BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings
HARTFORD, CT – Looking to enjoy the holiday season without either AHL or Hockey East action? Well, this is the week to do it. Neither the Wolf Pack or UCONN Huskies will be around much before Christmas.
WOLF PACK
After a disappointing 2-1 loss on Wednesday in Bridgeport, the Pack will be back at the XL Center on Friday night to meet the Charlotte Checkers as they wrap up their five-game road trip. The Wolf Pack head to Hershey on Saturday then next week they are in North Carolina to play the Checkers two more times.
The Pack then play against Providence at the XL Center on the 19th.
The Hartford Shuffle continues. Coming back from New York are Vinni Lettieri and Matt Beleskey after just one game. In goal, Alexander Georgiev is in while Dustin Tokarski was recalled by the Rangers. After 19 games, heading to Maine is winger Ryan Gropp and Terence Walling after his pointless four-game audition. Coming back from the Mariners after collecting four points is defenseman Vince Pedrie
UCONN
The struggling Huskies on a five-game skid, but not due to playing totally poorly. Their third periods have become an Achilles heel.
UCONN (5-9-1overall, 2-7-1 HE) are tied for the 8th spot in the conference with New Hampshire.
Head coach Mike Cavanaugh has his worries, but he was in the same place a year ago where the team stumbled before the final exam/Christmas break period.
“We have played well and have been in all the games. It’s our third periods against UMASS (current #1 team in the country), Yale, and BU. We just haven’t learned how to finish games yet, but it will come. If we were losing big every game it would be different, but we’re not, so I think we’ll get this turned around,” remarked Cavanaugh.
A year ago, the Huskies had an inverted schedule to what they have now. They were front-loaded with home games last year and then in the second half had to rely on help from others so they could secure their playoff fortunes.
This year, with the new Hockey East playoff format, where the top eight teams in the conference make the playoffs, while three will not. As a result, the schedule is more magnified.
Is that a factor?
“I would say it is we have played 11 of 15 games on the road and I think it’s catching up with us. It’s also the culmination of having 12 new faces all adjusting to Division I college hockey.”
This week they conclude the first half of a home-and-home with the fourth place BC Eagles (Channel 20-CW20 with Joe D’Ambrosio and Rich Coppola) with their last XL Center game until January 12th. The Huskies play the Eagles at the Conte Forum on Friday. In between, they go to Ingalls Rink for the first time to play on New Years Eve Day at 4 pm before jetting off to Las Vegas in the New Year to play Western Michigan. They feature former Division II UCONN Husky player an ex-Whaler and Nighthawk Todd Krygier as their assistant coach.
Is the break a blessing?
“I think it comes at the right time to rest up, recharge the batteries, and get set for the second half where we get 10 of 13 at home.”
One of the developing pluses is a core of a second line to complement freshmen Jachym Kondelik and Alexander “Sasha” Payusov in a pair of freshmen, Ruslan Iskharov (three assists against UMASS) and Kale Howarth (first two collegiate goals) who are showing some strong chemistry in the five-game losing streak.
“They have gotten better in each game and have begun to be an important second line asset and are earning their minutes. and they played quite well against UMASS (Amherst).”
Cavanaugh will be getting the third piece back on Thursday in Brian Rigali out with a broken thumb the last five game.
“I think Brian, who had been playing well before his injury, I think will help the (Max) Kalter line and gives us the energy and skill they had going before his injury.”
The goaltending of both Adam Huska and Tomas Vomacka have been a plus. Huska, who has been spectacular at times throughout UCONN’s struggles through stretches with some severe defensive breakdowns, but Cavanaugh sees room for improvement,
“Adam and Tomas have played very well. Adam is a very big part of this team, but there are areas I think he needs work just as much as any other part of the team right now.”
On Wednesday, the school announced they are moving their March 2nd date with Providence College to Tuesday, February 26th
HUSKY FUTURE
The recruiting process is an ongoing evolutionary process in college hockey and Cavanaugh is happy with his first announced National Letters of Intent.
