University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
1-4-1, 1-4-1HE
Massachusetts
5-3-1, 5-3-1HE
Huskies Lose at No. 10 Massachusetts
12/23/2020 6:28:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
AMHERST, Mass. – The UConn Huskies fell to the No. 10 nationally ranked Massachusetts Minutemen, 6-2, Wednesday afternoon at the Mullins Center. UMass won the battle on special teams, scoring three power play goals while killing off all five UConn power plays.
UConn freshman Hudson Schandor (N. Vancouver, British Columbia) and junior Jonny Evans (North Delta, British Columbia) provided the Huskies scoring. UConn falls to 1-4-1 in Hockey East with the loss.
UMass, now 5-3-1, built a 3-0 lead heading into the third period but UConn's Schandor and Evans scored just over a minute apart early in the final stanza to pull the Huskies to within a goal. The Minutemen would answer back with three-straight, two from Carson Gicewicz on the way to closing out the 6-2 win.
Gicewicz added an assist to finish the night with three points. Bobby Trivigno also had a three-point game, scoring a goal and dishing out two assists. Matthew Kessel and Zac Jones both had power play goals and assists in the win.
UConn outshot the Minutemen, 29-25, but couldn't score on their five power play chances. UMass went 3-for-6 with the extra skater while Matt Murray made 27 saves to earn the win. He also picked-up an assist.
Husky goaltender Tomas Vomacka (Trutnov, Czech Republic) made 19 saves.
1st period:
The Huskies got three power play chances in the first period, but twice saw their chance with the extra skater cut short after taking a penalty themselves. The Minutemen scored on their first power play chance of the game, taking a 1-0 lead just 3:20 into the game.
UMass goaltender Murray sent Oliver Chau up ice and he carried into the zone. Chau fed Jones back at the high point and he snapped a shot through some traffic in front, his third of the season, to cover all the first period scoring.
2nd period:
The Minutemen scored their second power play goal of the night, again struck early, finding the back of the net just 56 seconds into the second. Trivigno fed an open Carson Gicewicz in the slot, who passed up the shot to feed Jones in the left circle who buried a one-timer chance, his third goal, for a 2-0 lead.
Trivigno got in on the scoring at the 16:24 mark to give his team a 3-0 lead over the Huskies. Aaron Bohlinger took a cross ice pass in the left circle and threw it towards the net where a cutting Trivigno was able to get enough of the puck to redirect it past Vomacka for his third of the season.
?? UConn GOAL!!!
— UConn Men's Hockey (@UConnMHOC) December 23, 2020
Huskies are on the board as freshman Hudson Schandor scores his first collegiate goal to cut the UMass lead to 3-1.#IceBus pic.twitter.com/5ZNFi0DHYR
3rd period:
The Huskies struck for consecutive goals just 1:09 apart early in the final period to pull within 3-2. Schandor scored his first collegiate goal at the 3:00 mark to get the Huskies on the board. Classmate Nick Capone (East Haven, Conn.) won the puck behind net and got it out front to Schandor who buried the quick one-time chance.
UConn's Evans made it four-straight games with a point by scoring his second on the year just 1:09 later. Coming off a face-off in the UMass zone, the puck went back to Harrison Rees (Oakville, Ontario) who blasted on net. The shot was blocked and junior Kale Howarth (Red Deer, Alberta) touched the loose puck to Evans in the slot who rang one off the post and in to pull within 3-2.
?? ?? UConn GOAL!!!
— UConn Men's Hockey (@UConnMHOC) December 23, 2020
Ohhhhhhh Jonny!
Evans cuts it to 3-2 with his 2nd on the year, buries one in the slot.#IceBus pic.twitter.com/1yL0vokELd
The Minutemen had answered in a big way, running off three-straight goals to close out the win. UMass scored their third power play goal of the night at 6:13 as Gicewicz scored his first of two on the night, getting a redirect in front of Vomacka.
UMass's Garrett Wait made 5-2 at the 9:53 mark, finishing a feed from Trivigno and then Gicewicz would put the finishing touches on the win with his second coming on a break-away chance at 12:11.
Up Next:
UConn will be back at home in the Freitas Ice Forum on Monday, December 28 to play host to the Providence Friars at 3 pm.
