In their Hockey East opener, the UConn men’s hockey team fell to No. 3 Boston University on Friday night by a final score of 4-2. The Huskies held on and only trailed by one when they entered the final period, but after two goals were scored by the Terriers in the third period, UConn could not find an answer. Graduate student Hudson Schandor and junior Jake Percival were the two goal scorers for the Huskies in Boston.
Thomas Heaney stood strong in the goal for his first career start for the Huskies. He made nine saves in the first period. The Terriers looked to open up the scoring midway through the first period, but Heaney denied the breakaway shot. The Huskies opened up the scoring late in the first period after Schanor blocked a shot in the defensive zone, then collected the puck in the center of the ice. Then on the breakaway, Shandor beat the goaltender five hole four to put the Huskies on the board 1-0.
The second period, the Terriers took control as they scored two unanswered goals to take the lead. After winning the faceoff in the offensive zone, Boston University’s Cole Eiserman took the puck hard to the net and was able to score on freshman netminder Tommy Heaney to get the equalizer goal. The Terriers scored once again later in the second period after another faceoff win in the offensive zone. At the end of the second period, the Huskies trailed the Terriers 2-1.
In the third period, a five-minute major and a game misconduct penalty on John Spetz weighed down the Huskies as Boston University was able to take a 3-1 lead midway through the final frame. The Huskies fought back as junior Tabor Heaslip found junior Jake Percival for the shorthanded goal to cut the Terriers lead to one. With six minutes remaining, a slashing penalty on UConn had them playing 5-on-3. The Huskies killed off the major penalty and the two-minute minor with allowing just one goal to keep them in the game still. The Terriers were able to extend the lead over the Huskies after a tripping penalty on Boston University and an embellishment penalty on UConn late in the third period. The Huskies were unable to overcome the two-goal deficit and fell to No. 3 Boston College 4-2.
After this game, the Huskies’ record falls to 3-2 overall and 0-1 in conference play. This Friday night matchup was the only game of the weekend for the Huskies, which gives them time to rest and recover for next weekend’s series with another Hockey East opponent in UMass. The series will open on Friday, Oct. 25, up in Amherst, Massachusetts with a 7:00 p.m. puck drop. They will then travel back home to Connecticut to finish the series at Toscano Family Ice Forum on Saturday, Oct. 26 at 7:00 p.m.