BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings
STORRS, CT – Six different Providence College (11-8-5) players scored with four having multiple-point games as the Friars dominated UCONN 6-1 on Sunday afternoon at Freitas Ice Forum. The Friars advance to the Hockey East semifinals on Wednesday against UMASS-Amherst. With the loss, UCONN is eliminated from the postseason.
UCONN season ends with a sub-.500 record (10-11-2) and failed again to advance beyond the quarterfinal round.
“It just wasn’t our night tonight,” said a clearly disappointed UCONN Head Coach, Mike Cavanaugh. “I give credit to Providence (College). They played a great game tonight. They came out in the first and jumped us, and I thought we survived that and played OK, but it wasn’t our night.”
UCONN had a momentum swing chance in the third period, but despite taking 20 shots (41 for the game) on goal they couldn’t get one past Jaxon Stauber (40 saves), who surprisingly, was not selected as a Hockey East All-Star team selection.
THE DAGGER
At 7:52 UCONN had an apparent goal wiped out. Despite appearing on the video replay to have fully crossed the goal line, Carter Turnbull, with Artem Shlaine there at the net, had his shot go off the back skate of Stauber and into the net. The referees decided otherwise.
Following the overturned goal, what followed Cavanaugh felt was the dagger to the Huskies.
PC’s Tyce Thompson early third-period goal (1:25) epitomized the afternoon of frustration for UCONN. After Tomáš Vomáčka stopped him, the loose puck was between his pads. Thompson just chipped it and it rolled over the UCONN netminder’s pads and went past him. As he reached back to try and stop it from crossing the goal line, Vomáčka’s own elbow inadvertently knocked it in. The goal was Thompson’s 11th of the season.
“We had a good shift to start and then come down and scored and I haven’t seen the replay yet, that was a backbreaker. I don’t think we came out slow, it was just the way the puck bounced. It was a microcosm of how our night went and the second goal our guy got a piece of it and it knuckles over Tomas into the net and things didn’t go our way.”
VOMACKA
Cavanaugh was not displeased with Vomáčka’s (37 saves) performance and explained just how courageous his goaltender’s last month has been.
“I have to look over the goals in the third period, but you got to understand something, he’s played the last month with a torn meniscus (cartilage in the knee) and has been grinding it out. I gotta give that kid all the credit in the world. He has fought through a lot of pain to finish this season. I wouldn’t have wanted another goaltender in the net the way he competes and what he went through for this team.”
MORE FRIAR GOALS
Providence College followed with two more goals.
The Huskies’ Marc Gatcomb turned over the puck to Patrick Moynihan. He made a quick entry into the UCONN zone and Nate Yoder took his backhanded pass and zipped a shot that was initially stopped by Vomáčka. PC’s Brett Berard, a New York Rangers draftee, tallied off the rebound for his fifth goal of the season making it 5-1 at 10:53.
Max Crozier closed out the scoring with an easy tap in goal after Vomáčka made a spectacular save a Yoder’s shot.
In the second period, Providence College continued its dominance scoring two goals a minute apart in the first five minutes of the period.
At 1:58, the Friars’ Chase Yoder won the draw from Hudson Schandor. John McDermott (Darien/Westminster Prep) shipped the puck back to defenseman Cam McDonald. He sent it over to Uula Riukka at the right point, and he clanked it off the post into the net as McDermott and Berard were in front creating traffic.
“We thought one of the keys to the game was winning face-offs and winning the battles in our house, and they won more battles in the house than we did,” commented Cavanaugh,
The Friars won a one-on-one battle behind the net. The puck stayed inside the UCONN zone as Ben Mirageas (Avon Old Farms) launched a left-point shot that Vomáčka made the save on, but there was a rebound, and Nick Poisson, who had inside position, buried it for his fourth goal and a 2-0 lead for Providence College.
MCDONALD’S RETURN
McDonald’s addition was very important to PC head coach Nate Leaman.
“We lost him to COVID and having him back in the lineup helped settle things down and he gave us the help we needed and the fact we stayed out of the box in the first helped.”
Vomáčka made three critical stops that prevented the Friars from running away from UCONN early and kept his team in the game.
