The University of Connecticut men’s ice hockey team claimed second place in the annual CT Ice Tournament, defeating Sacred Heart 6-2 in the opening round before yielding in a tight 4-3 affair against No. 7 Quinnipiac in the Championship round.
Taking place at the XL Center in Hartford, the CT Ice Forum invites UConn, SHU, Quinnipiac and Yale to participate in a head-to-head bracket to crown a victor for the state. The tournament is single elimination and is formatted so that two of the four teams face each other in the opening round, with the winners advancing to the Championship round.
“Having an event like this, these four teams can certainly be a marquee sporting event in the state of Connecticut,” Sacred Heart coach C.J. Marottolo told CTInsider.
The Huskies were tasked with the Pioneers for their opening-round matchup on Friday. The Ice Bus got on the board first via an electric Michigan-style goal from sophomore Samu Salminn two minutes into the contest. Sacred Heart netted an equalizer one minute later off Kevin Lombardi’s stick to knot the score at one-all. Connecticut captain Hudson Schandor regained the lead for his team in the ninth minute after he crashed the SHU goal, netting the score as he was fell to the ice. The play cracked the SportsCenter Top 10 list, coming in at No. 4 that night. Schandor was not done, scoring his second goal of the night three minutes later to give the Ice Bus a convincing 3-1 lead heading into the period break.
The Pioneers made the contest a one-score affair following a Liam Izyk score two minutes into the second period. However, the Huskies were swiftly responded with another goal three minutes later, this time coming from senior Nick Capone. The Ice Bus netted their fifth goal in the ninth minute of the second when freshman Jake Richard swept all the way around the net to ring home the score. UConn goalkeeper Arsenii Sergeev had 14 saves in the period to keep SHU from closing the gap and help the Huskies to a 5-2 advantage heading into the third.
SHU made a late effort by pulling their goalie in favor of an extra skater, but sophomore Ryan Tattle capitalized on the empty net by sinking Conn’s sixth goal of the match. Sergeev maintained a steady defensive presence as he tallied 15 more saves in the third period, keeping the Pioneers off the board for the entirety of the frame. Sergeev finished the game with 34 total saves. The final buzzer sounded to cement the 6-2 victory and advance the team to face Quinnipiac in the tourney’s Championship round.
The Huskies and the Bobcats met on Saturday to determine a tournament victor. Connecticut was the first to get on the board after a score from graduate student Harrison Rees six minutes following puck drop. UConn goalie Ethan Haider led a strong defensive effort with nine saves in the first period to keep the highly-powered Bobcats off of the board. At the period’s conclusion, the Huskies were holding a 1-0 lead.
Quinnipiac scoreed in the seventh minute of the second period to tie the game at one. On the play, Haider misplayed the puck behind the line, allowing Mason Marcellus to knock home the goal. Not 30 seconds later, after a penalty by the Huskies put them on the penalty kill, junior Chase Bradley recovered the puck and led a fast break. The play ended in him converting a second score and regaining the lead for UConn. In the ninth minute of the second, sophomore Tabor Heaslip intercepted the puck and found a crashing Matthew Wood, who converted the tip-in from close range and extended Connecticut’s lead to 3-1.
The Bobcats showed why they are such a highly-coveted program by storming right back to re-tie the game in the second period. In the 13th minute, Victor Czerneckianair netted a score to cut the Huskies’ lead down to one. Less than a minute later, Travis Treloar also scored to bring the score to three-all. The second period ended with the score still tied, but the Bobcats continued their momentum with an early score in the third period, this one coming from Zach Tupker. Quinnipiac goalie Vinny Duplessis recorded 11 saves in the third to blank the Huskies and secure the hard-fought 4-3 win. With the win, Quinnipiac was crowned the champion of the 2024 CT Ice Tournament.
Bradley (one goal, three assists) and Schandor (two goals) were named to the CT Ice All-Tournament team following their performance over the weekend.
The Ice Bus will return to conference play when they take on Providence for two games this weekend. Game one is set for Friday at 7 p.m. at the Toscano Family Ice Forum in Storrs, Connecticut. The two teams will return on Saturday at 7 p.m. from a match at the Schneider Arena in Providence, Rhode Island. Fans can watch both games live on ESPN+.