CANTLON: UCONN & PROVIDENCE COLLEGE PREVIEW 

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings

STORRS, CT – A significant match-up between nationally-ranked Top-20 teams is on tap for the UCONN Huskies, with both games on television this weekend.

The No. 20/15 nationally-ranked Huskies take on the No. 16 ranked Providence Friars in a Hockey East home-and-home series.  The Huskies head to Schneider Arena on Friday for a 4:30 PM meeting on NESNplus. On Saturday at 4 PM, the two teams will meet again at Freitas Ice Forum. The televised games are available throughout Connecticut on Channel 20-CW20.

“It’s a very important series when you look at the standings. We’re right there, neck-and-neck, a full fight for home ice. It’s crucial there are only four weeks left of play. There are eight games left, and two of them are with them, and we’re fighting for home ice,” UCONN Head Coach Mike Cavanaugh stated.

EARLIER THIS SEASON

The Huskies and Friars met earlier this season. The result of that contest was a 2-0 UCONN win in Storrs.  Junior goaltender, Tomas Vomacka, earned his second career shutout, with 37 saves.  Senior Adam Karashik ended an 80-game scoring drought in potting the game-winner, while junior Jonny Evans scored the other UCONN goal and also assisted.

The net battle will likely be the determining factor in what should be two low scoring games based upon numbers Vomacka and PC’s Jaxon Stauber have put up to this point in the season.

Vomacka won his third Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week after last Friday’s 4-1 win at No. 14 Northeastern.

Vomacka has played every minute for the Huskies and the most minutes by any Hockey East goaltender. Over his 1,036:29 of ice time, he stopped 487 shots, the most by any goalie in the league. Vomacka ranks fourth in save percentage at .930% and is fifth among league leaders with a 2.55 goals-against-average.

MORE VOMACKA

The play by the Czech Republic junior has been sensational. He has been the essential linchpin for the Huskies.

“He’s had a great year so far, and there is a reason he was nominated for the (Mike) Richter Award. On any team, they play with a lot more confidence when they trust the goaltender in the net.

“I would say up and down our lineup, not a player on the team doesn’t believe that when they make a mistake that Tomas won’t be there to make the save.

“An example of that was the other night. We tried a diagonal pass on the power play (Artem Schlaine to Carter Berger). It’s a risky play, and their kid (Sam Knoblauch) comes out of the penalty box and gets a breakaway.

“Nobody on the bench was going, ‘Oh no!’ They have the utmost confidence in Tomas to come up with the big save. It hasn’t happened magically. He has put in a lot of work. He was out there this morning working on some things today, already.  He’s a hard worker, a terrific teammate, and we’re glad we have him,” Cavanaugh said.

STAUBER STATS

Stauber’s GAA (1.79) is tops in the Hockey East. He has surrendered just 29 goals to date, and he has the second-best save percentage, .930, and his 978:18 of minutes played is second only to Vomacka.

The sophomore transfer from Minnesota-Mankato (NCHC) played just one game last season. He returned to junior hockey with the Sioux Falls (SD) Stampede (USHL), where he won a Clark Cup title in 2018.

Stauber’s father, Robb, is the only goalie to win a Hobey Baker Award (Minnesota 1988). He played the beginning of his minor pro career with the New Haven Nighthawks, and his last full pro season was with the Hartford Wolf Pack.

THE PC CHALLENGE

Playing PC always is a challenge. Their center is Tyce Thompson (Milford/Salisbury School), a New Jersey Devils draftee, and the younger brother of former UCONN great, Tage Thompson, who is now in the NHL playing for the Buffalo Sabres. He presents an array of problems for his team, especially defensemen.

“I should have recruited harder than I did. I’m not afraid to say that, especially when Tage was here. He’s always been a fierce competitor. He’s grown. He’s a strong, smart player. He competes for the puck, and has a high-end skill level, and sees the game well. He can shoot (the puck) well, and you always have to know when he is on the ice, that’s for sure. His shot has improved, and he has physically grown. I really respect his game, and he is an excellent player.” Cavanaugh said.

UCONN is coming off a 3-2 overtime loss at UMASS-Lowell on Tuesday night.  The Huskies were down 2-1 heading into the third period when freshman, Ryan Tverberg, tied the game with his third goal of the season, sending the game to overtime and giving the Huskies a standings point.  Junior Kale Howarth picked-up a goal for the second-straight game.

“I thought we weren’t desperate in the first, but we played desperate hockey in the second and third, and it was a great hockey game. We’re all getting used to three-on-three hockey (on overtime). We’re playing for a point.  I wish we did like the NHL, where it’s a win, loss, or a tie. Our record is what, 8-7-2? It would be 8-4-5 for my players. I think it’s more reflective of the team we are.”

ALL ARE CONTRIBUTING

After picking up an assist on the Tverberg goal against UMass-Lowell,  freshman Artem Schlaine extended his point-scoring streak to seven-straight games with one goal and seven assists over that span.  Schlaine scored his first collegiate goal last week at Northeastern.

Junior Czech center, Jachym Kondelik, collected two more assists in the Northeastern win. With 16 assists on the season, Kondelik leads Hockey East in that category.

POST-SEASON

This matchup plays a vital role in each school’s post-season ambition.

