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Junior forward Kale Howarth scored the shootout-winner for the Huskies
UConn Wins Shootout After Rallying To Tie Massachusetts, 2-2
Junior forward Kale Howarth scored the shootout-winner for the Huskies

STORRS, Conn. - The UConn men's hockey team rallied for a pair of goals in the third period to come away with a 2-2 tie with the No. 7 Massachusetts Minutemen at the Freitas Ice Forum in Storrs. After the newly adopted 3-on-3 overtime ended scoreless, the Huskies won a four-round shootout, which may end up coming into play in the Hockey East standings.

This weekend's games were played as non-conference match-ups with the two teams currently scheduled to meet again in January. Due to schedule changes with the COVID-19 pandemic, should those games be impacted this weekend's results can be deemed conference match-ups, retroactively.

The Minutemen (1-0-1) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period, scoring quickly on the power play on a Matthew Kessel goal just 3:25 in. Philip Lagunov made it 2-0 at the 12:40 mark but that would close out the UMass scoring for the night.

After a scoreless second, UConn (0-1-1) surged back for a pair in the third to force the overtime. Junior Carter Turnbull (Nanaimo, British Columbia) notched his first on the season at the 9:53 mark to pull within 2-1.

UMass would go on to kill off a 5-on-3 UConn power play chance but the Huskies were able to tie the game up with a shorthanded Brian Rigali goal with just 2:00 left in regulation. In the overtime, UMass looked like they had a game-winner as Connor Felix put a rebound in but the goal was waved off after review for too many men on the ice.

The game would go to a shootout, the first under Hockey East's new rules this season. UMass's Oliver Chau and UConn's Vladislav Firstov (Yaroslavl, Russia) each scored in the first round but it would take UConn's Kale Howarth (Red Deer, Alberta) who would win it in the fourth round. UConn's Tomas Vomacka (Trutnov, Czech Repbulic) made three saves in the shootout.

The Huskies held a 37-36 edge on the shot chart but were 0-for-7 on the power play. UMass finished the weekend scoring three times in the two games on the power play.

Vomack had 34 saves while UMass netminder Filip Lindberg stopped 35 shots.

Game Summary

Saturday, November 21, 2020

2
2
Game statistics
36 Shots 37
1 / 5 Power Plays 0 / 7
7 / 14 PIM 5 / 10
1-0-1 Records 0-1-1
GOAL SCORERS
Massachusetts UConn
Matthew Kessel (1)
1st/3:25 PP
Philip Lagunov (1)
1st/12:40
Carter Turnbull (1)
3rd/9:53
Brian Rigali (1)
3rd/18:00 SH GT
GOALTENDERS
Massachusetts UConn
Filip Lindberg
65:00, 35 Saves, 2 GA
(T, 0-0-1)
Tomáš Vomáčka
64:57, 34 Saves, 2 GA
(T, 0-1-1)

Empty Net
0:03, 0 GA