HARTFORD, Conn. - The UConn men's hockey team defeated Sacred Heart University by a final of 6-2 in the opening round of the CT Ice tournament to advance to the Championship game. Senior Hudson Schandor scored two goals, while junior Chase Bradley added three assists.
With the win, the Huskies will face-off against No.7 Quinnipiac in the championship game. These two teams faced off last year in which Quinnipiac came away with a 4-3 victory.
UConn got off to a hot start as sophomore Samu Salminen scored a highlight reel Michigan style goal in the first period, to kick off the scoring. It did not take long for Sacred Heart to respond as one minute later the Pioneers found the equalizer. The Huskies continued to capitalize on their scoring chances as senior Hudson Schandor crashed the net and scored to give UConn the 2-1 lead. The captain did not stop there as he was able to score his second of the night three minutes later, to give UConn the 3-1 lead heading into the second period.
Sacred Heart responded well in the second period as they were able to score and cut the Huskies lead back to one. After the second Sacred Heart goal, the UConn defense and goaltender Arsenii Sergeev stepped up and shut down the Pioneers. It was all Huskies after that as Nick Capone scored a power play goal, and Jake Richard scored on a wrap around to give the Huskies the 5-3 lead. Through two periods, Sergeev made 23 saves to keep the Pioneers at bay.
The Pioneers looked to kick start their offense on the power play after a 5-minute major and game misconduct was issued to UConn senior Nick Capone, however the Huskies penalty kill stood strong and kept Sacred Heart scoreless. With under three minutes remaining in the game, Sacred Heart pulled their netminder in favor of an extra attacker, but an empty net goal by sophomore Ryan Tattle sealed the win for the Huskies.
UConn will face-off against no.7 Quinnipiac tomorrow, January 27 in the championship game of the CT Ice tournament. Puck drop is scheduled for 7pm and can be streamed live on SNY and UConn+.