On Monday, Hockey East announced the 2021 Men’s and Women’s post-season tournaments are in a single-elimination format. The higher-seeded team will get the home game. The league also announced seeding is by a newly-developed mathematical formula they dubbed “The Hockey East Power Index (HEPI). The unveiling comes after the announcement earlier this season that all eligible teams qualify for the 2021 Tournaments.

The men’s tournament will begin with three opening-round games between the 6th through the 11th seeded teams on Wednesday, March 10th. The top-seeded team through the fifth-seeded team will automatically qualify for the quarterfinals.

After completing those games, there will be a reseeding to determine the next round’s matchups. The quarterfinals will then take place on Sunday, March 14th.

The Semifinal play is on Wednesday, St. Patrick’s Day, March 17th. The presentation of The Lamoriello Trophy is after the championship game on Saturday, March 20th. The latest date possible of the men’s regular season will be Sunday, March 7th.

It’s not a perfect system, but then again, nothing has been customary since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. All previous structures from pre-season to the regular season and now the post-season have been adversely affected by COVID-19.

CAVANAUGH APPROVES

Cavanaugh was an advocate for changing the playoff structure even before COVID-19 reared its ugly head.

“I’ve been a part of the league a long time. The best-of-three doesn’t draw that many fans, and it hasn’t been financially beneficial for the league. I’ve always said, ‘Let’s try single-elimination games. It’s been very successful for basketball for several years.

“I thought it would be a cool playoff format. It’s not going to affect your top teams. They will be going to the National Tournament based on their won-loss record so that it won’t affect them very much.

“It will drum up a lot more fan interest, and in the best-of-three format, nothing is decided in that first game, and attendance has been historically very low.

“I think a one-game-elimination, winner-takes-all, the attendance numbers I think will be a lot higher, but this year we’re doing it for different reasons. I think we’re doing it because of the pandemic and not having the possibility of staying three nights at one place.

“I hope this is successful, and I hope we can continue to try it once we’re able to get fans in the building.”

HOW IT WORKS

The Tournament format was unanimously agreed upon by the Hockey East membership and created in consultation with the league’s medical personnel and administrators. In addition to the single-elimination structure and schedule, strict health and approved safety protocols ensure the safest possible tournament, including mandatory league-wide testing days throughout the postseason duration.

Each tournament winner will receive Hockey East’s automatic bid into the Men’s and Women’s National Tournaments.

While a points-based seeding formula relies on an equitable and pre-determined distribution of opponents, the Hockey East Power Index applies several objective factors to accurately rank each team after accounting for the 2020-21 season nuances. By utilizing the HEPI, Hockey East mitigates the effects of an imbalanced schedule, both in terms of the number of games played and the opponent’s strength.

The HEPI considers the number of games played, wins and losses in regulation, overtime, shootouts, and a team’s home and away split. It then values wins and losses based on each team’s strength of schedule and their opponents’ schedule strength. It objectively ranks the programs accordingly. This season, traditional standings points will not determine to seed the teams. In seasons past, those points decided the standings table and for seeding teams.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

As UCONN enters this weekend’s play, the current HEPI has them fourth with a 53.21 HEPI score. Providence College enters right behind them in fifth place with a HEPI Index score of 51.04.

Under the old system, UCONN would be third in the conference with 30 points and tied with the Friars. However, they would get the slight edge with that one win over PC.

Because of the HEPI factors’ intertwined nature, each game result has the potential to change any given team’s HEPI ranking, even if the team was idle that day or played a different opponent. The Hockey East Power Index standings for both the men’s and women’s leagues are updated on the Hockey East website daily.

At the regular season’s conclusion, the team with the highest Hockey East Power Index will be declared the 2020-21 Regular Season Champion and awarded the regular season trophy.

“I think it makes sense, and I’m looking forward to seeing if winning percentage, and right now, ours mirrors the winning percentage. It gives credit to road wins and strength of schedule.

“It will be interesting, and I fully understand and fully support the reasons they’re doing it this way,” Cavanaugh added. “They’re trying to be fair, and at the end of the day, you have to win your games. That’s whether you play 25 games or ten games. You gotta win your games, and the rest will take care of itself.”

AND IN THE END…

The announcement of all television and streaming information for the Hockey East Tournament will be forthcoming later.

The NCAA Regionals are still a work in progress, with two Super-8 bubble regionals currently under consideration. One potential location could be the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport.

NOTE-WORTHY

The IIHF Council and the participating teams have approved the change of venues and amended the 2021 IIHF Ice Hockey U-18 World Championship dates in the United States.

USA Hockey will host the event in conjunction with the NHL’s Dallas Stars in Frisco, and Plano, Texas, from April 26th to  May 6th, 2021.

The 2021 edition will be the third held in the United States after Fargo, ND, and Moorhead, MN, in 2009, and Grand Forks, ND in 2016.

Comerica Center in Frisco will be the primary venue and Group B home with the USA, Russia, the Czech Republic, Finland, and Germany. They will also host two quarter-final games, both semi-finals and the Medal games. Comerica Center is home to the Dallas Stars’ practice facility and offices.

The game schedule will be published on 2021.u18worlds.hockey soon.

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