University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
3-5-1, 2-2-1HEA
Vermont
2-5-1, 0-1-1HEA
UConn Takes Down Vermont, 4-1
11/3/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
HARTFORD, Conn. - Four different Huskies scored goals to aid the UConn men's hockey team to a 5-1 Hockey East win over Vermont Friday night, snapping their five-game winless streak. The Huskies were led by senior Spencer Naas (Minnetonka, Minn.) who potted two in the series opening win.
The Huskies used a solid defensive effort, allowing Vermont 22 shots, matching their season-low for an opponent. UConn improves to 3-5-1 overall on the year and 2-2-1 in the league while Vermont falls to 2-5-1 overall and 0-1-1 in conference. UConn and Vermont will close out their weekend set tomorrow at the XL Center in Hartford at 3:35 pm.
Junior forward Max Kalter (Highland Park, Ill.) opened up the scoring for the Huskies at 11:33 in the first. After Vermont tied the game 1-1 early in the second, UConn answered with three-straight to take command. Sophomore Justin Howell (Saint Paul, Minn.) and seniors Jeff Wight (Coquitlam, British Columbia) and Naas each picked up a goal in the second period giving the Huskies a 4-1 lead going into the third.
Vermont's Ross Colton scored their only goal of the night on the power play just 2:41 into the second with the assist from Christian Evers. After giving up a goal on Vermont's first power play chance, the Huskies killed off the last five chances of the night.
Naas made it 5-1 at 15:19 in the third, scoring his second of the game.
UConn goaltender Adam Huska made 21 saves while Vermont goaltenders, Stefanos Lekkas and Tyler Harmon made a total of 30 saves in the loss. UConn held a 35-22 edge on shots.
Senior Jeff Wight talks about UConn's bounce back win Friday night #IceBus pic.twitter.com/QskEQofgcg
- UConn Men's Hockey (@UConnMHOC) November 4, 2017
1st:
Just after a Vermont penalty expired, UConn's Zac Robbins (Glenview, Ill.) tapped it to Kalter in the slot who slapped a shot on Lekkas, who got a piece of it but not enough as it made its way across the line at 11:33 for a 1-0 lead.
2nd:
UConn started the period shorthanded with senior David Drake (Naperville, Ill.) in the box for another 30 seconds on his penalty. Drake gave the Catamounts another power play opportunity at 2:31 and they took advantage scoring at 2:41 when Colton put one in the top-shelf.
The Huskies answered right back just eight seconds later taking back their lead with a clean shot from Howell on a breakaway. Sophomore Benjamin Freeman carried the puck into the zone on the left wing and threaded a pass to Howell in the slot who buried it for his first on the year.
The Huskies took a 3-1 lead at 12:06 as Wight got a deflection off a Joseph Masonius (Spring Lake, N.J.) blast from the blue line. Just over a minute later, Naas batted the rebound from Maxim Letunov (Moscow, Russia) out of the air right into the back of the net for a 4-1 advantage and triggering a Vermont timeout.
3rd:
To start the third, Vermont replaced Lekkas in goal with Harmon. UConn tacked on their final goal of the night at 15:19 with Naas picking up his second, putting home a rebound off a Philip Nyberg (Linkoping, Sweden) shot.
Coach Cav at the press conference after a 5-1 win over Vermont #IceBus pic.twitter.com/WjtMH25AVV
- UConn Men's Hockey (@UConnMHOC) November 4, 2017
Notes:
Howell scored his first goal on the season and snapped a 24-game scoring drought. His last goal came at Notre Dame last season (10/27/16).
Naas recorded his first multi-goal game of the season and the fifth of his career. It was also his second multi-point game this year and 10th of his career. His two goals matches his career-high. For Naas, it was the 39th and 40th goals of his career.
Letunov's two assists gives him three multi-point games this season and 21 for his career. Masonius' two assists matches his career-high and gives him his first multi-point game this year and seventh of his career.
Senior Spencer Naas talks about the Huskies big 2nd period #IceBus pic.twitter.com/M6hFgxLvaN
- UConn Men's Hockey (@UConnMHOC) November 4, 2017
