Sarah Cuthbert and Kristina Lavoie scored first-period goals 61 seconds apart to lead No. 10 New Hampshire to a 2-1 Hockey East victory against Connecticut at Freitas Ice Forum in the season opener for both teams. The Wildcats are now 29-3-2 in season openers, including 8-0-1 in the tenure of head coach Brian McCloskey.
Cuthbert, with the assistance of Brittany Skudder and Julie Allen gave the Wildcats a 1-0 lead with an even-strength goal at 6:57.
Lavoie, the team’s top returning goal scorer from last season, extended the lead to 2-0 at 7:58.
UConn pulled within 2-1 at 2:53 of the second period on Jocelyn Slattery’s tally, which was set up by Jody Sydor and Jennifer Chaisson.
The Huskies recorded a 9-8 edge in shots in the middle stanza. The teams combined for just seven shots in the third period with UNH generating a 4-3 advantage for a 23-16 margin overall.
UConn pulled goaltender Alexandra Garcia (21 saves) with 2:05 remaining in the game, but the Wildcats limited the Huskies to just one shot on goal the rest of the way.
It marked the 52nd career victory for Herman, who is now tied for fourth on the program’s career wins leaderboard with Cathy Narsiff and Dina Solimini.
New Hampshire continues its season-opening stretch of five consecutive road games Oct. 8 (7 p.m.) at Syracuse University. The Wildcats’ home opener is Oct. 22 (7 p.m.) against Clarkson University.
