UConn's offense falls silent in regional final loss to Penn State

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This season, UConn featured the most prolific offense in program history. The Huskies netted 117 goals — their most-ever, the second time they’ve surpassed 100 and 37 more than last year. Kyla Josifovic became the first 40-point scorer under head coach Chris MacKenzie while Claire Murdoch tied a program record with 27 assists. Eight players finished with at least 20 points while five tallied double-digit goals.

But in the regional final against Penn State on Saturday, that offense fell silent in a 3-0 loss. UConn didn’t have trouble generating volume with 36 shots — 29 of which came over the final two periods — it just couldn’t finish. The Huskies didn’t get any help from their power play either, which went 0-2.

The Nittany Lions struck quickly, scoring their first just 1:40 into the contest. Nicole Hall fired a shot from the top of the circles that Matilde Fantin deflected in front to beat UConn goalie Tia Chan. That would prove to be all the hosts needed.

Much like the first round against Princeton, the Huskies started slow. Penn State put up seven of the first nine shots and held a 15-7 edge through 20 minutes.

In the middle stanza, UConn evened out the shots with 12 compared to the Nittany Lions’ 14, but struggled to get control. The Huskies killed off a long 5-on-3 penalty then called on Chan to come up with two big saves.

UConn had a golden opportunity to tie it with its first power play of the night just 3:19 into the third period but couldn’t capitalize. The Huskies only managed a single attempt, which was blocked before it reached the net.

After UConn killed a penalty of its own midway through the frame, it made a push. The Huskies threw four straight shots on net but all were turned away.

Then disaster struck. With 6:30 remaining, Chan skated out between the circles to play the puck. She tried to send it up the ice but whiffed on the pass and handed it straight to Penn State’s Tessa Janecke. The Olympic gold medalist sent it into the open net to give the Nittany Lions a 2-0 lead.

That proved to be the dagger. UConn couldn’t capitalize on its second power play — a 6-on-4 advantage after it pulled the goalie for the extra attacker — and Penn State finished it off with an empty-netter in the final seconds to advance to the Frozen Four.

The Huskies’ season ends with a program-record 28 wins, their first Nutmeg Classic crown since 2009, a second Hockey East Tournament title and fourth conference championship overall, as well as their inaugural NCAA Tournament victory.

Chan’s legendary career also comes to a close and six other seniors will depart as well. Brooke Campbell opened Toscano Family Ice Forum with the first goal in the building, Megan Woodworth scored the overtime winner to lift UConn to the 2024 Hockey East championship — and with it, the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance — while Josifovic etched her name in the history books with the golden goal in the 2026 Hockey East championship. Emma Eryou tallied the Huskies’ first NCAA Tournament score as well.

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