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STORRS, Conn. – Trailing Connecticut, 3-2, late in the third period, the Northeastern women's hockey team scored two unanswered goals during the final six minutes of the game to knock off the Huskies, 4-3.
 
Denisa Krizova scored the game-winning goal with 49.2 seconds to play in regulation, with assists credited to McKenna Brand and Kendall Coyne. Krizova (one goal, two assists) and Coyne (two goals, one assist) skated away with a pair of three-point performances as the Huskies clinched a top-four seed in the Hockey East tournament, locking up home ice during the league quarterfinal round.
 
Northeastern (10-15-4, 9-8-1 WHEA) currently sits in a tie for third place with Maine in the Hockey East standings, but has one more league game to play (three) than the Black Bears (two) during the final week of the season.
 
Christina Zalewski earned her first collegiate point when she lifted a puck just above the shoulder of UConn goaltender Elaine Chuli. Zalewski's goal was the only shot the freshman forward took all game, but it came at a valuable time, bringing the Huskies to within one goal of Connecticut.
 
Despite surrendering two first-period goals to UConn, NU goaltender Chloe Desjardins kept the Huskies off the scoreboard during the entire second period, and went on to save 28 of Connecticut's 31 shots. By game's end, Northeastern had registered 28 shots on goal, including 10 during the final stanza, while Chuli managed to make 24 saves in net for the Huskies.
 
Connecticut (7-17-7, 3-11-4 WHEA) played aggressive immediately after the opening faceoff and established control of the puck deep in the Northeastern zone repeatedly during the first few minutes. Zalewski was whistled for tripping at 2:09 in the period, awarding UConn an early power-play opportunity. The Huskies were able to capitalize with the extra man as Kayla Campero netted her seventh goal of the season 51 seconds into the power-play. Four minutes later, Connecticut broke up an NU attack on the edge of its offensive quadrant, and a second-chance effort by Kelly Harris put the Huskies up, 2-0, at 7:06 in the period.
 
Trailing by two, Northeastern began to step up its offensive intensity midway through the opening period. A few hard checks by Hayley Masters helped swing momentum back in favor of the Huskies, and NU managed to fire several shots at Chuli throughout the rest of the period. Krizova ripped five shots on net in the first, while Coyne attempted three of her own. After a physical scramble for the puck in front of Chuli, Zalewski raised a shot up, over the UConn goaltender, cutting the Connecticut lead to 2-1.
 
Ainsley MacmIllan had a great look at a tying goal one minute into the second period, but Chuli managd to stick her left pad directly in its path, preserving Connecticut's lead at the time. A hooking penalty by Herrington at 3:05 created an extra-man opportunity for UConn, but Coyne intercepted a pass and raced up the ice to score her NCAA-leading fourth short-handed goal of the year at 3:40.
 
With the game tied at 2-2, both teams increased their physical level of play. Colleen Murphy nearly went head first into the wall battling for a puck in the Huskies' defensive zone, while Masters had her stick intertwined with a Connecticut defender before she too crashed hard into the boards.
 
Northeastern again had a series of good looks during a mid-period power-play, but could not quite send the puck through. Both teams tallied nine shots during the second, and the Huskies headed into the intermission with the thought of a comeback on their minds.
 
Connecticut, however, thwarted the Huskies' vision as Sarah MacDonnell put UConn ahead, 3-2, at 7:14 in the third period. Lauren Kelly had a clear look at a shooting lane with roughly seven minutes left to play, but fired the puck right at Chuli, who made an easy save. Shortly after, the Huskies found new life, as Coyne orchestrated a give-and-go with Krizova, and flipped a quick shot past Chuli to tie the game at 3-3.
 
A penalty by Caitlin Hewes for checking at 18:25 proved to be a costly mistake for Connecticut with the clock winding down as it gave Northeastern a power-play during the closing minutes of the third. With control of the puck in their offensive zone, Brand and Coyne sent a pass over to Krizova, who cut in front of the net to score the eventual game-winner with just 49.2 seconds to play.
 
Northeastern will close out its weekend series with Connecticut on Sunday, Feb. 15, at 3 p.m. With a win, the Huskies will move into sole possession of third place in Hockey East.