be flying under the radar of most of the competition. Last year, the Huskies were picked fifth in the Hockey East pre-season poll, only to rise to the Top 10 in the national rankings, spending 11 weeks in the national poll and ultimately finishing at No. 9, with a record of 21-9-7. This year, the team was a pre-season sixth place team in Hockey East.
“The interesting part is so many polls and predictions are based on name recognition,” says Linstad, who last year became one of only three Division I women’s ice hockey coaches to reach 300 or more wins. “We’ve had so many good years, but we’ve never been higher than fourth in the poll. Yet every year we’re in the hunt. I’ve always based it on seeing what we can do in October.”
The Huskies began their season on Oct. 2. Their early schedule match-ups include games against pre-season No. 1 ranked Minnesota Duluth, No. 7 Clarkson, No. 8 Boston College, and highly regarded New Hampshire, St. Lawrence, and Syracuse; they also will play No. 4 Boston University later in the season.
“We’ve got a loaded schedule, starting off with New Hampshire, and going out to Duluth to play against the defending national champions,” Linstad says. “I am looking for a strong team effort, with us improving every game. Then when the spring comes around, we’re ready for post-season. We were very successful last year. The start of our season really helped us to figure things out. We stayed on a roll. Our goal as a program is that once you’ve been nationally ranked, you’ve got to stay there.”
With the graduation of top-scorer Michelle Binning, the Huskies will look to their experienced forwards to increase their goal production.
“(Junior) Monique Weber is one of the best forwards out there, certainly in the league, maybe in the country. She’s big and strong,” Linstad says. “Our returning players will put numbers on the board. Jennifer Chaisson and Brittany Murphy (seniors), and Kelly Horan (a sophomore) had very productive seasons last year, and I foresee them continuing to produce offensively. All four will lead by example and help the new freshmen adjust quickly to Husky Hockey.”
The new offensive help will come from Jenny Saxon, Stephanie Raithby, Alexandra Vakos, Taylor Gross, Jocelyn Slattery, and Jenna Welch.
“We’ve added size and finesse to our line-up, each of them adds offensive depth,” Linstad says. “Some are crafty, with good hands, while others will provide speed and strength.”
The Huskies’ offense builds off the team’s strong defense, however. The Huskies blue line nucleus of captain Jody Sydor, Rebecca Hewett, Sami Evelyn, Maude Blain, and Casey Knajdek, along with newcomer Kiana Nauheim, will create quick transition to offense. The returning defenders, along with junior goaltender Alexandra Garcia, held last season’s opponents to a Hockey East conference low g.a.a of 1.49. Adding to the goaltending depth chart are sophomore Claire Francis and freshman Nicole Paniccia.
Linstad says last year the Huskies were most successful working the puck around the opponent’s net in the offensive zone. This year, she would like to be a better transition team, moving more quickly from defense to offense in the neutral zone in order to produce more rushes toward the net and finish off with a score.
One of the highlights of the season will be the Feb. 13 game against Providence, an outdoor doubleheader with the men’s ice hockey team at Rentschler Field in East Hartford that is part of the “Whalers Hockey Fest,” a 10-day series of outdoor games between professional, college, prep school, and high school teams.
“I remember playing outdoors and coaching outdoors at a high school,” Linstad says. “It’s a different stride. You really have to dig into the ice. We’re hoping to get at least one practice in before it. Even if they make it hard, if it rains the night before, it’s going to be different.”
Having built the UConn women’s ice hockey program from its inception as a Division I program, Linstad says that reflecting on her 302 career wins reminds her of the rewards of coaching.
“Wins are based on the type of student-athlete you bring in and how they respond and do what you ask them to do. It’s really about the student-athletes,” she says. “It’s a nice accomplishment, but my goal is to win the national championship. If I can get that one special win, it would mean more than the 300 wins. But 300 did make me reflect upon all of the wonderful years I have had coaching, and about the great student-athletes I have had the privilege of working with.”
For the women’s ice hockey schedule, go to the Athletics website.
