BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings
HARTFORD, CT – UCONN (5-4-1 overall, 2-3-1 HEA) overcame plenty of unforced errors to clip Brown University (1-5-1 overall, 1-3-1 ECACHL) 3-1 before an announced crowd of 3,220 at the XL Center on Tuesday afternoon.
“Certainly happy with the results tonight. We played OK in the first, better in the second, but in the third, we let them take it to us a little bit and that has been a common theme lately. I think when you have a young team with eight or nine freshmen in your lineup, the hardest thing to do and learn, is how to close out games and the only way to learn that, is through experience and we’ll get better. Karl (El-Mir) and (Max) Kalter were outstanding in the final three minutes,” said UCONN head coach Mike Cavanaugh.
This was a game that shouldn’t have been as close as it was. Brown is clearly a team that is struggling offensively, but UCONN struggled in the third period with puck management and a took a pair of penalties, one early and one later in the period that negated Huskies power plays and gave the Bears life. It led to them almost tying the game.
“A couple of times we had sole control of the puck in the zone and turned it over. One was a drop pass to nobody, and other times we’re coming in on them, and all you have to do is chip it by them and go get it. You can’t turn it over four feet inside the blue line. Those are areas we have to continue to work on and harp on because if you do that Friday against Lowell there going to make us pay for that.” Cavanaugh said what his defining message for his squad would be.
(Photo by Gerry Cantlon)
Brown took just 12 shots in the first two periods and 14 in the third. Among those shots were several quality chances that tested freshmen goalie Tomas Vomacka. Conversely, the Huskies missed the net 22 times on some strong scoring opportunities
Vomacka stopped Justin Jallen on a two-on-one, a result of an unnecessary turnover. Alex Brink had a shot from 15-feet-out and a rare rebound with an open net. At the last second, defenseman Ryan Wheeler prevented Brink from lifting the shot to an open side.
With 3:21 left, Vomacka denied Chris Berger, who led all players with six shots. With a seemingly open short-side and off a nice diagonal pass, Berger, on the left wing fired a shot. Vomacka closed the gap with strong lateral movement.
“He’s played three games for us and has been excellent. He works hard. He’s athletic and he’s big,“ Cavanaugh said of Vomacka’s athleticism that was on display on that play. “I think we did a good job boxing out, preventing second and third opportunities. He has played very well so far this season.”
The Huskies lack of a killer instinct in the third period allowed Brown to creep back into contention, cutting the lead to 2-1 with plenty of time to try to even the score.
Brown’s sophomore, Tony Stillwell of Green Bay, WI, was able to wheel around in the right wing circle while taking a short pass from freshmen Tristan Crozier of Calgary, AB. With Alec Mehr and Husky defensemen Miles Gendron screening Vomacka, Stillwell got Brown on the scoreboard and woke up their offense.
Finally, after a period of sluggish play by both schools, UCONN captured the second goal they were looking for.
With six seconds remaining on the power play, Ben Freeman found Johnny Evans open on the right wing. The diminutive forward took a shot or was trying to make a pass back to Freeman coming in the back door on the left wing. The shot found its way into the back of the net at 11:44 and a 2-0 UCONN lead.
“Ben just put it to me where I needed it to be, and I was able to just get out there and was able to hit the far side post,” Evans said speaking of his second of the game.
The second period was as much of a struggle as the first with the two teams struggling to develop any rhythm. Cavanaugh tried his best to jumpstart his troops by shortening their shifts, but it was a struggle.
Again, Brown had just five shots. One of their best quality shots came from 15-feet-out from Berger at 7:20 that Vomacka was there to stop. Senior captain and defenseman, Max Gottlieb of Old Bridge, NJ, had a chance late in a Brown powerplay that forced Vomacka to make his most acrobatic save of the night.
The Huskies quickly grabbed the early lead in this contest.
Winning draws is essential to starting puck possession. Kale Howarth won a faceoff. The puck squirted back into the left wing circle in the Brown zone. Freshman Johnny Evans of Powell River, BC, came from the left-wing side, made a quick, short move, and ripped a shot past sophomore Luke Kania at 2:25.
“We work on that play every day in practice, and Wiso (Evan Wisocky) boxed the guy out, so I could take the shot. That made it easier for me,” Evans said of his second goal of the season.
The Huskies had puck possession for about two-thirds of the period but got stuck in a quagmire of sloppy play with Brown bringing too many whistles to stop play.
Two of the more quality Husky chances came first from Freeman at 10:24 then Brian Rigali with a solid chance from twenty feet out on the left wing that Kania denied. Freeman had one from long range on the left wing side.
Brown was disjointed for most of the period with a generous five shots on goal. Their two best rushes came first from Brent Beaudoin on a left-wing dash and then Berger late in the first. Neither registered a shot on goal.
NOTES:
Huskies have a Hockey East home-and-home this weekend. UMASS–Lowell comes to the XL Center on Friday night and then the two teams will tango at the Tsongas Arena in Lowell, MA on Saturday night.
UCONN will leave from Bradley Airport on Sunday to fly to Belfast, Northern Ireland for the Belpot Cup Friendship Four tournament. They will join fellow Hockey East member Boston University and ECACHL teams, Yale University from New Haven and Union College in the tourney.
Former UCONN Husky, Brian Morgan, was released from his second ECHL team in a month. He was released first from the Reading Royals and yesterday from the Indy Fuel (Indianapolis).
Brown’s Zach Giuttari went to Loomis Chaffe (Windsor) for three years.
The Bears’ Tristan Crozier’s father, Jim Crozier, played goal for Cornell in the late 1980’s.
Brown head coach Brendan Whittet in his tenth season is a Kent School grad, and one of his assistants, Jason Guerriero, is an ex-Bridgeport Sound Tiger.
Brown grad Harry Zolnierczyk leads Springfield (AHL) in scoring with 14 points in 12 games.
