BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings
HARTFORD, CT – Ryan Tverberg’s late breakaway goal with 4:17 left gave the UCONN Huskies a 2-1 win Friday night over the visiting Providence Friars at the XL Center.
“Certaintly, we’re very pleased with tonight’s win,” remarked UCONN Head Coach Mike Cavanaugh. “I told the boys we were in the same position last week in the third period with a tied game. Tonight we found the right play to win the game.”
The Huskies won their third-straight Hockey East game. Their record improves to 9-6-0 in league play and 13-11-0 overall. The Friars record falls to 8-9-1 in the league and 17-11-2 overall. They remain in seventh place now one point behind Merrimack and Providence College.
TVERBERG WITH THE WINNER
The winning play started just before a shift change as John Spetz got the puck to Artem Schlaine who in turn carried it out of the zone and smartly put it off the right-wing boards. Tverberg did the rest.
Tverberg got inside position on Max Crozier for the breakaway. He got Jaxson Stauber, in net for the Friars, to make the first move, which opened the five-hole. Tverberg slipped his backhander by Stauber’s right pad.
Tverberg ended a 12-game scoreless drought with his tenth goal on the season. He also had an assist on the first goal for a multi-point effort.
UCONN who just came off of a close, tight, physical game against Quinnipiac, found themselves in another game just like it.
BALANCED ATTACK
The Huskies received offensive contributions from all parts of the lineup. Jonny Evans, Carter Turnbull, and Spetz each had five shots on goal. Harrison Rees put four on the net as did Tverberg. Nick Capone, Schandor, Vlad Firstov, and Jake Flynn each had three shots.
The two teams scored both goals early in the second period.
Providence opened up the scoring on the back end of a brief power play as Parker Ford made a cross-ice pass to Crozier who buried his third of the year at 47 seconds past Darion Hanson.
HUSKIES ANSWER BACK
At 1:50 as Firstov was standing next to the Huskies bench before departing for his line change. He kept the puck in and got it to Spetz.
A tightrope walk ensued for Spetz along the blue line as he went from the right point to dead center where he launched a high-rising shot. Traffic was going on in front of the Friars’ net. Stauber was moving his feet and went against the grain shot for his goal.
“It happened quickly. The puck came up between Vladdy’s legs and just went on my stick. I was thinking at the time to get to the middle. I just shifted it on net I don’t know who was in front (Tverberg). It was a great screen. It just floated in.” Spetz said of the goal.
Cavanaugh was ebullient about Spetz’s play.
SPETZ
“John Spetz might have had his best game of the year, tonight. Not only scoring a goal but playing well on both ends of the ice. In our defensive end, he did an excellent job.”
Spetz complemented his coaches on his improved play.
“The last couple of games I had slappers and one-timers that just missed the net. I did a little work with Coach (Todd) Helton this week keeping my head up when I shoot. That was the big reason for the goal, I kept my head up the whole time. Sometimes you bury your head and hope. That was brought to my attention to keep my head up and be calm out there.”
The Huskies believed they had the goal ahead goal on a shorthanded play, which would have been their first shortie of the season. After an extensive and lengthy video review, the goal was nullified. The gamble in challenging the play paid off for Nate Leaman’s team. Jachym Kondelik’s smart follow-up was between Nick Poisson and William Callahan on Chase Bradley’s breakaway at 14:11. It came just ten seconds into Turnbull’s penalty.
FIRST PERIOD
The first period was an extension of the Quinnipiac game with a dose of big hits as PC had the puck forcing UCONN to chase the game. Right off the bat, the Huskies took a penalty that negated an early power play. UCONN didn’t register a real shot on goal until the 12-minute mark off the stick of Shandor.
UCONN tried to change the game with their ice breakers with some big hits on the Friars.
The first came from Tverberg on the left-wing boards near the PC blue line on Ford of their first line.
Then twin hits first from Jacob Gourley at center ice on Chase Yoder that sent him flying and then Capone suckered into a powerplay on Jamie Engelbert, but UCONN gave it right with a penalty of their own shortly thereafter.
LINES
FIRSTOV-KONDELIK-O’NEIL
GATCOMB-EVANS-TURNBULL
SCHANDORE-SCHLAINE-TVERBERG
BRADLEY-CAPONE-VEILLEUX
WHEELER-REES
BERGER-SPETZ
KINAL-FLYNN
GOURLEY
HANSON
TERNESS
SCRATCHES
Austin Metcalfe
Cassidy Bowes
Gavin Puskar
John Wojciechowski
Sasha Teleguine
Ryan Keane
