University of Connecticut Athletics
Huskies Head Out To Bentley, Merrimack
10/22/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Oct. 22, 2009
STORRS, Conn. - The University of Connecticut men's hockey team heads back out on the road this weekend when they take on Bentley on Friday and Merrimack on Sunday.
The game at Bentley is the Atlantic Hockey opener for the Huskies and will take place at 7:05 p.m. Sunday's game at Merrimack will take place at 4 p.m. and will be the first time former Husky assistant coach Glenn Stewart faces off against his old team.
FOLLOW THE GAME: Both games can be seen in their entirety on the B2Network via UConnHuskies.com.
SCOUTING BENTLEY: The Falcons have had a tough couple of games to begin their season. They opened against No. 20 Northeastern on the road falling just short to the Huskies 3-2. On Saturday night, Bentley traveled to Hamden to take on No. 18 Quinnipiac where they narrowly missed a win opportunity over the Bobcats falling 3-2 in overtime.
SERIES PAST: UConn and Bentley's series only began during the 1999-2000 season but they have already met 32 times. UConn holds the series lead 19-10-3 and was undefeated in their first 13 games against the Falcons. Recently, the play has been back and forth. UConn is currently on a three-game undefeated streak against Bentley going 2-0-1 in the final three games played against Bentley last season.
UCONN IN ATLANTIC HOCKEY OPENERS: Since joining the Atlantic Hockey Association in 2003, UConn is 3-3 in AHA Season Openers, currently riding a two-game win streak with wins over AIC (4-2 in 2007-08) and Army (4-3 last season). The Huskies have never faced the Falcons in a season opener.
The Huskies won their first ever AHA season opener at Canisius 4-3 before dropping three straight to Mercyhurst (L, 6-3 in 2004-05 and L, 5-2 in 2005-06) and Army (L, 5-4 in 2006-07).
SCOUTING MERRIMACK: The Warriors began their season with a couple of televised games at North Dakota to begin their season falling in both of them, 5-2 and 3-2.
They continued their play last weekend earning their two victories on the season against AHA teams Holy Cross and Army defeating the Crusaders 3-1 and the Black Knights 6-3.
SERIES PAST: The series between these two teams in one of the longest in the 50 year history of the UConn Hockey program. Merrimack has dominated the series holding a 20-1-0 advantage.
The majority of the games between the two teams have come at Merrimack or in neutral sites with the Huskies just hosting four of the 21.
UCONN AGAINST THE HOCKEY EAST: Since becoming a Division I team 11 seasons ago, the Huskies have gone 2-19-2 against Hockey East teams. Those two wins came at UMass (3-2) in the 2004-05 season and at Merrimack (2-1) in 2005-06.
The Huskies have faced off with UMass more times than any other Hockey East team facing off against the Minutemen eight times since becoming a D-I program. Merrimack comes next (6), then UMass-Lowell (4), Providence and Northeastern (2) and New Hampshire (1).
HUSKIES LAST TIME OUT: The Huskies went 0-2-0 on the weekend dropping two non-conference games to CCHA opponent Ferris State. After the two games, Ferris State improved their series record with the Huskies to 6-0-0.
UConn battled in the first game. Sophomore Daniel Naurato recorded the first goal of the game giving the Huskies a 1-0 advantage. He was helped out by his linemates freshmen Jim Gallagher and Sean Ambrosie on the goal who each recorded the first points of their collegiate career. Ferris State answered in the second period notching two unanswered goals for the lead and the ultimate game one victory.
On Saturday, Ferris State got out to a 3-0 lead before the Huskies were able to get on the board. Ambrosie tallied the first goal of his career with some help from junior Jeff Sapieha. But that was all the Huskies would manage as Ferris State rattled off another three goals to end with a 6-1 victory.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK: After his performance against Ferris State, University of Connecticut freshman Sean Ambrosie (Moorhead, Minn.) earned AHA Rookie of the week honors.
Ambrosie recorded two points on the weekend tallying his first collegiate goal and assist in the series against Ferris State. Ambrosie earned his first assist of the season on Daniel Naurato's goal in game one that gave the Huskies a 1-0 advantage over their CCHA opponent. He notched the first goal of his career in game two. His goal was the only one of the game for the Huskies and came in the second period.
FAMILIAR FACE: When the Huskies take on Merrimack on Sunday, they will meet up with their former Assistant Coach Glenn Stewart who was a part of the UConn program from 2004-2009.
Stewart left the program in August to take the vacant assistant coaching job at Merrimack.
With Stewart at the helm of recruiting, the Huskies saw a variety of players come from all over including the BCHL.
