Women's Hockey Ties UConn 1-1 in Overtime Wo

For Laura Veharanta '12, a forward on the Women's Hockey Team who had promptly set her own high bar for the better part of her rookie campaign, the cure for the occasional bout of Deadened Stick Syndrome is now obvious. All it requires is putting the puck on her blade and planting Connecticut goaltender Alexandra Garcia in her line of vision. That was how Veharanta snapped a six-game scoreless skid last February in the Hockey East quarterfinals, and last weekend the exact same recipe got her goal number one for this season after a flustering nine-game wait. "It's been on my mind for a while, obviously, because I haven't been producing as much as I was last year," she conceded. "But it felt really good to get a goal back and get one for the team." Veharanta's goal, scored with 7:24 gone in the second period on Sunday, also set up a potentially unfavorable déjà vu scenario. After all, in the Friars' previous visit to Freitas Ice Forum on Feb. 1, she had granted them a 1-0 lead only to see that advantage slip en route to a 2-1 overtime loss. As it happened this time, though, Veharanta's cathartic breakthrough would personify the entire team's course of progress. Although Brittany Murphy drew the Huskies a 1-1 knot later in the period, the deadlock held up through the remainder of regulation and overtime, after which the likes of Ashley Cottrell '12, Veharanta, and Jess Cohen '13 all converted in the shootout to give PC its first win in five tries. Nine days prior, in the midst of an acrid 0-3-1 stretch that culminated in Saturday's 3-1 home loss to Boston University, Cohen had scored the lone goal in a purely exhibition shootout after a 2-2 draw against Yale. However, given that it was a nonconference engagement, there was no extra point to be had that night. On Sunday, Cohen was the decider again, and her subsequent celebration was a tad more valid this time. "I actually didn't know it wasn't going to count in the Yale game," she recalled. "I was just focused on winning." "But it was really cool [on Sunday] because it counts for Hockey East points, and that's what we're going for." The attitude Cohen conveyed is precisely the precious ingredient the Friars gratefully rediscovered over the weekend, even in Saturday's losing effort against the No. 10-ranked BU Terriers. In both games, head coach Bob Deraney detected a constant commitment that had practically absconded from his pupils for the two preceding weeks. "We played 120 minutes this weekend," Deraney said. "It's very encouraging." Granted, there is much still to be replenished. PC continues to live out on a short bench with no fewer than two injury-induced voids on the line chart per night. They have tried to live out on a mere six regulation goals in their last five games. And at 3-4-3 overall, they are still a few ice chips below the .500 mark. On the other hand, they have gone back to using their short supply of personnel and power wisely, and the results are steadily smiling back at them for it. On Saturday, they thoroughly out-disciplined the Terriers, taking a mere three trips to the penalty box while drawing six minors on Boston. The following day, PC drew merely two citations on themselves and three on the Huskies. More than anything, though, Deraney eagerly underlined the latter phases of Sunday's contest, when the shorthanded Friars, outshot 22-12 through the second intermission, turned sharply to control the third period shooting gallery, 11-6. "Watching that, you wouldn't have thought that [Connecticut] outnumbered us," he said. And by the time they had hustled out of the Forum with the full two-point package, the Friars were a comfortable 3-1-1 within Hockey East boundaries, tying them for second place. Immediately ahead of them-between now and Thanksgiving-will be five consecutive chances to, if possible, reintegrate some of their long-injured skaters, reignite their offense, and bump up their posture in the league standings. "Definitely two good steps in the right direction," said goaltender Genevieve Lacasse '12. "We're not completely there yet, but it was one of our best weekends this year." The team returns to action this Friday, Nov. 6, when they travel to Maine to take on the No. 8 University of Maine Blackbears.