The No. 13 UConn men’s hockey team (17-10-5, 11-8-3) fell to the No. 19 UMass Minutemen (19-12-1, 12-9-1) in a two-game series over the weekend.
Before kicking off the squad’s first game at the Toscano Family Ice Forum on Friday, the team honored six players during Senior Night. However, the Minutemen came prepared and spoiled the Huskies’ celebration, beating them 5-1.
Almost four and a half minutes into the opening period, Owen Murray scored the first points of the clash for Massachusetts. Owen Mehlenbacher dished the puck out to Murray, who sniped it into the back of the net for long range.
To keep the match deadlocked, Connecticut capitalized on a two-minute roughing penalty committed by Justin Kerr.
During the Huskies’ power play, Trey Scott connected with Jake Percival, who hit a slap shot past the goaltender.
In response, UMass pressured UConn keeper Tyler Muszelik. With slightly under 14 minutes remaining in the second period, Coleson Hanrahan tried punching the puck in, but got denied.
After the puck deflected to the side of Muszelik, Bo Cosman found an opening and buried the puck in the net, giving UMass a 2-1 lead.
Heading into the third period, self-inflicted struggles hurt Connecticut’s chances of claiming the lead.
Not to mention, the squad faced challenges netting the puck as they botched all 12 of their third-period shots.
With just under six minutes left in the match, Hanrahan committed a charge, providing the Huskies a two-minute power play.
Despite UConn’s advantage of having an extra man on the ice, the Minutemen still executed and notched their third goal of the contest.
While shorthanded, Jack Musa passed to Francesco Dell’Elce in front of the net and fired the puck to light the lamp.
Three minutes later, Mike Murtagh conceded a two-minute power play for boarding. This resulted in Daniel Jenčko extending UMass’s margin 4-1.
With the help of another power play, Václav Nestrašil banked the final goal of the outing, sealing the victory for the Minutemen.
Unlike Game 1, Connecticut bounced back on the road but fell short 2-1 in a seven-round shootout after UMass tied the matchup at three apiece.
With 17 minutes remaining in the battle, fans witnessed back-to-back goals. UConn started the scoring as Percival circled the net and launched it into a UMass player’s skate, causing it to tip in.
Less than 30 seconds later, Musa secured the equalizer for the Minutemen. With both programs applying heavy defensive pressure, neither team could gain the edge in either regular time or overtime. This called for a shootout to decide the winner.
To begin the shootout, Jake Richard knocked in the first shot, followed by Jenčko answering for UMass. Nine missed shots later, Musa captured the sweep for the Minutemen.
In the hard-fought bout, the Huskies began the opening period at a disadvantage. With 18 and a half minutes remaining in the first period, Kerr nailed the puck past the defender for the first goal of the game for UMass.
This lasted until Joey Muldowney danced into space and drilled the puck, deadlocking the meeting 1-1 for UConn. With goal No. 50, Muldowney became the program’s leading goal scorer in the Hockey East era.
Closing in on the final four minutes of the second period, Scott earned his first netter of the year from the blue line, putting the Huskies on top 2-1.
To stay in the fight, UMass tied the contest with less than a minute left in the second period. Right off the faceoff, Lucas Olvestad controlled the puck, found space and ripped the puck past traffic and into the net.
Next up, Connecticut will host the New Hampshire Wildcats for their second-to-last meeting of the 2025-2026 season in Storrs. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. and fans can tune in on ESPN+.