Huskies Open Season Saturday At Vermont

Saturday, October 1

Burlington, VT

7:00 PM

University of Connecticut

Vermont

9/30/2022 3:26:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey

STORRS, Conn.- The 2022-23 UConn Huskies will have a new look this season in more ways than one. Head coach Mike Cavanaugh will begin his 10th year on the bench and will have 16 new Huskies on the roster and a new on-campus arena to call home this season.

Coming off their best season since joining Hockey East eight seasons ago, Coach Cavanaugh and the Huskies are looking to reload and battle their way back to TD Garden next March in search of the program's first league title.

The Huskies will be led this season by senior captain Roman Kinal and alternate captains, senior Jake Flynn and junior Hudson Schandor. The trio along with a strong returning cast will be tasked with getting a talented group of newcomers ingrained into the Huskies' program as a strong non-conference schedule and the rigors of Hockey East play await.

Offensively, the Huskies welcome back junior forward Ryan Tverberg who is coming off an All-American season. Tverberg was second on the club in scoring last season, scoring a team-best 14 goals with 18 assists for 32 points. He had two game-winners and was a +12 on the year and was named a Hockey East First Team All-Start, a New England Division I All-Star and won the Paul Hines Award as the Most Improved Player in New England.

Schandor had a strong sophomore campaign as well in 2021-22, posting 18 points in 28 games, coming on five goals and 13 assists. Classmate Nick Capone also returns to the forward group and saw his offensive numbers jump up last season as well. Capone scored four goals and had seven assists. Sophomore Chase Bradley finished off a strong rookie season coming on at the end of the season with four of his nine points on the season coming in the final five games of the season.

UConn's offense will rely heavily on a lot of new names this season and will be helped by the addition of a trio of grad transfers in Ty Amonte from Boston University, Justin Pearson from Yale and Adam Dawe from the University of Maine. The Huskies will also welcome in highly touted freshman recruit Matthew Wood who led the BCHL in scoring last season (85pts) and was named the league's Rookie of the Year.

On the blue line, UConn has senior captains Kinal and Flynn along with classmate Harrison Rees and junior John Spetz returning to the ice. Spetz led all UConn defensemen last season in scoring, producing 18 points on four goals, two coming on the power play, and 14 assists. He finished as a +7 and also blocked 37 shots.

Rees had his best season offensively, putting up 13 points on three goals and 10 assists. He was a +13 for the year and led all players with 49 blocked shots. Flynn finished with double digit points, scoring two goals with eight assists, and blocked 40 shots. Kinal was a +10 last season and had three goals and four assists while serving as one of the team's alternate captains.

The Husky defensive corps will also be bolstered by the addition of junior transfer Andre Lucas from the University of Vermont.

In net, UConn will have four goaltenders on the roster battling for time between the pipes. Sophomore Logan Terness, last season's back-up, returns and saw action in one game last year. Senior Ryan Kean and junior Matt Pasquale bring experience and depth while freshman Arsenni, Sergeev, a 2021 NHL Draft pick of the Calgary Flames, comes to Storrs after being named USHL Goaltender of the Year last season with Tri-City Storm.

History

UConn and Vermont have played a total of 18 games against with both teams winning nine games. The last matchup between the Catamounts and the Huskies ended with a 4-0 victory in favor of the Huskies on March 5, 2022. UConn came out of the gate firing, scoring three goals in the first period. With a lead in hand, the defense would put on a show, shutting down Vermont's offensive attack only allowing 12 shots on goal.