University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
Sacred Heart
Huskies Host State-Rival Sacred Heart Tuesday Night
1/28/2019 5:09:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
Video: HuskyVision
Live Stats: UConnHuskies.com
Ice Chips
- The UConn Huskies open a five-game homestand on Tuesday night playing host to state-rival Sacred Heart in their final non-conference match-up of the season.
- The Huskies are in the midst of a four-game winless streak after tying New Hampshire at home, 2-2, and getting shutout by the Wildcats, 6-0, on the road over the weekend. UConn will jump right back into the Hockey East mix this Friday night hosting Boston College.
- The Huskies and Pioneers were members of the MAAC and Atlantic Hockey from 1998-99 through the 2013-14 season. Since joining Hockey East in 2014-15, the Pioneers have won all four meetings between the two schools and are currently on a five-game win streak. Under head coach Mike Cavanaugh, the Huskies are 2-6-0 against SHU.
- Tuesday's game wraps us the Huskies match-ups with in-state opponents Quinnipiac, Sacred Heart and Yale. This is the third time under head coach Mike Cavanaugh the Huskies have played all three state rivals in the same season.
- After their weekend series with UNH, the Huskies are in 11th place in the Hockey East standings with six points and nine games left on the slate. UConn is seven points behind Maine in eighth place. The top-eight teams in Hockey East will qualify for the 2019 league tournament.
- Senior Karl El-Mir saw his career best seven-game point streak come to an end in Saturday's 6-0 loss at UNH. During the seven game stretch, El-Mir had nine points on three goals and six assists. On the season, El-Mir has a team-best 21 points, a career-high mark.
- El-Mir has six power play goals this season, tied for second in Hockey East and ninth in the NCAA. Five of El-Mir's power play scores have come with freshman Jachym Kondelik and sophomore Evan Wisocky picking up the assist..
- Freshman Jachym Kondelik also saw his point streak come to an end at six-straight games. On the year, Kondelik is third among Hockey East rookies and seventh in the NCAA in scoring with 21 points on three goals and 18 assists. The UConn freshmen class as a whole leads the team with 56 points (15g/41a) this season.
- Sophomore Evan Wisocky has piled up 11 assists on the season, second only to Kondelik. He has played a key role on the UConn power play all year with eight of his 11 assists coming with the man advantage.
- Alexander Payusov's 13 goals is a career-best mark for the junior, eclipsing his 12 from last season, and is currently ranked third among Hockey East goal scorers.
Last Meeting vs. SHU
October 14, 2017
Sacred Heart goaltender Brett Magnus stopped 44 shots to backstop the Pioneers to a 3-1 victory over UConn. The Huskies held a 45-22 shot advantage but came up empty on four power play chances in taking the loss. UConn fell behind 3-0 just past the mid-point of the second period before Adam Karashik put the Huskies lone goal on the board. The Pioneers got first period goals from Austin McIlmurray and Matt Tugnutt. They made it 3-0 in the second when Alex Bates found the back of the net. Magnus was masterful in net, and after the Karashik goal kept the Huskies in check including 16 stops in the third period. UConn's Adam Huska made 19 saves in the loss.
Scouting the Pioneers
The Pioneers played a home series this past weekend with Atlantic Hockey foe Holy Cross taking Friday night's match-up, 5-2 and falling to the Crusaders Saturday night, 4-1. The Pioneers sit at 7-13-3 overall and 7-9-2 in AHA play, leaving them ninth in the current standings. The Pioneers lead the league in shots per game coming in at 30.9 with junior Vito Bavaro averaging 3.83 per game, second in the league. Freshman Austin Magera is the team's leading scorer at 16 points on six goals and 10 assists and has two shorthanded goals on the season, tying him for second in Atlantic Hockey. In the net, rookie Josh Benson holds a 2.59 goals against average and a .902 save percentage, holding the third and fourth spots respectively among all AHA netminders.
Huskies vs. Atlantic Hockey
UConn was one of the inaugural members of the Atlantic Hockey Association and played in the conference for 11 seasons (2003-2014).
Under head coach Mike Cavanaugh, the Huskies are 18-16-5 against schools from Atlantic Hockey and 3-5-0 since leaving the league for Hockey East in 2014-15.
The Huskies have faced AIC, Army West Point, Sacred Heart, and RIT from the league since joining Hockey East.
