On Thursday night, the No. 14 UConn Huskies men’s ice hockey team (18-10-5, 12-8-3) welcomed the unranked New Hampshire Wildcats (14-18-1, 8-14-1) to the Toscano Ice Forum (Storrs, Conn.), defeating them by a score of 4-1. The Huskies battled through a sluggish first period to gain a lead later in the game and eventually put away their Hockey East conference foes.
New Hampshire goaltender Kyle Chauvette starred in the first period of play for the Wildcats, turning away all 14 of UConn’s shots on goal to keep the score knotted at 0-0 heading into the second period. Chauvette transferred to New Hampshire after spending three seasons with Division III Union College (Schenectady, N.Y.) and has played a pivotal role guarding the net for the Wildcats.
Nevertheless, the Huskies kept firing. UConn senior forward Ryan Tattle thought he secured the first goal of the game for the Huskies early in the second period. However, a New Hampshire challenge overturned the attempt, keeping the Huskies scoreless.
Finally, Jake Percival found an open Tristan Fraser, who redirected the puck in the air past Chauvette to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead with less than five minutes to go in the period. The two teams continued to exchange blows for the remainder of the period, but both proved unsuccessful.
The final period of play was a turning point for UConn. After another slow start, Huskies star freshman Carlin Dezainde, assisted by Kaden Shahan, found the back of the net on a power play to extend the Huskies’ margin to 2-0.
New Hampshire pulled Chauvette less than three minutes into the game to insert an extra skater in his place, but doing so triggered a disaster. Fraser took full advantage of an open goal, netting his second goal of the game to virtually put the match out of reach.
Although New Hampshire’s Jacob Newcombe snuck a goal past the reach of Huskies goaltender Tyler Muszelik shortly after, UConn’s Tattle quickly responded, adding a goal to bring the final score to 4-1.
Despite the late goal, Muszelik finished the game with 27 saves in net compared to Chauvette’s 33.
Fraser’s two scores marked his fourth and fifth goals of the season, while Tattle added his 12th and Dezainde added his ninth. While star forward and former San Jose Sharks draftee Joey Muldowney was held at bay, he still leads the team with 16 goals.
The Huskies will conclude the regular season on Saturday, heading eastward to take on the Providence Friars at Schneider Arena (Providence, R.I.). Puck drop is scheduled for 4 p.m.