BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings
HARTFORD, CT – The UCONN Huskies were unable to come up with a much-needed strong performance and came up short in dropping the first half of an important weekend series with Vermont 5-3 on Friday night.
“I give credit to Vermont,” remarked UCONN head coach Mike Cavanaugh. “I thought they (Vermont) played a good road game and they deserved to win.”
Todd Woodcroft’s Catamounts from the game’s beginning to its end were most deserving. The final score wasn’t indicative of the full extent of the porous play of UCONN.
UCONN’s difficult post-season trail began with the start of the weekend as they needed a win to secure a home playoff game in the new upcoming single-elimination format Hockey East is putting in place.
UCONN earned their third-straight loss and dropped the Huskies to 17-15-0 overall and 13-10-0 in Hockey East play. UVM improved to 8-23-2 for their overall record and 6-15-2 in conference play.
PLAYOFF PICTURE
The loss means UCONN cannot finish higher than the fourth seed in Hockey East. To earn a bye into the quarterfinal round (which would require a top-five seed), the Huskies needed to win in regulation and then hope for a regulation loss by Merrimack and any type of unlikely defeat for Boston University on Saturday.
BU won 5-1 over Maine while Northeastern crushed Merrimack 6-1.
If all three teams win in regulation, UCONN will be the sixth seed and once again on the outside looking in.
Porter Schachle had a three-point effort scoring a goal, doubling his season output, and with three points equaled his seasonal total for the Catamounts. Finnish freshmen, Joel Määttä, contributed with a timely goal and two points in Vermont’s win.
The Catamounts capitalized on numerous Husky turnovers in the first half of the game forcing UCONN to play catchup hockey all night.
The 6’4 Alaskan native, Schachle marched in on a clean breakaway after John Spetz’s shot was blocked. He went with a strong forehand move and tucked the puck around the outstretched right leg of Darion Hanson, hung out to dry by his teammates.
Vermont’s third goal came as Carter Berger for the Huskies surrendered the puck to Dallas Comeau. He then sent it over to Määttä on the left-wing boards and he moved in ten feet and whistled it past Hanson at 9:30.
The puck management was abysmal for UCONN at any spot on the ice.
UCONN had just tied the score 3:20 earlier as Spetz fired his third shot in a row from the right point. His shot was re-directed, and with Artem Schlaine in front, the puck snuck past Vermont’s senior goalie from New Jersey, Tyler Harmon. It was Spetz’s sixth goal of the season.
The scoreboard read 3-3.
Offensively, UCONN did well at times, but for only short stretches when a full 60-minute effort was required.
“I thought there were times where we tried to pass the puck and we should have shot it. When we aren’t getting second and third opportunities it’s usually because we don’t have a couple guys at the net,” Cavanaugh lamented.
UCONN had put together strong O-zone time early in the second with s good offensive possession period and were tied at 2-2. Kevin O’Neil from UCONN was behind the Vermont net. He came out on the left side on Harmon, who made the first save. But Harmon couldn’t control the rebound and O’Neil put his sixth goal of the season past him before he fell backward and knocked the net off its pegs at 1:14.
“I liked our shots, but we could have had more ‘quality shots’,” Cavanaugh stated. “We were on the perimeter too often.”
SHAKY FIRST PERIOD
Vermont tallied early in the first period as Schachle converted a Määttä rebound and went uncontested and unchecked at the right side of the net. He easily potted the goal at 11:15.
The Huskies tied the game just 14 seconds into a power play just 44 seconds after Vermont had scored.
Jonny Evans was atop the left-wing face-off circle and fed Carter Turnbull. The UCONN forward came out of the left-wing corner and scored his 11th goal of the season.
The Huskies gave the lead back late at 18:15.
Ryan Tverberg made a dreadful and highly unusual turnover in the right-wing corner, just giving it to Schachle. He turned and passed it to Will Zapernick who blasted it from the shooter’s position on one knee from the left-wing side. Zapernick rocketed the shot past a diving Tverberg, who was trying to avenge his error. Hanson had zero chance on the play.
CAVANAUGH SENDS A WARNING
Cavanaugh sent a clear warning bell to his troops.
When queried as to what he might do to improve his team for the next day’s meeting and improve his team’s fortunes, Cavanaugh shot back with a quick retort. “Play a lot better than we did tonight. That’s gonna be the challenge. I think that’s pretty easy one. We gotta play a lot better tomorrow.”
LINES
Gatcomb-Evans-Turnbull
Firstov-Kondelik-O’Neil
Schandor-Schlaine-Tverberg
Telguine-Veilleux-John Wojchiwchowski
Berger-Spetz
Wheeler-Rees
Flynn-Kinal
Gourley
Hanson
Terness
SCRATCHES
Chase Bradley (lower-body)
Nick Capone (lower-body)
Aidan Metcalfe
Gavin Puskar
Matt Pasquale
Cassidy Bowes
NOTES
Telguine was in for the injured Nick Capone.
Jacques Bouquot (South Windsor/Salisbury School) was on Vermont’s first line. He had the final goal, an empty-netter, assisted by Zapernick, who earned his second point of the evening.
Former Vermont goalie Stefanos Lakkos was traded from the Wheeling Nailers (ECHL) to the Maine Mariners (ECHL) playing for his fourth ECHL team of the year.
