HARTFORD, Conn. - UConn got a pair of goals from junior Benjamin Freeman (Freehold, Maine) on the way to posting the biggest upset in program history knocking of the No. 2 nationally ranked Massachusetts Minutemen Friday night in their season finale from the XL Center. Friday's game was also "Senior Night" where the Huskies honored their three seniors in Miles Gendron (Shrewsbury, Mass.), Max Kalter (Highland Park, Ill.) and Karl El-Mir (Montreal, Quebec) before the game.
The Minutemen are the highest ranked opponent the Huskies have ever beaten as they end their season 12-20-2 overall and 7-15-2 in Hockey East. They had previously knocked-off the No. 3 ranked team in the nation when they beat Boston College at home (1-0) in 2014 and a road win over then No. 3 ranked UMass Lowell (3-2) in 2016.
Freeman matched his career-high with the two-goal night that included the game-winner early in the third period. The Huskies jumped out to a 2-0 lead thanks to Freeman's first and a shorthanded goal from sophomore Brian Rigali (Libertyville, Ill.).
The Huskies made it 3-0 in the second period as freshman Ruslan Iskhakov (Moscow, Russia) scored his sixth of the season off a beautiful feed from classmate Jonny Evans (North Delta, British Columbia).
UMass, who closes the regular season with a 26-8-0 and 18-6-0 record, began to claw back into the game late in the second. The Minutemen got a power play goal at 18:48 from Bobby Trivigno and then cut the lead to 3-2 as Marc Del Gaizo got one past UConn goaltender Tomas Vomacka (Trutnov, Czech Republic) with just .02 left on the clock.
The Minutemen tied the game on the opening shift of the third with Mitchell Chaffee scoring off a face-off but the Huskies got it right back with Freeman netting the game-winner just 36 seconds later.
Vomacka finished with 33 saves to earn the win and finish the season 7-7-0. The Minute men used all three of their goalies on Friday night with sophomore Brad Arvanitis taking the loss in the third period.
1st Period:
UConn struck first scoring the game's first goal at 8:24 in the first period. Freeman picked-up a rebound in front of the net and stuffed it past starter Matt Murray for his first of the night and sixth on the season.
The Huskies made it 2-0 on their sixth shorthanded goal of the season at 17:53 of the first. UMass on their first power play chance of the night looked to send the puck in deep but it got kicked around to Rigali on the opposite half boards and the sophomore burst up ice for an odd man rush. Rigali ripped a wrister on net that deflected off a UMass defenseman's stick and beat Murray for his fifth on the year.
2nd Period:
UConn's Iskhakov made it 3-0 UConn with his ixth of the season at 8:08 of the second. Senior Max Kalter (Highland Park, Ill.) chipped the puck into the zone and Evans picked it up then dropped it between his legs to a trailing Iskhakov in the slot who buried it top-shelf for a 3-0 edge.
On UMass's second power play of the night they hit pay dirt as Cale Maker sent the puck in deep from the point to Jacob Pritchard who fed it cross ice to Trivigno at the left post who buried it on the open net for his ninth, cutting it to 3-1 at 18:48.
The Minutemen snuck one more in just before the period horn to pull within 3-2. Makar kept the puck alive in the zone and it found Del Gaizo at the point who wired one through a lot of traffic to beat a screened Vomacka with .02 left on the clock for his 12th of the year.
3rd Period:
UMass tied it right out of the gates in the third as Chafee took the puck off a face-off in the UConn zone and fought his way to the front of the net to stuff it home for a 3-3 tie just 45 seconds in. It was Chafee's 16th of the season.
UConn answered right back as freshman Kale Howarth (Red Deer, Alberta) sent a pass to Freeman that got him loose up ice and the junior buried a wrist shot past Arvanitis at 1:21 for what would prove to be the game-winner.
