Coming off the CT Ice Championship win over Sacred Heart last weekend, the UConn men’s hockey team got back on track with their Hockey East schedule for a weekend series against No. 7 Providence. The weekend started in Providence, R.I. with a Friday night matchup, then the Huskies came back to Connecticut to face the Friars at the XL Center in Hartford on Saturday afternoon.
In the series opener, Providence jumped out to an early 1-0 lead after a Friar defenseman got the puck to freshman Logan Sawyer, who netted the first goal of the game. The Huskies responded by creating scoring opportunities. Freshman Kaden Shahan was left alone on a breakaway but was pulled down by a Friar defenseman; he was then awarded a penalty shot from the play. On the penalty shot, Shahan was denied by Providence Philip Svedback to keep the game 1-0. The Huskies entered the period break trailing by one after being unable to find the equalizer in the first frame.
After junior Tabor Heaslip was called for a cross-check, the Huskies were forced on the power play to enter the second period. UConn successfully killed off the power play and kept it a one-goal game with the Friars. The Huskies found a chance to score the equalizer goal as sophomore Jake Richard stole the puck at the blue line and was left alone for the breakaway, but his attempt just missed the net. Richard was able to find the equalizer on another attempt and gave the Huskies their first goal of the game in the second period. UConn continued to look to take the lead on two breakaways; however, both attempts by Shahan and Richard were stopped by Svedback. With three minutes left in the period, Providence was able to regain the lead as sophomore Graham Gamache beat Huskies goaltender Tyler Muszelik. Providence went into the period break leading the Huskies 2-1.
The Huskies went on the power play just 45 seconds into the start of the final period following a cross-check but were unable to score and find the equalizer after the pressure of the Friars’ defense. Graduate student Nick Carabin fired a prick from the point. It was then deflected into the net by junior Ryan Tattle, which made for the equalizer goal for the Huskies. In the last 10 minutes of the game, the Huskies remained in the fight after a Providence player was called for a penalty on sophomore Joey Muldowney. On the penalty kill, UConn scored a nation leading eight shorthanded goals. Tattle was able to chip the puck over netminder Svedback to give the Huskies their first lead of the game. However, Providence jumped right back and was able to knot the game at three in the third period. Gamache got the puck past Muszelik for his second goal of the game with nine minutes left in regulation. Neither UConn nor Providence was able to net the game winning goal, sending them into a five-minute overtime period.
In overtime, a penalty on Providence put the Huskies on a four-on-three power play with just three minutes left. However, UConn was unable to get the goal they needed to win with the man advantage. After the power play clock ran out, both teams had chances to win the game but the netminders and strong defense remained in control. The game was officially called a tie, but the Huskies came away with the extra point in the Hockey East Standings, after freshman Ethan Whitcomb scored the shootout winning goal in round nine.
UConn went right back at it with Providence the next afternoon in Hartford at the XL Center. The Huskies saw a crowd of 11,781 fans in attendance, shattering their previous program high record of 9,428 fans from last season.
Nonetheless, even with the high attendance, the Huskies had a slow start to the game in the first period, digging themselves into a 2-0 hole. The Friars started up their scoring midway through the period, as a loose puck was collected by sophomore Hudson Malinoski, who was able to launch it past freshman netminder Callum Tung. The Huskies attempted to respond right away but Muldowney was denied by goaltender Xachary Borgiel at the net. Late into the period, Providence was able to add to their lead after another loose puck was collected by the Friars and fired past Tung for their second goal of the game.
Providence continued their control of the game in the second period after they scored again just two minutes into the frame. But the Huskies gained some momentum and cut the Friars’ lead to just one. Freshman Ethan Gardula started the game for UConn after he found himself in front of the net on the power play and rebounded a shot into the net for the Huskies’ first goal of the game. Not long after, following another Providence penalty, the Huskies took advantage of the power play after Richard fired the second goal of the game past Borgiel. The crowd of the XL Center gained energy along with the Huskies as their offense found their spark. UConn required a third power play late into the second period but did not find the equalizer goal. The Huskies entered the second period break, trailing the Friars 3-2.
The Huskies took their momentum in the second period and carried it into the third as Muldowley found the equalizing goal after a pass from Richard for the one timer. The game was on the line in the third period as both teams were fighting to take the lead. The Huskies lost their momentum after a whistle on Gardula was upgraded from a minor to a major penalty and a game misconduct, putting Providence on the power play for five minutes. Throughout the five-minute major power play, Providence was able to score to regain the lead and never looked back. UConn continued to fight to tie the game, but were unable to net the equalizer. In the meantime, after the Huskies pulled the goaltender for the man advantage, Providence scored two more goals on the empty net to seal the 6-3 victory in Hartford.
“Overall, probably three things: I thought we didn’t start on time, we take an undisciplined penalty, and were not winning faceoffs, so you’re chasing the games quite a bit when you’re not winning faceoffs,” said Head Coach Mike Cavanaugh. “I know that all three are correctable and those are things that certainly will be a focal point this week in practice.”
After the weekend against Providence, UConn now holds a 14-9-3 overall record and 7-7-3 in Hockey East play. The Huskies will be back in action next weekend with two single-game conference matchups at home. On Friday night, they will host Massachusetts at Toscano Family Ice Forum followed by another home matchup but with a different opponent in UMass Lowell at the XL Center. Puck drop for Friday is set for 4 p.m. in Storrs, Conn. and Saturday’s puck drop is at 3:30 p.m. in Hartford. Both games for the Ice Bus will be available to stream on ESPN+.