STORRS, Conn. - The UConn men's hockey team took down Vermont in a thrilling 6-5 overtime victory Sunday afternoon. The Huskies freshman put on a show, with Ethan Gardula scoring two goals and Kaden Shahan and Ethan Whitcomb scoring one, while Tristan Fraser's goal with 46 seconds remaining in overtime sealed the win for the Huskies.
UConn dug themselves a hole quickly in the first period falling behind 2-0 just two minutes into the start of the game. The Huskies would respond as freshman Ethan Gardula was in the right spot at the right time to collect the rebound and fire it home for the Huskies first goal of the game. The scoring didn't stop there as Gardula tied the game minutes later battling in front of the net for the loose puck and pushing it into the back of the net to tie the game. Later in the first period, following a Vermont penalty, the Huskies power play unit went to work and on the power play, sophomore Jake Richard found Kaden Shahan cross ice who fired home the one timer to give UConn the lead. With three unanswered goals, the Huskies entered the break leading by one.
Vermont responded quickly in the second, as a UConn penalty put them a man down, and while on the Power play, Vermont made the Huskies pay, winning the faceoff and scoring the goal to tie the game. Neither team was able to find another goal in the second period as the second period ended with bother teams tied at three.
The third period featured fireworks from both teams. The Huskies took the lead within two minutes of first puck drop, but Vermont would answer shortly later once again tying the game. Late in the third period, Vermont was primed to take the lead following a UConn penalty, but the Huskies penalty kill went to work, and on the kill, junior tabor Heaslip collected the puck after a Vermont player lost his footing and, on the breakaway, sunk the shorthanded goal to regain the lead. The Huskies defense stepped up with the one goal lead. With one minute left, the Huskies were forced to play a man down as Viking Gustafsson Nyberg was called for a five-minute major and game misconduct. The Huskies penalty kill was strong but with .2 seconds remaining in the game, Vermont was able to find the back of the net and force overtime.
In overtime, the Huskies penalty kill was able to stifle the Vermont offense and after returning to even strength, with under a minute remaining in the game, junior Tristan Fraser collected the puck and skated through defenders before firing the puck past the Vermont goaltender for the win.
UP NEXT:
With a short week ahead, the Huskies will turn their attention to a matchup against Merrimack College. The Huskies will travel to Merrimack Friday before welcoming them to Storrs Saturday.
