The University of Connecticut men’s hockey team opened its season at home with a 3-1 victory over No. 17 Penn State on Friday before falling 5-2 to Bowling Green on Saturday.
During Friday’s home opener, sophomore goaltender Kam Hendrickson prevented 42 shots to help the Huskies secure the win. UConn scored a goal in each period with freshman defenseman Will McIsaac finding the back of the net in the first period. Captain Joey Muldowney scored a goal of his own in the second, followed by junior forward Kaden Shahan in the third.
Despite holding a 22-10 shot advantage on the Huskies in the first period, Penn State was unable to get past Hendrickson, who kept them off the scoreboard with 10 saves in the first period.
Penn State responded midway through the second period when Kale Dach scored an equalizer to tie the game at one and put pressure on the Huskies to regain the lead.
Mudowney answered with less than five minutes remaining in the period, scoring his first goal of the season with assists from sophomore forward Alexandre Blais and freshman defenseman Charlie Morrison. The goal allowed UConn to get ahead again in the game 2-1 heading into the third period.
Penn State continued to push for another goal in the final period, recording 16 shots on goal compared to UConn’s 11. Hendrickson stayed strong in net, preventing every shot he faced from getting in.
The Nittany Lions appeared to tie up the game late in the period, but the Huskies successfully challenged the goal for goaltender interference to preserve the one-goal lead.
With less than two minutes remaining, Penn State pulled goaltender Josh Fleming for an extra skater on the ice. Sophomore forward Carlin Dezainde won the face off and found Shahan who skated the length of the ice for an empty-net goal to secure the 3-1 victory.
Hendrickson ended the night with 42 saves while allowing one goal, earning his first win of the season and his second of his career.
UConn returned to Toscano Saturday to face Bowling Green in the second game of the Ice Breaker Tournament, hoping to build on its opening-night performance and continue the early-season momentum.
After a scoreless first period, junior Mike Murtagh gave UConn the lead just 17 seconds into the second to get the puck past Bowling Green goaltender Jacob Steinman. However, the Falcons responded with Ty Higgins’ power-play goal 14 minutes into the second, sending the game into the third period tied 1-1.
Bowling Green took its first lead early in the third period scoring on the power play after Ethan Whitcomb received a five-minute major penalty and game misconduct for spearing.
The Huskies remained strong on the penalty kill which allowed sophomore forward Carter Sproule to find the loose puck and earn his first career goal to tie the game at two. However, Bowling Green scored again before Whitcomb’s penalty expired to quickly regain the lead.
UConn pushed for another equalizer during the third period but could not find the back of the net. The Falcons, on the other hand, were able to add two empty-net goals to secure the 5-2 win.
Despite finishing with a 41-32 advantage in shots, UConn went 0-for-3 on the power play, while Bowling Green scored twice on five power play chances.
Across the two games, UConn recorded 60 shots on goal, including 19 against Penn State and 41 against Bowling Green. Hendrickson’s performance against Penn State was a strong start as he looks to take over at the starter in net following the departure of Tyler Muszelik, who signed an entry-level contract with the Florida Panthers after last season.
Muszelik appeared in 35 games for the Huskies last season, ending with a 19-11-5 record and a .926 save percentage. Henderickson appeared in just three games as a freshman last season but has already made a strong impression with his save percentage so far this season.
Up next, the Huskies will look to get back in the win column when they face off against Colorado College in a weekend series beginning on Friday with puck drop set for 7 p.m.