A few years ago when they needed to get a stud goalie, they landed Adam Huska.
Now, for 2019-20 a quartet are at the tops of their respective junior leagues.
IN the BCHL (British Columbia Hockey league) UCONN boasts a top 10 scorer in the highly regarded Canadian Junior A League.
Eric Linell currently with the Penticton Panthers after starting the season with Surrey has 19 goals and 19 assists for 38 points in 33 games heading into the weekend’s action.
He played one year at Choate prep of Wallingford before hitting the junior circuit first with the USPHL and now the BCHL.
The other is Carter Berger presently the second highest scoring defenseman in the BCHL with the Victoria Grizzlies. Berger has tallied 15 goals and 35 points in 31 games.
In the top US junior league, they have to more Eastern Europeans prodigies who are performing well with the Waterloo Black Hawks (USHL)..
Matej Blumel from the Czech Republic in his second junior season has 14 goals and 31 points in 22 games second best in the overall in the USHL.
Russian Vladislav Firstov has 11 goals and 24 points in 22 games, second best for Waterloo and tops among USHL rookies. Certainly having players from their countries Czech native Huska and freshmen Russian Ruslan Iskharov helps.
“No question, to have players from your native country makes a difference when they come on an official visit the players feel more relaxed at home,” remarked Cavanaugh.
BELFAST TRIP
The hockey was good and hard but produced no wins, but the cultural portion of the trip was a slapshot top shelf.
“Till you go there, you can’t fully appreciate how beautiful a country it is. The countries have only been independent for just under 100 years and there is so much history packed into the country. It was an exceptional experience for our players to be a part of.
We got a chance to see the Peace Wall and try to understand as best we could in a short time about the troubles there, but it’s something I will always treasure,” remarked Cavanaugh whose family lineage is in the Republic of Ireland in Galway, Wexford, and Cork.
On the ice, the international surface of the SSE Arena at 200 x100 provided its challenges.
“We played on it in a few arenas here, but its a very different surface and it does make the game different.”
NEW ON CAMPUS ARENA
Just before leaving for Belfast the UCONN Board of Trustees approved a plan for a $48 million, 2,500 seat on-campus arena to be built by 2021 adjacent to Freitas Ice Forum. It’s being built to give both men’s and women’s hockey a home arena, and top-flight training facilities that are necessary for men’s recruitment, Hockey East conference compliance and the Title IX needs on the women’s side of the hockey equation.
“No question, in these days it’s essential that you have to have the training facilities all under one roof. Couple that with we’ll have an on-campus rink, it really aids in that process for hockey at UCONN for the men and women. It’s a critical step to go up to the next level. I appreciate all the work (outgoing) President (Susan) Herbst, (AD) Mike Hathaway and the Board (of Trustees) have done for us. Its been a long road no question about it. We were supposed to have this in Year Three (in Hockey East) and we’re all aware of the budget issues, but this is vital for the growth of the program.”
The plan is to still play games at the XL Center, but Cavanaugh can already target games that should be on campus.
“Games like RPI and Brown are games that are on Tuesday or a Wednesday should be on campus. Our students can walk to the games as opposed to having to ride into Hartford, and yet the XL Center is in a place we have enjoyed and hope to continue to enjoy that people will have the chance to see us. We are trying to strike the right balance.”
Clearly, dealing with the seating issue of 4,000, a conference requirement was a thorny issue that had to be overcome because of the space limitation on campus at Storrs to build a new arena.
A longtime veteran state hockey source said negotiations found a compromise that the new building would at least have to meet a minimum seating acceptable along the lines of Northeastern and Merrimack, thought the conference members, not just the Hockey East Executive committee wanted UCONN at 4,000
It was necessary to get a new arena, if the XL Center issue ever reaches a conclusion, where the building is closed or re-booted, the hockey program is on the path to having that Plan B. Clearly, though there is still construction, financing, and arena management selection hurdles to finalize before the shovels hit the ground in earnest.
