University of Connecticut Athletics
Huskies Head Up to Vermont for Weekend Series
11/1/2018 10:35:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Watch: UVMAthletics.com
Live Stats: UVMAthletics.com
Ice Chips…
- The UConn Huskies head back on the road and up to Burlington, Vermont for a weekend Hockey East series with the Vermont Catamounts. The Huskies took three of four points from Maine at home last weekend.
- The Catamounts lead the all-time series with the Huskies, 23-4-1, with UVM also holding a 4-7-0 edge since UConn joined Hockey East in 2014-15, including a playoff series victory in 2015-16. The Huskies have won three of the last four meetings with Vermont.
- Junior Alexander Payusov is off to a blazing offensive start to the season with a team and Hockey East leading seven goals in six games. Payusov is second in the nation to Arizona State's Johnny Walker's eight goals scored. The junior forward has scored seven times on just 13 shots and has picked-up three power play goals as well. He scored both Husky goals in the 2-2 tie with Maine on Saturday and extended his streak to four-straight games with a goal.
- Payusov has skated on the same line with senior Karl El-Mir and freshman Jachym Kondelik over the last four games and the trio has produced 15 points (9/6).
- El-Mir scored a pair of goals including a shorthanded score and the game-winner in the Huskies 5-2 win over Maine last Friday. It was El-Mir's first multi-goal effort since scoring a pair against Vermont in the Hockey East playoffs (3/5/16) his freshman season.
- Freshman Jachym Kondelik has a team-leading eight assists on the year, tying him for the Hockey East lead and putting him first among league rookies in scoring. Kondelik has three multi-point games this season and has a four-game point streak heading into Friday.
- 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.
- Through the first six games, eight different Huskies have scored goals while 11 of the team's 12 rookies have made their collegiate debuts. The UConn freshmen have collected 18 points (4g/14a) in six games with six rookies recording their first collegiate points. The junior class is right on their heels with 16 points (9/7).
- 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.
Last Season vs. Vermont
(Nov. 3&4, 2017)
The Huskies played Vermont three times last season and split a home Hockey East series with Vermont during early November, winning the opener, 5-1, and dropping the finale, 4-2. On Friday night, four different Huskies scored goals as UConn snapped a five-game winless streak. UConn was led by senior Spencer Naas 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. On Saturday, the Huskies held a 2-0 lead early in the second period but Vermont would rattle off four unanswered goals on the way a split in the series. UConn built a lead thanks to goals by juniors Miles Gendron in the first and Maxim Letunov early in the second period. Following the Letunov goal, the Huskies got a five-minute major power play chance but it was Vermont who capitalized and swung the momentum. UVM's Colton drew a penalty on a break-away during the kill and was awarded a penalty shot, he converted to start the Catamount comeback. Senior Jarrid Privitera and sophomore Matt Alvaro scored late in the second. The Huskies outshot UVM 12-2 in the final period but sophomore goaltender Stefanos Lekkas stopped every shot he saw and the Catamounts tacked on a fourth goal to seal away the road win. Lekkas finished the night with 31 saves to earn the win while Vermont killed off all four UConn power play chances.
(Nov. 21, 2017)
UConn sophomore goaltender Adam Huska made a season-high 39 saves to lead the Huskies to a 4-1 Hockey East win on the road, taking the season series with the Catamounts. Four different Huskies found the back of the net in the win ending another winless streak (0-5-1) that dated back to a 5-1 win at home over these Catamounts. The Huskies opened the game building a 3-0 lead in the first period thanks to goals by seniors Jesse Schwartz and Kasperi Ojantakanen and sophomore Philip Nyberg. UVM cut the lead to 3-1 in the third period with an Alex Esposito power play goal as the Catamounts mounted an offensive charge with 20 shots in the period. The Huskies held on and junior Max Kalter added an empty net goal with 21 seconds left to seal the win. Huska turned away 19 in the third period alone as he claimed his fourth win on the year. Vermont's Stefanos Lekkas made 34 saves in taking the loss.
Scouting the Catamounts
The Vermont Catamounts head into this weekend's series at 2-2-0 overall and 0-1-0 in the league after falling at New Hampshire, 3-2 in overtime in their conference opener last weekend. On Sunday, UVM rebounded to post a 2-1 win on the road at Brown. The Catamounts opened their season with a 5-2 win on the road at No. 4 nationally ranked Michigan behind a 48 save night from goaltender Stanfos Lekkas. The junior netminder has played every minute for UVM, sporting a 2.24 goals against and a .935 save percentage through the season's first four games. Last year he started 35 games and owned a 2.84 goals against with a .914 save percentage. Sophomore Alex Esposito leads the team with three goals on the season and is coming off a rookie campaign where he posted 20 points on 10 goals and 10 assists. The Catamounts finished ninth in Hockey East last season and were tabbed to take 10th in this year's preseason coaches' poll.
