The Wildcats played in the Hockey East semifinals in North Andover, Massachusetts and were eliminated from the playoffs after being defeated 4-0 by the University of Connecticut Huskies. It was the first time the Wildcats had made an appearance in the semifinals since 2010.
The Huskies jumped out to a quick lead just over four minutes into the game off an individual coast-to-coast effort by junior defensewoman Taylor Wabick. She started the play behind her own net, skated through the neutral zone into the Wildcats’ zone, walked into the faceoff dot then cut to the middle, ripping a shot past sophomore goalie Ava Boutilier.
With 8:40 to play in the first period the Huskies increased their lead to two. Sophomore defensewoman Camryn Wong made a nice keep in at the blue line, tipping the puck into the slot which was picked up by senior forward Leona Sim, she sent a pass to the boards to sophomore forward Viki Harkness who stepped closer to the net and labeled a shot to the top left corner.
The Huskies further increased their lead 3:57 into the second period off a great individual effort by junior forward Morgan Wabick. She created a turnover at her own blue line then skated up the wing into the Wildcats’ zone. She cut to the slot and sliced through the Wildcat defense, slipping the puck through Boutilier’s five-hole.
Wabick was not done there, however. The Wildcats pulled the goalie for the extra attacker really early with five minutes still remaining. Wabick picked up a loose puck and fired it down from her own one into the empty net, sealing the game at 4-0. It was her second goal of the game, both unassisted.
Before that goal, the Huskies put on some heavy pressure and Boutilier had to come up with a few big-time stops to keep the Wildcats in the game.
Although the Wildcats were outshot 20-26, they did give Boutilier some help, blocking 17 shots. Sophomore defensewomen Talli Warren and Emily Rickwood led the way with five and three blocked shots respectively. The Wildcats also did have the last 14 shot attempts, but only seven of them found their way on net.
The Huskies went on to the finals where they were defeated by the Northeastern Huskies by a whopping score of 9-1. The Wildcats finished the 2019-2020 season with an overall record of 18-15-4 and a Hockey East record of 12-12-3.
