The UConn men’s hockey team headed west to face off against Colorado College in a two-game weekend series to kick off their regular season.
The Huskies started their first game of the season off strong on Friday night, scoring a goal just 52 seconds into the first period, thanks to junior forward Joey Muldowney. The quick goal was assisted by junior forward Jake Richard and left winger freshman Carlin Dezainde.
UConn goaltender senior Tyler Muszelik held the fort down for the Huskies against Colorado’s many shots on goal during the first, but the Huskies was faced with a challenge when Richard was sent to the box for a hooking penalty with just over two minutes left in the first. Sophomore forward Owen Beckner took full advantage and capitalized on the power play, successfully scoring a goal to tie the score entering the second period.
The second period started off with Colorado College taking an early lead with back-to-back goals within the first five minutes. Freshman forward Brayden Schuurman scored his first goal of the season with help from forwards junior Riley Stuart and freshman Brandon Lisowsky. Less than three minutes later, Colorado added to their lead with a goal from sophomore defenseman Philippe Blais-Savoie to leave the Huskies trailing by two.
Texas native senior Tabor Heaslip cut Colorado’s lead down by one after scoring midway through the second period. Despite the Huskies having a power play opportunity later in the period, they failed to tie up the score, sending them into the third period needing to up their goal scoring.
However, the third did not go in the Huskies’ favor as their limited shots on goals caused them to have limited offensive ice time. Within the last few minutes of the game, UConn pulled their goaltender, and Colorado was able to score an empty-net goal, securing a 4-2 win.
The next day, UConn and Colorado faced off again with the Huskies looking for a comeback win.
UConn had a tough challenge during the first few minutes of the first period as Colorado College was given a power play opportunity. Colorado attacked the ice and stayed heavily in UConn’s zone despite the Huskies’ defensive attempts to clear the puck out of their zone. Goaltender Muszelik made impressive saves during the two minutes, denying Colorado a goal.
Shortly after, Colorado was the first to get on the scoreboard with a goal from junior forward Bret Link.
The Huskies responded shortly after towards the end of the first period, when a delayed penalty caused them to pull Muszelik and add an extra skater on the ice. The enhanced pressure resulted in senior forward Ryan Tattle’s equalizing goal to send the game tied entering the second.
UConn carried this momentum into the second period, scoring a goal within just one minute of the period. Sophomore forward Ethan Gardula fought for the puck along the boards and successfully gained control, passing it to teammate sophomore Mike Murtagh who then slid it to senior defenseman Thomas Messineo that shot it right into the net giving the Huskies a 2-1 lead.
The Huskies dominated on a power play opportunity increasing their lead to 3-1 thanks to freshman Alexandre Blais. Shortly after, Muldowney increased UConn’s lead even more, netting the fourth goal of the game assisted by Tattle and Richard. Later in the second period, Colorado College had a 5-on-3 power play advantage, but the combination between the Huskies penalty kill and Muszelik’s saves, they kept Colorado from getting back on the scoreboard.
UConn entered the third up 4-1, but did not stop there. The team solidified their win on a power play goal scored by sophomore forward Kaden Shahan to end the game with a final score of 5-1.
The Huskies held off against Colorado’s multiple shots on goals throughout the third, giving fans a preview of the defensive plays they can look for during the rest of their season.
UConn will find themselves in another two-game weekend series against Ohio State, but this time UConn will have home ice advantage. The Huskies face off against the Buckeyes on Friday, Oct. 17 at Toscano Family Ice Forum, with a puck drop set for 7 p.m. They will then head to Hartford on Saturday for an afternoon game set for 4 p.m.