STORRS, Conn. - Senior forward Kyla Josifovic scored at 15:23 of the second overtime to lift UConn to its second Hockey East Tournament title with a 2-1 win against Northeastern on Saturday at Toscano Family Ice Forum.
The first period was scoreless, with sophomore goaltender Lisa Jönsson making 12 saves for Northeastern and UConn graduate netminder Tia Chan also stopping 12 shots.
UConn opened the scoring at 2:22 of the second period when sophomore forward Sadie Hotles followed up a bid from junior forward Livvy Dewar. It was the 8th goal of the season for Hotles.
Northeastern answered at 7:03 with a power-play goal from junior defenseman Rylie Jones. The snipe from above the right faceoff circle was her third goal of the season and was assisted by freshman forward Stryker Zablocki and freshman defenseman Ella Lloyd. Northeastern and UConn went into the second intermission tied at one.
The third period saw UConn pressing offensively for a potential game-winner, producing multiple attempts that were saved by Northeastern's Jönsson. The UConn defense was equally active, blocking numerous Northeastern shots. The Huskies finished with a season high 39 blocks in the game, led by seniors Emma Eryou (10), and Meghane Duchesne-Chalifoux (8). Despite both teams generating chances at a game-winner, neither team could find a way past the two netminders, maintaining a scoreless period, sending the game to sudden-death overtime knotted at 1-1.
In the first 20-minute overtime period, both UConn and Northeastern fought fiercely but still remained scoreless, sending the game to a second overtime. Chan played a key role in extending the game, making 17 saves in the first overtime period, compared to Jönsson's 8.
The second overtime period was tightly contested, with both teams generating numerous scoring opportunities. Chan made several crucial saves, stopping 16 shots, while Jönsson did the same for Northeastern.
UConn would pick up the game-winner after junior forward Ashley Allard picked off a clearing effort at center ice to set up a 3-on-2 rush. Allard was able to set up sophomore forward Claire Murdoch for a shot from the slot. Jönsson made the initial save but Josifovic was able to bury the rebound to give UConn its second Hockey East title in the least three seasons.
Chan was named the Most Valuable Player of the Hockey East Tournament after making a career-high 57 saves in the championship game (33 of which came in the two overtime periods) and stopping 104 of 107 shots across the tournament. Jönsson also set a career-high with 53 saves.
Chan, Murdoch and Josifovic were slected to the All-Tournament team along with Julia Stephen (Jr., D, UConn), Jules Constantinople (Sr., D, NU) and Morgan Jackson (So., F, NU).
The game was played in front of a Hockey East title game record crowd of 2,168.
Both teams will await the NCAA tournament selection announcement, on Sunday, March 8 at 11:30 a.m. on ESPNU.
