Coming off its first clean sweep of the season over Northeastern, the UConn men’s hockey team is set to get right back into Hockey East action against New Hampshire this weekend.
The two-game home and home series will begin with the Huskies traveling to Durham, N.H., to open the series on Friday, Nov. 21, then coming back down to Storrs to wrap up the series at Toscano Family Ice Forum on Saturday, Nov. 22.
“It’s always a tough game when you play up at New Hampshire – it’s a tough building to play in,” said head coach Mike Cavanaugh. “There are no easy weekends in this league. New Hampshire’s going to pose another really tough opponent for us come Friday night.”
UConn will come into this series with a 6-4-2 overall record and 4-2-1 in conference action following two wins last weekend. Against Northeastern, the Huskies earned the 4-2 win in Storrs and came from behind to seal the 4-3 overtime victory on Saturday night in Boston. A known strength of the Ice Bus is their veteran experience, as they have seven seniors on their roster. These cultured players are no strangers to close Hockey East games and have played key roles in multiple tight games the Huskies have battled this season.
“They’re very experienced and they don’t panic when we get behind in a game,” said Cavanaugh. “And it’s been evident this year. We’ve been able to come back and tie a game or even win some games coming from behind.”
UConn had goals from each of their lines in their comeback win over Northeastern. Sophomores Ethan Gardula and Kaden Shahan, senior Jake Percival and junior Joey Muldowney all found the net in Boston. A part of the Huskies’ offense flow comes from their defensemen, who add components to offense as well. Cavanaugh has prided himself on having developed all of his lines to be effective and have each player on the ice make an impact on the game regardless of their position.
“We want to have an attack that brings all five people into it,” he said. “One of the things I think that is really unique about our team is, you know, our leading scorer has eight points, but we have 15 players within four points of that. So that’s a lot of balanced scoring and that’s the type of team I want to coach.”
As for New Hampshire, the team is entering this series with a 5-6 overall record and is tied for No. 9 in the Hockey East rankings. Notable players for the Wildcats are freshman Ryan Philbrick and seniors Cy LeClerc and Morgan Winters.
This week, Philbrick earned his first career Hockey East weekly honor, being named the Army ROTC Hockey East Defender of the Week. The defenseman scored the game-winning goal over RPI last Friday, while also adding an assist for two points. For the week, Philbrick led the Wildcats with five blocks; three against RPI and two at Union. This season, the freshman defenseman is tied for second on the team with four goals and is tied for third with six points. Philbrick leads the team and is fifth in Hockey East with 22 blocks, while also leading the team with two game-winning goals.
In all-time matchups, the Huskies have the advantage with a 17-10-1 record over the Wildcats. The last time the two teams battled was last January, where UConn defeated New Hampshire at Toscano Family Ice Forum to go 2-0 in their season series.
UConn will open up the series against New Hampshire this Friday, Nov. 21. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. at the Whittemore Center at Key Auto Group Complex in Durham, N.H. The Huskies will then close the series back at home on Saturday, Nov. 22, at Toscano Family Ice Forum in Storrs. Puck drop is at 6:30 p.m. Both games are available to stream on ESPN+.