Following a two-game homestand with Harvard and Merrimack, the UConn men’s hockey team is back in action with a Hockey East series against Providence.
“I think it’s going to be a big league weekend for us – it’s always a highly contested, physical battle whenever we play Providence,” said head coach Mike Cavanaugh. “Over the years, they’ve been really entertaining games.”
The Ice Bus enters this weekend with a 4-3-1 overall record and 2-1-0 in Hockey East play. Last Friday, Oct. 31, the team tied Harvard 1-1 with a shootout victory and took the 5-1 win over Merrimack on Saturday.
Junior Jake Richard leads the leaderboards for the Huskies with seven points on two goals and five assists. Sophomore Mike Murtuagh is next in line with seven points on three goals and four assists. Over the first eight games of the season, Joey Muldowey has five goals and continues to be an offensive threat for the Huskies. Generating offense has been a strong suit for the Huskies thus far this season.
“He’s got an elite stick,” said Cavanaugh on Richard. “He wins a lot of stick battles. He’s got great skill and his hockey IQ might be the best on the team. He sees plays before they happen.”
In goal for the Huskies is senior Tyler Muszelik. “Moose” has started seven of eight games for UConn, posting a 4-2-1 record with a 2.11 goals against average and a .929 save percentage.
“He works so hard,” said Cavanaugh on Muszelik. “I think Alex Weslund [coach] does an incredible job with our goaltenders and Tyler has really taken to him and his coaches. He’s playing solid hockey for us.”
One of the known strengths of the Ice Bus this season is its tenured players, as the team returned the majority of its roster this season while adding a handful of freshmen. In this week’s press conference, Coach Cavanaugh explained that the returning players “know what the expectations are” and they lead by example, allowing the younger guys to jump right in and follow the ship that’s the Ice Bus. A late focus for the Ice Bus has been maintaining a balanced pace of play on the ice.
“It’s certainly a point of emphasis for us that we want to play fast – we want to play at a fast pace and a part of that is our defensemen not holding onto pucks,” he said.
Providence enters this matchup with a 3-3-1 overall record and 1-1-0 in conference play. The Friars are coming off splitting a series with UMass Lowell and look to get back in the win column against the Huskies following a loss on Saturday, Nov. 1. In the Hockey East conference, UConn is currently tied at No. 2 and Providence is tied at No. 7.
The last time the Huskies and Friars matched up was in the Hockey East Quarterfinals at Toscano Family Ice Forum, where UConn prevailed and advanced in the tournament by a score of 3-1. Over the last 10 meetings between the two teams, Providence possesses the 4-3-3 advantage in the series.
UConn will open up the series against Providence on Friday, Nov. 7. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. at Toscano Family Ice Forum in Storrs. The Huskies will then close the series on the road on Saturday, Nov. 8, in Providence. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. Both games are available to stream on ESPN+.