The UConn Huskies traveled to Bentley Arena on Friday night and left as the top dogs, defeating the Northeastern Huskies 2-0.
Along with the season sweep for Connecticut, it is their fifth consecutive win against Northeastern dating back to last season.
The win moves UConn to 10-5-1 in Hockey East and 16-7-3 on the season as the NCAA tournament looms.
Northeastern dominated possession of the puck for the first few minutes, including a great look from Joe Connor, which goalie Tyler Muszelik barely got his blocker pad on.
After that shot attempt, UConn took over on offense. Mike Murtagh found Ethan Whitcomb who took the puck into the corner. Whitcomb got a pass by two defenders and found Ethan Gardula who was unaccounted for by the Northeastern defenders. All Gardula had to do was tip it past goalie Lawton Zacher and it was 1-0 early in the game for Connecticut.
UConn controlled most of the puck time for the rest of the period and despite both squads having multiple shot attempts, the score was 1-0 UConn after one period.
The referee’s whistle started blowing early in the second period. First, Brendan Dunphy was penalized for cross checking, causing UConn to go shorthanded. The only real opportunity during the power play was a shot from the dangerous Giacomo Martino. The freshman has five power play goals this season, but he missed his shot and Northeastern missed their chance.
The Ice Bus did a great job on the penalty kill even getting a breakaway attempt from Tabor Heaslip.
Minutes after Dunphy returned to the ice, Matthew Maltais was called for a Northeastern slashing penalty. Unfortunately for Connecticut, they could not string together any real opportunities in the two minutes of 5 on 4 hockey.
UConn seized an opportunity moments later. Tristan Fraser won a puck battle against three Northeastern players and got the puck to Heaslip. With only one defender in front of him, the goal and Alexander Blais, Heaslip dished it to Blais and the freshman did the rest. It was 2-0 Connecticut midway through the second period.
The score would stay that way for the rest of the second as the intensity began to rise from both squads heading into the final period of regulation.
Northeastern came out of the locker room firing in the third period. They had possession of the puck for multiple minutes to start the period before UConn finally cleared the puck.
Connecticut had opportunities of their own to score, especially after an errant pass ended up at the stick of Jake Richard on a breakaway. Northeastern’s Jack Henry decided that a slashing penalty was better than a 3-0 deficit, so he headed to the penalty box. UConn could not capitalize and were on the defensive for the remainder of the game.
In the final two minutes, Northeastern head coach Jerry Keefe pulled Zacher to get an extra attacker on the ice. That decision did not phase the UConn defense as it stood strong for the final two minutes before the horn sounded.
It was the first shutout of the season for Muszelik and UConn, all while killing a power play and essentially killing another one in the final two minutes. Muszelik had 16 saves on the night, which is one of his lowest save counts of the season. A testament to how impactful the UConn defense was Friday night.
Connecticut remains tied for second in the Hockey East alongside Boston College, who they will meet for a heavyweight battle in two weeks’ time.
Next on the docket for the Ice Bus are the Maine Black Bears. UConn will travel nearly five hours to UMaine for two important Hockey East matchups.
Two big weekends of games are head for UConn, fans hope this weekend’s results and the Ice Bus’ second straight CT Ice Championship last month can get them going for the final stretch of the season.