SPORTS

Hartford Set to Host Variety of High-Level Sporting Events This Winter

William Friedman ’28

Staff Writer

As the weather in the northeast begins to shift from moderate fall temperatures to full-on cold, the sports landscape shifts accordingly. Colleges are beginning to transition from fall to winter sports, and the end of professional baseball has coincided with professional hockey and basketball seasons now well underway. Connecticut has no men’s sports teams in America’s major leagues, which has been true since the NHL’s Hartford Whalers left the XL Center in 1997. But this does not mean Trinity students won’t have access to high-level sports this winter. With a 16,000 person capacity stadium and a partnership with the best college basketball program in America, Hartford will play home to must-see sports all throughout the winter. 

The University of Connecticut plays a share of their basketball home games on their campus in Storrs, but Trinity students and Hartford residents are lucky to be able to enjoy many of their home games in the city. This applies to both the men and women, so there will be extensive opportunities to watch the Huskies, who have become a can’t-miss basketball program in recent years. The men are led by coach Dan Hurley, who returns to Connecticut despite efforts from NBA teams such as the Los Angeles Lakers to recruit him. He will attempt to guide UConn towards their third consecutive NCAA title, a feat that has not happened in the lifetime of any Trinity students today. They have stayed on track towards that goal thus far, ranked 3rd in the nation and remaining undefeated. They lost a number of the names that drew fans towards their games from last year to the NBA draft, but the talent has been replaced by recruits and bench players who look to take a leap forward. Liam McNeely will play what may be his only year of college basketball before he enters the NBA, while returning champions Alex Karaban and Solomon Ball look to build on last year’s production. Basketball fans around Hartford will be able to watch the Huskies take on University of Maryland Eastern Shore this November, but the biggest events will take place against Big East opponents later in the winter. The XL center will host Xavier, Butler, DePaul, Villanova and Georgetown throughout conference play. 

On the women’s side, all eyes are on Paige Beuckers as she looks to bring the NCAAW title back to Connecticut in her final season before she progresses to the WNBA. She is not alone, as top recruit Sarah Strong and returning sophomore Ashlynn Shade are expected to be productive as well, and starter Azzi Fudd will contribute when she returns from injury. The women have already put on a show in Hartford once thus far, defeating Boston University on Nov. 7 by 54 points in front of a large crowd of both UConn students and Hartford residents. Even for those who are not fans of the Huskies specifically, the environment in the secondary home arena is electric. Students and fans remained energetic throughout the game despite the blowout against Boston, which made the game an enjoyable opportunity for all who love watching basketball. More opportunities to watch the Huskies will come this winter against Georgetown, Southern California, Providence, Xavier, Butler and Creighton. 

UConn will also provide a few opportunities to watch college hockey games here in Hartford, but for hockey fans here at Trinity, the Hartford Wolfpack are in the midst of their quest towards success in the American Hockey League. With tickets available for as low as $20, any student who enjoys hockey should make the 10 minute journey over to the arena to watch any of the 30 remaining Wolfpack home games. The Wolfpack are firmly in the race for the AHL playoffs, having won exactly half of their games so far, so the stakes in each Wolfpack game are high. Wolfpack games typically draw around 5000 fans, so the stadium tends to have available tickets for each game, but there is still a present group of Wolfpack supporters. 

Other Hartford events outside Trinity include the Harlem Globetrotters coming to the XL Center on Dec. 27 and a few teams wrapping up the division one college football season in neighboring cities. Throughout the entire winter there will be a variety of sports and levels of competition to come through Hartford close to campus. The hockey and basketball competitions in Hartford will last all the way until March, and by then the Hartford Yard Goats baseball team will return shortly after. All things considered, despite the lack of a major team right now, students will have ample opportunity to watch exciting competition in Hartford this winter.

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