Similarly, the men’s hockey team, which finished the regular season against Boston University and played the same team to start the quarterfinals in the Hockey East tournament, the women had the same situation with the University of Connecticut.

In those two games against Connecticut on Feb. 19 and 20, Flint’s team lost 4-2 and tied 1-1. But less than a week later, his team seemed to have solved all their problems as they beat Connecticut 4-0 in a Hockey East Tournament quarterfinals game that really mattered.

A 4-2 win over top seed Boston University  sent the Huskies to the championship game. Although they didn’t get over that final hump last season, Flint thinks this year’s team can be even better.

Presumably, that would mean taking home the Hockey East Tournament trophy.

“My goal when I took the job in ’08 was to get better every year,” Flint said. “The loss [in the final] last year has made the team hungrier.”

The journey will begin when the women take on Ottawa in an exhibition game at Matthews Arena tomorrow night at 7 p.m.

This year’s team will look a little different as they have nine freshmen joining the roster. Flint was confident about their ability to jump in and be counted on.

“I expect all of them to step in and be a factor throughout the season,” Flint said. “Some freshman will be impact players right away and some will need to learn to play at a different pace and learn the system.”

One of those players coming in with high expectations is freshman forward Kendall Coyne. Coyne played on the 2011 U.S. national team and won a gold medal at the International Ice Hockey Federation Championships with the team in Zurich. Last season, she scored 55 goals for her team at the Berkshire School.

With their first non-exhibition game sitting two weeks away, Flint said he isn’t too worried about winning and losing, just that everyone gives their best.

“Our execution might not be great,” Flint said. “This weekend I’m looking for us to compete.”