In the final game played in front of home fans at the Toscano Ice Forum in Storrs, Conn., the University of Connecticut men's ice hockey team defeated the Vermont Catamounts by a score of 4-1 on Wednesday night to advance to the Hockey East Division. advanced to the second round. tournament.
No. 6 New Hampshire defeated No. 11 Mass Lowell and No. 7 Northeastern defeated No. 10 Merrimack to play the remaining opening-round games, making them the lowest remaining seeds. The 8th ranked Huskies will advance to the top of the league. The Boston College Eagles were seeded on Saturday.
The Catamounts and Huskies battled back and forth early in the first period, with almost the same number of shots on goal until the final minutes. The first penalty of the game came with just over five minutes left in the game when a Vermont defender interfered with a potential score by University's Matthew Wood. The penalty proved costly, as, using the advantage of the extra skater, Wood was able to sink a rifling shot from inside the left faceoff circle, just to the left of University of Vermont goaltender Gabe Carriere. Wood's 14th and 25th goals of the season sent Toscano fans into a frenzy. The opening period ended with Ice Bath holding a 1-0 advantage.
Right at the start of the second period, Vermont quickly responded. Just over two minutes after play resumed, the Catamounts' Thomas Sinclair retrieved the puck behind his own net and powered the puck across center ice and into the University-University zone. He took a wicked shot from beyond the left faceoff circle that beat Connecticut goaltender Arseniy Sergeyev for his fifth and ninth points of the season, tying the game at one-all. The Catamounts had a chance to take their first lead after a power play shortly after, but the Huskies killed that advantage. Most of the playing time took place in the middle of the ice, with both teams putting up 17 shots on goal and the score tied at 1-1 when the horn sounded for intermission.
As the third period entered its later stages, it was all UConn. The University of Vermont and the Huskies traded poor looks for the first 13 minutes of the period, but the Huskies were rewarded with a power play following a Catamounts penalty. Andrew Lucas cost Vermont by casually returning to center ice from the right faceoff circle and firing a line drive shot from the front of the goal. He slotted the puck past Carrière's right side for his fifth and 11th goal of the season, giving Icebath an unassailable lead.
Two minutes later, after Wood scored for Vermont and put pressure on Carrière, Harrison Reese dove and knocked in the rebound for University's third goal of the tournament. On the play, Reese successfully redirected the puck out of the air after Wood's initial attempt was blocked and bounced off the ice. This was Reese's third and sixth goal of the year. Hoping for a last-minute comeback, the Catamounts pulled their goaltender for a few minutes in the final minutes of the game, but Ryan Tuttle slipped through the gap and pushed the puck over the goal line for the extra point. The plan backfired. Defender attacking his legs from behind. His fifth goal and 12th point of the season helped lead to a 4-1 victory for Connecticut.
UW and Vermont each attempted 27 shots throughout the contest, but the Huskies managed to tie the game with a performance on the power play. The team added an extra skater and he was able to improve to 2-3, but the Catamounts went 0-3 on the power play. Sergeyev made 26 saves throughout the game, and Carriere made 24 saves despite the loss. The ice bath dominated the faceoff, with the visiting team winning 42-20. Additionally, the Huskies were able to record eight blocks to Vermont's two.
With a second round game against No. 1 Boston College scheduled for Saturday at the Conte Forum in Boston, Mass., the Ice Baths hope to maintain their momentum heading into the playoffs.
Nick Spinali is a staff writer for The Daily Campus. He can be reached via email at nicholas.spinali@uconn.edu.
