BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings
HARTFORD, CT – The UCONN Husky skid has hit six games after the Boston College Eagles, on the strength of a hat trick by Julius Mattila, methodically controlled the game from the second period on and for a 4-0 shutout win.
It was the second time this season UCONN has been held scoreless.
The two teams conclude their respective first half of the season tomorrow in a rematch at Conte Forum in Boston. For the Huskies, the break can’t come fast enough. UCONN’s record drops to 5-10-1 overall (3-8-1 in HE) while the Eagles improve to 5-6-2 overall (5-1-2 HE).
“I’m not fooled by the 30 shots on goal we had. BC controlled the play in this game and we didn’t have the chances you need to win the game. In other games, I thought we played well and had a chance to win, but tonight was not the case for us,” said head coach Mike Cavanaugh.
Almost half their total shots came in the first period.
BC’s complete play was best demonstrated by Eagles captain Michael Kim, who thoroughly erased Brian Rigali while trying to make a rush up the right wing boards. The Huskies entrance into the zone was met at the point of attack by the BC defensive corps.
“We have to do a better job of chipping those pucks in behind the defense and generating offense that way. We’re going to have to be better with our entrances tomorrow night,” said Cavanaugh.
BC tried to get their fourth goal when Logan Hutsko was on a clean breakaway. He tried going forehand, but Adam Huska denied him at 10:47. Mattila got the hat trick with an empty-netter after zipping around two Huskies at 16:32.
In the second period, BC garnered its second goal early. The Eagles took control of play and put a vise grip on UCONN’s forwards and kept the crowd out of the game.
Time and space were at a premium for the Huskies who had just five shots for the period.
The Eagles made it 2-0 when Hutsko took Casey Fitzgerald’s pass from the right wing and was open on the left wing side. He zipped this shot upstairs on Huska for his fourth goal of the season at 7:24. Two of Oliver Wahlstrom’s five shots of the night were stopped by Huska on a wraparound attempt.
The rest of period, the Huskies were held in check rink-wide as they did not allow any real quality shots on goal.
BC extended their lead to 3-0 with a late powerplay goal.
Mattila scored his second of the night when he was all alone on the right wing side. Mattila took a pass from David Cotton, who had outraced everyone to the loose puck and fed it over at 16:42.
The Huskies had a solid first period and outshot BC by a two-to-one margin 14-7, and they held BC’s big guns in check, but still went to the locker room down 1-0.
In part because the Huskies could not sneak one past Eagles goalie, Joseph Woll, a Toronto Maple Leafs draft pick.
UCONN pushed hard and Max Kalter had a chance 1:22 in. Evan Wiscoky’s attempt was turned aside as well.
BC’s best chance in the first half of the game came from the stick of JJ Dudek, but Huska kicked aside the left wing bid. The only goal came from Mattila, who was in traffic and able to retrieve a short pass from got Wyatt Newpower, turned around skated in front of Huska and with good puck control shot against the grain stick-side at 14:53.
NOTES:
BC’s defenseman Connor Moore suffered a lower left leg injury at 16:07 of the second period on a hit in the right wing corner. Moore was behind the BC net as the Huskies’ Justin Howell was issued a boarding call. He immediately grabbed the lower left leg and went off with the assistance of his teammates and did not return.
Brian Rigali was back in the Huskies lineup after missing five games with a broken thumb.
BC has ten NHL draftees on their roster. One is Graham McPhee (Edmonton), the son of the former Nighthawk and current Las Vegas GM George McPhee.
BC’s assistant coach Brendan Buckley was at UCONN over the last five years.
BC’s Oliver Wahlstrom was named to the US WJC camp yesterday. The team will play in Vancouver and Victoria, BC starting on Boxing Day.
UCONN will lose Jachym Kondelik to the Czech Republic WJC team.
All 6’6 240 lbs. of Adam Samuelsson, the youngest son of Ulf Samuelsson, the former Hartford Whaler and New York Rangers player and later their assistant coach with the Rangers, Wolf Pack and Avon Old Farms is no longer on BC’s roster. He might either wind up in the USHL or with Sudbury (OHL) who hold his rights.
Had he been here tonight would have been the third Samuelsson boy to play in the building where his father made a name for himself in the 1980s and early 1990’s and his number 5 hangs in the rafters.
Former UCONN Husky Brian Morgan on his fourth team this fall with Pensacola Ice Flyers (SPHL) signed again with Florida (ECHL) who had released him two weeks ago after three games.
