University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
Providence
Huskies at No. 5 Providence on Friday; Travel to RPI Saturday Night
10/18/2018 3:34:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
Radio Coverage: UConn IMG Sports Network (Friday Only) -Â 97.9 ESPN Hartford | WILI 1400 AM and 95.3 FM
    Bob Joyce (pxp)
Audio Stream:Â TuneIn.com
Video: Friars.com (Fri.) / RPITV.org (Sat.)
Live Stats: Friars.com (Fri.) / RPIAthletics.com (Sat.)
Ice Chips…
- The UConn Huskies lose out their season-opening four-game road swing with stops at No. 5 ranked Providence and Rensselaer this weekend. The Huskies will open their fifth season of play in Hockey East with Friday night's tilt against the nationally ranked Friars.Â
- On Saturday, the Huskies match-up with Rensselaer for the first time since the 2014-15 season. UConn has never beaten RPI (0-2-3) and will face the Engineers again later this season at the XL Center (Jan. 16). This is the second of potentially seven games against teams from the ECAC this season. UConn is 6-7-2 against the league under Head Coach Mike Cavanaugh.
- The Huskies are coming off a 4-2 loss on Tuesday night at state rival Quinnipiac. Two UConn freshmen scored their first collegiate goals in Carter Turnbull and Jonny Evans while fellow rookie Kale Howarth picked-up his first point with an assist.
- Through the first two games, seven different Huskies have scored goals while nine of the team's 12 rookies have made their collegiate debuts. The UConn freshmen have collected nine points (3g/6a) in two games with Evans leading the team with three points (1g/2a).
- The Huskies will be road warriors for the first three months of the season, playing just five times at the XL Center in their first 21 games. UConn will open at home in the XL Center hosting Maine for a two-game series next weekend in Hartford.
- UConn is coming off their best season in Hockey East, tied for fifth with an 11-12-1 record and spot in the tournament quarterfinals, and were tabbed to finish eighth in this year's Hockey East Preseason Coaches Poll. In three of their first four years in the league, UConn has outplayed their preseason prediction.
- UConn senior defenseman Miles Gendron will captain the Huskies this season with senior forward Max Kalter and junior forward Benjamin Freeman serving as the squad's alternate captains.
- Junior Benjamin Freeman is the Huskies top-returning point producer after a 21-point season coming on eight goals and 13 assists while junior Alexander Payusov is the team's top-returning goal scorer after putting 12 in the back of the net last season. After recording two assists in 15 games as a rookie, Payusov broke out last year with a 20 point (12g/8a) campaign.Â
- Junior goaltender Adam Huska played in 27 games last year and ranked seventh among Hockey East goaltenders in goals against average (2.59) and 10th in save percentage (.912).
Last Season vs. Providence (Jan. 18 & 20, 2018)
The Huskies split the season series with Providence last year, losing at home 3-1 and topping the No. 10 Friars on the road 3-1. At the XL Center, Providence took a 3-0 lead into the first intermission with Josh Wilkins scoring a pair in the first 4:57 of play. The Friars tacked on their third with 1:56 left in the period off the stick of Vimal Sukumaran. The Huskies finally ended their scoring drought 3:46 into the third period when Alexander Payusov tucked a wrap-around attempt past Hayden Hawkey, making it 3-1. Hawkey made 23 stops in the win while Tanner Creel made 27 saves. In Providence, the Huskies took a first period 1-0 lead on a Johnny Austin power play goal. UConn went up 2-0 in the second as Joseph Masonius converted on the power play. The Friars cut it to 2-1 late and pulled their goaltender with just over a 1:30 to play in the third when the Huskies put the game away on Maxim Letunov's empty netter. Creel made 26 saves in the victory that started a seven-game winning streak for the Huskies.
Scouting the Friars
This past weekend, the Friars took part in the 2018 Ice Breaker tournament in Erie, Pa, knocking off Miami, 4-0 and falling to No. 2 Notre Dame, 3-0. The Friars were ranked fifth in both the USCHO and USA Today polls this week. Senior Hayden Hawkey returns as the team's starting goaltender helping the team to two out of three victories to start the season and is currently sixth among Hockey East goaltenders in goals against average with 1.35 and tied for eighth in save percentage at .934. Junior Spenser Young and sophomore Greg Printz each have a pair of goals on the year. This year's freshmen class boasts four NHL draft picks in Michael Callahan (ARZ), Jack Dugan (VGK), Mikael Hakkarainen (CHI), and Jay O'Brien (PHI).
Last Meeting vs. RPI (Nov. 18, 2014)
The Huskies and Engineers skated to a 1-1 tie at the XL Center back during the 2014-15 season, UConn's first year in Hockey East. The Huskies killed off a lone first period RPI power play and it wasn't until 2:57 of the second period when Joey Ferriss got the Huskies on the board off a feed from then freshman David Drake for a 1-0 lead. RPI found the equalizing goal on the power play with just 2.3 seconds on the clock in the second on a Drew Melanson one-timer. The Huskies generated 13 shots in the third period while forcing goaltender Rob Nichols to make just four saves. After keeping the Huskies at bay in the third, the Engineers turned the tables in overtime and rang up seven shots on goal, keeping the Huskies buried in their zone for stretches. Nichols was up to the task and finished the night with 24 stops to preserve the tie.
Scouting the Engineers
The Engineers are coming off of a home-and-home series with UMass, falling Friday in Amherst, 6-1, and at home on Saturday, 3-1. Freshman Jakub Lacka scored both of RPI's goals in the series. Sophomore Jacob Hayhurst was RPI's top scorer last season, coming off a 12 goal, 11 assist campaign. The Engineers have 10 freshmen along with three junior transfers, on this year's roster. Sophomore goaltender Linden Marshall made 52 saves in the UMass series. Last season, he played the majority of minutes in goal as a rookie and posted a 3.17 goals against and a .904 save percentage. RPI was tabbed to finish 10th in the ECAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, tying them with St. Lawrence.