UCONN narrowed the gap to 3-1 at 9:20 when, on his second whack at it, Jachym Kondelik at a rebound of a Jonny Evans shot went off Stauber’s body and the puck flipped up and nestled in the upper right corner, a greasy goal that UCONN’s hard work earned.
Kondelik who’s been without a goal in 21 games, tallied his fourth in two games.
HOWARTH SERIOUSLY HURT
After a series of penalties, UCONN was able to create some space for an Evans wraparound chance that was stopped but saw the Huskies suffer a tough player loss.
Winger Kale Howarth was battling in front of the net with PC’s Jason O’Neil at 15:33. He fell forward and with his left leg twisted awkwardly behind him O’Neill, who was behind him, came down and fell with his full body weight on the back of his knee.
Howarth was writhing in pain and clutching his left knee while kicking his right skate into the ice. He was escorted off the ice with the assistance of the team trainer and John Spetz putting no weight on the leg. Needless to say, his game was finished.
Cavanaugh did not provide an update on Howarth’s condition in his post-game press conference.
FIRST PERIOD
The first period saw PC’s hold a 19-8 advantage in shots with only Vomáčka’s superb goaltending keeping the game close.
Michael Callahan, Mitch Crozier were stopped before the Friars scored the game’s first goal.
Riukka, a PC d-man, was at the right point and fired a shot. Parker Ford was able to get a piece and the puck evaded Vomáčka.
The best chance for UCONN came from the stick of Carter Berger coming in all alone off the left-wing, he got Stauber to commit, went around him, and tried for the open short-side, but ran out of space and Stauber reached back to swallow the puck at 10:15.
A 3-on-1 saw Greg Printz got behind Yan Kuznetsov, but Vomáčka shut the door. Evans had one of his few chances of the night a right-wing toe drag that Stauber was square on and made a right pad stop.
Crozier and Printz of the Friars made another chance for the Friars, but Vomáčka kept them at bay. Ford hit the post at 14:02.
LINES:
Marc Gatcomb-Jachym Kondelik-Jonny Evans
Vladislav Firstov-Hudson Schandor- Ryan Tverberg
Kale Howarth-Artem Shlaine-Carter Turnbull
Zac Robbins-Brian Rigali-Eric Linnell
Yan Kuznetsov-Adam Karashik
Carter Berger-John Spetz
Roman Kinal-Harrison Rees
Jake Flynn
INJURED:
Nick Capone (lower body)
SCRATCHED:
Ryan Wheeler
NOTES:
In Hockey East playoff action, UMASS-Lowell knocked off the favored Boston University Terriers 2-1. UMASS-Amherst defeated Northeastern 4-1, and the nation’s number one ranked team, Boston College, held on for a 3-2 over UNH.
Hockey East semifinals will be on Wednesday with PC playing UMASS-Amherst and Boston College hosting UMASS-Lowell.
In the Big 10 tournament, after being sidelined 34 days because of COVID-19 protocols and missing eight games, the Penn State Nittany Lions doubled-up on Notre Dame, 6-3.
Minnesota avoided a major upset and squeaked by Michigan State 2-1 in overtime. Michigan beat Ohio State 5-1, and Niagara University tripped up Robert Morris, 2-1.
Saturday saw Sacred Heart University eliminated by Army in the 9th longest game in NCAA post-season history, losing 4-3 in triple overtime.
SIGNINGS
Several college players have signed pro deals. The latest to sign is Josh Dunne of Clarkson University (ECACHL). He puts his name to a contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets (NHL) and was sent on loan to the Cleveland Monsters (AHL).
Bryce Misley of the University Vermont (HE) signs with the Iowa Wild (AHL).
Division-III’s Adam Parsells of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (WIAC) signs with the Utah Grizzlies (ECHL).
Two Connecticut players make college commitments. Max Phillips of the CT Chiefs (EHL) will head to Division III’s Southern New Hampshire University (Northeast-10) which was formerly known as New Hampshire College.
Alex Mosian (Greenwich/Hotchkiss Prep) makes a commitment to Division III’s Trinity College (Hartford) Bantams (NESCAC).
Micah Gernander, the Connecticut-born (Newington) son of former Hartford Wolf Pack head coach and player, Ken Gernander, has made a commitment to Gustavus Adolphus (St. Peter, MN) for 2021-22. He currently is skating with the Rochester (MN) Grizzlies (NA3HL).
