University of Connecticut Athletics
Huskies Headed to Maine for HEA Quarterfinal Series
3/7/2020 7:49:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
STORRS, Conn. - The UConn Huskies will be the No. 5 seed in the 2020 Hockey East playoffs and will head up to No. 4 seeded Maine for a best-of-three quarterfinal series with the Black Bears on March 13 through 15.
The Huskies and Black Bears will be meeting for the first time in the post season. Game one of the series is scheduled for Friday night, March 13 at 7 pm. Game two is on Saturday, March 14 at 6 pm and if necessary, game three will be on Sunday, March 15 at 6 pm. All three games will be played at Alfond Arena up in Orono, Maine and will be available to stream online withe CBS All-Access app.
The Huskies hold a 7-5-4 lead in the all-time series with Maine with seven games going to overtime. The Huskies are 7-3-3 against the Black Bears since becoming a member of Hockey East in 2014-15 and UConn is 4-3-2 all-time at Alfond Arena.
UConn and Maine faced-off three times this season with the Huskies taking two of three from the Black Bears. Here is a summary of this year's match-ups:
January 15, 2020 - W, 3-2 at Webster Bank Arena
UConn freshman Vladislav Firstov scored the game-winning goal in the third period to cap off three unanswered for the Huskies as they came back to post a 3-2 win over the Maine Black Bears at the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport. The win snapped a four-game slide and a five-game winless streak for the Huskies. UConn fell behind 2-0 in the first period before sophomore Carter Turnbull got the UConn comeback started late in the period with his seventh goal on the season. Senior Alexander Payusov tied the game up early in the second period and Firstov gave the Huskies the go-ahead goal early in the third while sophomore goaltender Tomas Vomacka made it stand up with 37 saves on the night. Maine got a power play goal from Jakub Sirota and took a 2-0 lead on a Tim Doherty goal just 1:05 later. Goaltender Jeremy Swayman stopped 23 shots in the loss.
February 14, 2020 - W, 3-2 at Alfond Arena
The UConn men's hockey team got the game-winning goal from Maine native and senior captain Benjamin Freeman in the third period as the Huskies knocked-off the No. 17 nationally ranked Maine Black Bears, 3-2, to open a weekend series. The Huskies dealt the Black Bears their first loss at home this season. Freeman scored his fifth on the season on the way to a then career-high three point night (1g/2a). The Huskies top-line of Freeman, classmate Alexander Payusov and sophomore Carter Turnbull had a hand in all three UConn goals. Turnbull finished the night with a career-best three assists while Payusov chipped in with a goal and an assist. Freshman defenseman Jake Flynn scored his first career goal in the win. The Huskies finished with a 36-26 edge on shots but were 0-for-3 on the power play. Sophomore goaltender Tomas Vomacka had 24 saves in the win. For Maine, Tim Doherty had a power play goal, his 14th goal this season, and Samuel Rennaker tied it up in the second period for the Black Bears, his fifth on the year. Goaltender Jeremy Swayman stopped 33 shots.
February 15, 2020 - L, 1-0 OT at Alfond Arena
The Huskies team played the No. 17 Black Bears to a scoreless tie through three periods and 4:07 of overtime but Mitchel Fossier scored the game-winner with 53 seconds left to deal the Huskies a 1-0 loss in the series finale. UConn's sophomore goaltender Tomas Vomacka made 25 saves in taking the loss. The Huskies held a 41-26 edge on shots but came up 0-for-3 on the power play. The UConn penalty kill did kill off all three Maine power plays including a third period 5-on-3 chance. It was just the second time this season the Huskies were shutout. Maine's Jeremy Swayman made 41 saves to earn the win.
