University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
Providence
Huskies Host No. 8 Providence Tuesday Night
2/25/2019 4:21:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
Video: Huskies All-Access
Live Stats: UConnHuskies.com
Ice Chips
- The Huskies return home to the XL Center for the final three games of the season starting on Tuesday night against the No. 8 nationally ranked Providence Friars.
- The Friars took the first meeting this season way back on October 19, a 7-2 win at home in Schneider Arena. Since joining Hockey East in 2014-15, the Huskies are 1-7-1 against the Friars.
- UConn is coming off a 3-0 loss at No. 2 ranked Massachusetts last Thursday, their second-straight shutout loss and fifth time going scoreless this season. The loss eliminated the Huskies from playoff contention with three games to play. UConn heads into this week tied with Vermont for ninth in the Hockey East standings, both with 12 points. The Friars are fighting for home ice in the quarterfinals and are currently fourth in the standings with three left on their slate as well.
- The Huskies have won three-straight at home in Hartford and on the season are 5-5-2 at the XL Center. UConn will close the season hosting Vermont on Friday night and nationally ranked UMass on Friday, March 8 for "Senior Night".
- Freshman goaltender Tomas Vomacka has earned the starting nod in the last five-straight, posting a 3-2-0 record with a 1.60 goals against average and a .946 save percentage during that stretch. On the season, Vomacka has a 2.38 goals against average and a .917 save percentage in 13 games.
- Junior Alexander Payusov is the Huskies leading goal scorer with 15 on the year and has two overtime game-winners to beat Northeastern and Boston University, both at home. He is currently tied for second in Hockey East in goal scoring.
- Senior Karl El-Mir leads the team in scoring with 27 points on 13 goals and 14 assists, both career-best marks. He 11th in Hockey East in scoring and has seven power play goals, tied for first.
- Freshman Jachym Kondelik is among the league's top-rookie point producers with 25 points on four goals and 21 assists. He is third in Hockey East in freshmen scoring.
- In the UConn freshman record book, Kondelik's 25 points currently rank eighth during the Division I era (1998-present) and 15th overall. His 21 assists is tied for second on the rookie DI list and tied for fourth all-time.
- Freshmen Ruslan Iskhakov and Jonny Evans have seen a jump in their offense late in the season. Iskhakov went 10 games without a point but has three goals and five assists in his last six games. Evans put up a career-best four points on two goals and two assists in the win over Merrimack and since returning to the lineup (missed 12 games/inj.) he has seven points (2g/5a) in his last six outings.
This Season vs. Providence
October 19, 2018
The Huskies fell to the Friars in their third game of the season and first Hockey East match-up of the year, 7-2 in Providence. UConn got a pair of power play goals from senior Karl El-Mir and junior Alexander Payusov but seven different Friars found the back of the net in taking the win. After leading 1-0 into the first break, Providence put three on the board in both the second and third periods and finished 3-of-4 on the power play. UConn went 2-for-8 on the power play, with El-Mir's second period goal pulling UConn to within 2-1. Payusov opened the third period with a power play goal and pulled the Huskies to within 4-2 before the Friars scored three-straight to close it out. Providence held a 39-26 advantage on the shot chart with UConn goaltender Adam Huska making 32 saves in the loss.
Scouting the Friars
The Friars are coming off of a 3-2 Hockey East win at home on Saturday against first place and No. 2 ranked Massachusetts. Providence is currently ranked fourth in the league and ** in the national polls with a 19-9-5 overall record and a 12-7-2 league record. Junior Josh Wilkins is the team's leading point scorer with 30 on 10 goals and 20 assists. His 30 points and 20 assists both leave him seventh in Hockey East. Junior Kasper Bjorkqvist and senior Scott Conway each have 13 goals on the season, tying them for seventh in the league among all goal scorers. Senior goaltender Hayden Hawkey is first in the league with a 1.81 goals against average and sixth with a .922 save percentage. Hawkey has managed seven shutouts this season, leading the league and the country. On special teams, the Friars come in first in the league with an .871 penalty kill percentage.
