University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
Northeastern
Huskies Set for TD Garden Debut
3/17/2022 8:50:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Media Coverage:
TV:Â NESNÂ - Tom Caron (pxp), Billy Jaffe (color), Meredith Gorman (rinkside)
Radio: UConn Sports Network from Learfield - ESPN 97.9 FM / The Varsity Network App - Bob Joyce (pxp), Adam Giardino (color)
Video: NESN.com \ CollegeSportsLive.com & CBS Sports App (Outside New England)
Live Stats: HockeyEastOnline.com
Game Notes: UConn Northeastern Massachusetts UMass LowellÂ
Ice Chips
The UConn Huskies will make the program's first trip to TD Garden in Boston for Hockey East Championship weekend and face regular season champion and top-seeded Northeastern in the first semifinal Friday at 4 pm, live on NESN. The winner moves on to face either No. 2 seed Massachusetts or No. 3 seed UMass Lowell in the 37th Hockey East Championship game Saturday night at 7 pm.
The No. 4 seeded Huskies played their way to TD Garden thanks to a 3-1 win over No. 5 seed Boston University in last Saturday's quarterfinal match-up at home in the XL Center. It was the Huskies first postseason win since joining Hockey East in 2014-15, snapping an 0-9 streak.
UConn's Vladislav Firstov and Jonny Evans got the Huskies out to a 2-0 lead with against the Terriers with Chase Bradley chipping in an empty netter and goaltender Darion Hanson making 20 of his 39 saves in the third period to guide the Huskies to the win. Hanson was tabbed the Hockey East Goaltender of the Week for the third time this season.
The Huskies re-entered the DCU/USCHO.com Top-20 National Poll this week, coming in at No. 19. The Huskies spent two weeks in the rankings earlier this season, on February 14 (20th) and February 21 (19th). UConn received votes in this week's USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Top-15 Coaches' Poll.
UConn and Northeastern have met three times this season with NU taking the season series 2-1 after a weekend sweep three weeks ago. UConn won the first meeting of the season, 5-3, up in Boston back in October. UConn put 103 shots on net in the two-game series that closed the month of February but Northeastern goaltender and Hockey East Rookie of the Year Devon Levi backstopped his team to a 3-1 win at home and a 5-2 win in Hartford.
Northeastern leads the all-time series, 14-6-0. This will be the second postseason meeting between the two schools. Northeastern hosted the Huskies in a No. 8-9 opening round series in the 2017 playoffs. NU swept the series on their home-ice, winning 3-1 and 6-2.
The Huskies closed out the regular season with a 14-10-0 Hockey East record, their best league mark since joining the conference. The Huskies finished tied for fourth with BU and Merrimack. The Huskies had been tabbed sixth in the Hockey East preseason poll, making it seven out of eight seasons in the league they have outplayed their preseason prediction. UConn has been the No. 4 or 5 seed in four of the last five seasons.
The Huskies 19 wins are their highest win total under head coach Mike Cavanaugh and the most wins since his first season on the bench in 2013-14 (18-14-4), the program's last season in Atlantic Hockey. They have also secured their first-winning season since Coach Cavanaugh's inaugural campaign.  UConn's 19 wins are the most since the 2012-13 season and match the second highest win total of the Division I era. UConn won 19 games in 2012-13 and 1999-00 and won 20 games in their first Division I season in 1998-99.
Hockey East announced their post season awards with a trio of Huskies seeing their names called. Sophomore Ryan Tverberg was named to the Hockey East All-Star first team and senior Jachym Kondelik was named to the second team. Grad student Darion Hanson was an all-star honorable mention selection in goal. Kondelik was also the recipient of the Hockey East Gladiator Custom Mouthguards Best Defensive Forward award.
Kondelik has 33 points this season, a career-high mark, and his 12 goals marks the first time hitting the double digit goal mark in his career. He ranks sixth in Hockey East in scoring and his 21 assists is ranked seventh.Â
Tverberg is right on his heels with 31 points (13g/18a), 10th in the league in scoring. His 13 goals are tied for 10th. Offensively, UConn has 13 players with double digit points and four Huskies with 20 or more points on the season. In addition to Kondelik and Tverberg, junior Vladislav Firstov has 10 goals and 11 assists and senior Marc Gatcomb has seven goals with 13 assists.
Hanson owns a 2.29 goals against average and a .921 save percentage this season, starting 33 of the 34 games. He has played the second most minutes by a goaltender in the league this year and his 877 saves are third most. Hanson has 19 wins this year, setting a new school Division I record for wins in a season, while tying the overall school mark (19 - Damen Dawson, 1991-92; Doug Michals, 1992-93).Â
Senior Carter Turnbull entered the post season with 11 goals on the year, two coming in the last weekend against Vermont. Turnbull has come on down the stretch of the season, scoring six of his 11 goals in the last nine games.
This Season vs. Northeastern
October 26, 2021 @ Matthews Arena - W, 5-2
- UConn sophomore Nick Capone scored a pair of goals and added an assist to lead the Huskies to a 5-3 Hockey East win at No. 20 Northeastern at Matthews Arena back in October.
- After a quick Northeastern goal in the first period UConn scored three-straight to take a 3-1 lead after the first 20 minutes, two coming from Capone around senior Ryan Wheeler's first of the season and the Huskies never looked back.
- Freshman Chase Bradley and senior Marc Gatcomb both scored in the second answering NU power play goals to keep the Husky lead at two heading to the third. UConn's defense took over in the third period, outshooting Northeastern 14-8 and killing off a power play to seal the win.
.- Northeastern got a goal and assist from both Aidan McDonough and Justin Hryckowian. Goaltender Devon Levi made 36 saves.
February 25, 2022 @ Matthews Arena - L, 3-1
- No. 19 ranked UConn fired a season-high 61 shots on goal but goaltender Devon Levi turned away all but one to lead No. 15 Northeastern to a 3-1 win at Matthews Arena.
- Levi stopped 15 in the first, 19 in the second and 26 in the final frame to preserve the win. He just missed his 10th shutout when UConn's Hudson Schandor scored with an extra attacker on the ice at 18:08.
- Northeastern led 1-0 after the first on a goal from Gunnarwolfe Fontaine. NU's Ty Jackson made it 2-0 early in the third and Aidan McDonough had a goal and two assists, tacking on an empty net goal late.
February 26, 2022 @ XL Center - L, 5-2
- The No. 15 Northeastern Huskies scored four times in the third period led by a hat-trick from junior Aidan McDonough to erase a 2-0 UConn lead and sweep the weekend series with a 5-2 win.
- UConn built a 2-0 lead in the second period on a power play goal from junior Jake Flynn and another from senior Jachym Kondelik. McDonough's first on the day came in the second period and set off a run of five unanswered for Northeastern on the way to the win.
- With the game tied at 2-2 in the third, UConn had a goal from Carter Turnbull overturned on review. From there it was all Northeastern who scored four-straight, two more from McDonough, including an empty netter to seal it away, who finished with four points.
- NU got goals from Jack Hughes and Ty Jackson as well. Goaltender Devon Levi made 40 saves in earning the win.