WJC TOURNEY TEAMS ANNOUNCED
The ten countries have begun to release their preliminary rosters in advance of the Christmas time treat of a tourney feature the top young talent from around the world.
The US was to released its camp roster late Wednesday afternoon. The squad will be at a mini-camp to be held in Everett, WA and Kamloops BC in advance of the tournament to be held in Vancouver and Victoria, BC to be held December 26th till January 5th.
The Huskies will lose Jachym Kondelik the 6’6 freshmen center, a Nashville Predator draft pick, to the Czech Republic U-20 team. The only two UCONN players to play in the WJC so far are Tage Thompson (Orange, gold medal USA in Montreal) and goalie Adam Huska (Slovak Republic),
SEATTLE IS IN
The 32nd NHL franchise to nobody’s surprise was granted to Seattle on Tuesday morning in Sea Island, GA in a unanimous vote by the NHL BOG announced by rightfully proud, beaming Gary Bettman had secured the crown jewel he has coveted for years.
The yet to be named team (down to Sockeyes or Totems) will begin to play a year later than they had wanted in 2021-22 in the Western Division while Arizona was moved to the Central Division of the Western conference. The team’s arena-Seattle KeyArena will start its $700 million dollar renovation on Wednesday and its completion was one reason given to delaying team entrance back a year. It will also allow the team to play in the arena from the start than possibly play on the road for the first month, hold its first ever draft party and selection in the building and deal with the more than likely lockout coming in 2020.
The team is simultaneously is set begin to build a $70 million dollar training facility during the run-up period at the old Northeast Gate Mall.
The swiftness with which this came together is a credit to a well thought and executed the plan by the NHL to secure the Seattle market.
Once the Seattle City Council voted down a new building in the SoDo district near the all-important Port area just 31 months later the NHL secured Seattle. The city has been granted an expansion franchise in 1976 in the midst of the NHL-WHA war, but never came to fruition.
Read HERE the Seattle Times superb piece of the history of hockey in Seattle.
PLAYER MOVES
Ex-Pack Dan DeSalvo in Cleveland was reassigned to Toledo (ECHL) his second ECHL team already this year.
Ex-Pack Ryan Sproul hooks up with his third AHL team this season with Hershey (AHL).
The Sound Tigers saw goalie Christopher Gibson recalled and received back forward Stephen Gionta from the Islanders.
Ex-Sound Tiger Justin Taylor was signed by San Antonio from Kalamazoo (ECHL).
Sam Gagner, son of former Nighthawk, Dave Gagner, has been returned to Toronto (AHL) on loan from Vancouver.
Wade Megan (South Kent Prep) was recalled from Grand Rapids by Detroit.
Ex-Pack and CT Whale, Brandon Mashinter, after five games with five points including a Gordie Howe hat trick game with Rapid City (ECHL), signed a contract for the rest of the season with ERC Ingolstadt Panthers (Germany-DEL).
Ex-Pack goalie, Miika Wiikman, had his contract dissolved by Coventry Blaze (England-EIHL).
Another Ex-Pack and CT Whale, Tomas Kundratek, leaves Kunlin (China-KHL) and heads home to HC Ocelari Trinec (Czech Republic-CEL).
Ex-Danbury Whaler Kamil Vavra is the head coach for the Kuwait National Team in U-20 Challenge Cup of Asia.
Kuwait is in one division with Mongolia, Thailand, and Indonesia.
The other division features the Philippines, Kyrgyzstan, United Arab Emirates and the hosting team, Malaysia.
All games are being played at the Malaysia National Ice Skating Stadium just outside the countries capital Kuala Lumpur.
Hockey in Asia is growing as part of China’s rise in the sport in preparation for the Beijing Winter Games in 2022.
Vavra will also play this season in the other KHL-Kuwait Hockey League and the Kuwait Falcons.
