The UConn men’s hockey team was back in action this weekend with two Hockey East battles against Boston University. BU came into the weekend ranked fourth in the country, meanwhile the Huskies came in at 11. The first game was played at Agganis Arena in Boston, then both teams headed down to Storrs for a game at the Toscano Family Ice Forum.
The Terriers came out swinging on offense Friday night. Cole Hutson took the puck into the UConn side of the ice where he crossed it to Aiden Celebrini. Celebrini then centered the puck to Owen McLaughlin, who caught goalie Owen Muszelik off guard and netted the first goal of the night. It was the first goal as a Terrier for McLaughlin after spending his first three collegiate seasons with North Dakota.
Minutes later, Ryder Ritchie found Cole Eiserman who sent a slap shot right past Muszelik and in for an early 2-0 BU lead. UConn was then called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and things looked to be getting out of hand for the Huskies.
The Ice Bus killed the power play while only allowing two shots and then they flipped the switch. Kaden Shahan gained possession of the puck around center ice and pushed towards the net. He crossed the puck to a wide-open Carter Dezainde who scored his first career collegiate goal. A huge goal to cut the BU lead in half.
Connecticut then went on two power plays in the latter half of period one. On a power play from a Ritchie cross check, Ethan Whitcomb sent a pass between Ryan Tattle and Jake Richard. Tattle backed away and Richard fired a shot past BU’s Mikhail Yegorov to tie the game. The Terriers challenged the play, wanting a cross check on Whitcomb, however the call was upheld and the teams went in the locker room knotted up at two.
Boston University then got momentum back in their favor as Jack Harvey worked from behind the net and wrapped a pass to McLaughlin who scored his second goal of the night early in the second period.
The Ice Bus responded again, this time by star forward Joey Muldowney. His first shot was a backhander saved by Yegorov, but after the Terriers could not clear the puck, Whitcomb found the junior who netted his fourth goal of the season to tie it once again.
The Terriers then got the advantage on the scoreboard and the family bragging rights as Jack Murtagh took a pass from Malte Vass and finished on the other end while older brother Michael watched from the UConn sidelines.
A game-changing sequence occurred halfway through the second period when the Huskies turned it over and Murtaugh went on a breakaway for the Terriers. Muszelik made the save and the Ice Bus took it the other way with Shahan finding Alexander Blais who found Deziande for his second goal of the game.
The tie broke on a UConn power play. Kai Janviriya fired a shot from the blue line with a few seconds left on the power play. The puck was deflected by Ethan Gardula and past Yegorov for the first UConn lead of the night. The Terriers were 17 for 19 on power play kills entering the night.
The second period concluded with both teams having a player in the penalty box, and the Huskies took a lead into the locker room against the fourth ranked team in the country.
After some big saves from both goaltenders to start the third period, the Ice Bus took control. A costly BU turnover led to the puck being deep in Terrier territory. The referees signaled a delayed penalty and UConn immediately took advantage. Thomas Messineo fired a shot from center point and in for a 6-4 Huskies lead. That was the end of the night for Yegorov who was replaced by backup Max Lacroix.
About halfway through the third, Mike Murtaugh evened the score with his brother as he found Tabor Heaslip for the seventh UConn goal of the game. To put the nail in the coffin, Gardula knocked in an empty net goal and the Ice Bus won by a score of 8-4.
Despite the shootout, the UConn defense stood on its head for the last period and a half. The Huskies thwarted two BU power plays in the third period, including some incredible saves by Muszelik.
The game on Saturday was a different story for UConn. After an uneventful first 19 minutes of the game, the Huskies were shorthanded thanks to a hooking penalty on Richard. With seconds left in the period, Murtagh came flying off the bench for BU a ripped a shot at Muszelik. The New Jersey native could not cleanly save the puck and Harvey was there for the tip in and the Terriers led after one.
The Ice Bus got an early chance in the second period because of a Mick Frechette roughing penalty. Unfortunately, the power play unit could not muster any offense and BU ended up with more shots on goal shorthanded than the Huskies during the 5 on 4.
The Terriers flipped the switch and had the one-man advantage due to Jake Percival illegally checking a player from behind. BU immediately took advantage as Hutson found Kamil Bednarik, who found McLaughlin on the left side of Husky territory. The first year Terrier skated forward and fired in a slapshot.
Things were looking bleak for the Huskies until a big goal shifted the momentum. Muldowney passed it to Viking Gustafsson Nyberg who passed it to Gardula who then found an open Muldowney right in front of the net for a UConn goal.
The Huskies were flying around the ice after the goal, but the excitement in Storrs would be short lived. Just 1:28 after the Muldowney goal, BU won a faceoff in UConn territory and McLaughlin set up Harvey with a one-timer to put BU ahead by two scores once again.
The score was 3-1 after two periods and it stayed that way throughout the final 20 minutes of play. The Ice Bus moves to 3-3 on the season and their home record drops to 1-2.
Despite the Saturday evening loss, the team looked good in both games and their 8-goal game against a top four team in the country is nothing to scoff at.
The Huskies will be back in Toscano next weekend for a tilt against Harvard on Friday night and Merrimack on Saturday night.