The UConn men’s hockey team (4-3-1) snagged a tie and a win over the weekend against the Harvard Crimson (0-0-1) and the Merrimack Warriors (3-3).
On Friday, Connecticut hosted Harvard, which ended in a 1-1 draw, with UConn winning the shootout.
With a little less than nine minutes remaining in the first period, forward Tristan Fraser wedged the puck past a defender to captain center Tabor Heaslip. This allowed Heaslip to break free and slide it around the Crimson’s goaltender Ben Charette.
Until the third period, not much occurred other than the two programs trading shots that were ultimately saved.
Within a minute and a half into the third period, freshman Richard Gallant scored his first career netter for the Crimson. Left forward Heikki Ruohonen launched the puck across the ice to defenseman Matthew Morden, who knocked it to Gallant on his left. The first-year player launched it past UConn’s two defenders and deadlocked the contest at one apiece.
In overtime, the Huskies notched six shots while Harvard fired five of their own, but neither squad could convert them into points. In the shootout, Huston Karpman buried the puck in the bottom right bin, followed by goaltender Tyler Muszelik blocking Harvard’s shot.
On Saturday, the Ice Bus welcomed Merrimack and handed them a 5-1 loss.
For the Huskies, the two stars of the night were Muszelik and right-wing Mike Murtagh.
In the net, Muszelik saved a total of 20 shots on goal and let just one pass by him. As for Murtagh, the sophomore registered two goals and a blocked shot.
“I thought it was our best performance of the year so far,” said head coach Mike Cavanaugh when asked about the win over Merrimack. “The first period kind of went back and forth a little bit, but from the second period on, I thought we really got multiple shot shifts. That’s something we’ve been emphasizing.”
With less than a minute into the matchup, UConn set the tempo quickly as left-wing Jake Richards sniped in his 19th goal of the season. The netter was assisted by left defender Viking Gustafsson Nyberg and right defender Kai Janviriya.
Merrimack responded with the equalizer, as the Huskies put themselves at a disadvantage. With just under 11 minutes left in the first period, left defender Brendan Dunphy committed a minor interference call. This gave the Warriors a two-minute power play.
Within 30 seconds, the program entered Connecticut territory. Forward Caden Cranston connected with defenseman Seamus Powell, who attempted a slap shot that Muszelik denied. The puck deflected to the right side, allowing Cranston to finish it and tie the game.
Minutes later, Merrimack tried taking a 2-1 lead but could not get past Muszelik. The team shot off four attempts in a row, which were all misfired into the glass.
In the second period, there may not have been a score change, but UConn dominated on both sides of the ice. By the end of the period, Connecticut let up just three shots on goal, while shooting 14 of their own tries.
With slightly over 18 and a half minutes remaining in the second period, Merrimack’s forward captain Mark Hillier botched a shot in front of the goalie. This was their best opportunity to get their first lead of the night.
Concluding the second period, Richard nearly snuck one in for the Huskies but was blocked in front of the net. This caused a pile-up that caused the puck to get away from UConn.
To kick off the final period of the contest, Heaslip passed to Dunphy, who tried knocking it in from a distance. However, the Warriors’ keeper, Max Lundgren, stopped it from crossing the goal line. The puck landed on the right side of the net, allowing Murtagh to slap it in.
With a little under two minutes left in the battle, the Warriors pulled Lundgren out of the goal. This immediately backfired on them as the Huskies drained three netters to seal a 5-1 victory.
Next up, the Ice Bus is set to host the Providence Friars for a two-game series on Friday, Nov. 7 and Saturday, Nov. 8. The puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. for both meetings.