The Huskies face off against the fourth ranked Eagles after a 5-4 loss in overtime the night prior. Unfortunetly UConn was shut out, losing 3-0 to Boston College on Saturday, Nov. 18 at the Toscano Family Ice Forum. Photo by Shelagh Laverty/The Daily Campus
The UConn men’s hockey team returned from their midseason break for a New Year’s Eve matchup against Harvard at Toscano Family Ice Forum which would wrap up their 2023 slate.
The Huskies took down Harvard 4-2. Freshman Jake Richard, sophomore Jake Black and Jake Percival all scored goals which made for a “Jake-Trick.” Senior goaltender Ethan Haider made 18 saves in the victory.
The Huskies wasted no time after the puck drop, Richard tipped a pass from sophomore Tom Messineo into the net just 40 seconds into the game.
“He’s had a big impact,” said Head Coach Mike Cavanaugh on Richard’s impact as a freshman on the Ice Bus. “He’s a really dynamic player. He’s so smart. He has great offensive feel but he’s also a better defensive player I think than he gets credit for. He gets his stick on pucks and he’s very rarely out of position. Extremely coachable and I’m excited to watch him develop here.”
That’s the only time UConn would score for this period, but the defense kept Harvard scoreless, holding them to 18-5 shots on goal.
Havard rounded some rhythm in the second period. Joe Miller scored on the power play two minutes into the second half to knot the game at one. UConn went back on the attack after the game was tied. Messineo put the puck on net once again and Black was there in front to knock the puck in for the goal. Later in the period, Andrew Lucas stole the puck from a Harvard skater in the Huskies attacking zone and located Percival for the tip in goal as he was front and center. Heading into the period break, UConn led Harvard 3-1.
The third period began with a turnover from the Huskies, Zakary Karpa of Harvard was left alone on the breakaway and launched a shot past goaltender Ethan Haider. The Huskies lead was cut to one for the second time in the game. UConn’s defense stayed tight with only having a one-goal lead, they made crucial players that kept Harvard from tying the game throughout the period. Senior captain Hudson Schandor and junior Chase Bradley were two key of the defensive players who were dominant on the ice in the final frame, they combined for eight blocked shots. The Huskies kept pressuring Harvard as time was starting to run down in the third period. Harvard eventually pulled their netminder for an extra attacker with a little over one minute left in the game. During that time, Bradley was able to collect the puck and skated it into the Huskies zone. He fired the puck for the empty net goal, extending UConn’s lead to 4-2 lead which also secured the New Year’s Eve showdown victory.
“I thought we came out, played two fantastic periods right out of the gate,” said Cavanaugh.
The Huskies will be back in action on January 5 as they will travel to Amherst Massachusetts for a Hockey East matchup against UMass. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. and will be available to stream on NESN.