MILWAUKEE, Wisc. - The UConn men's hockey team opened the Holiday Face Off Tournament with a convincing 4-1 victory of Alaska Fairbanks. The Huskies scored two goals in the first period and never looked back. Freshman Callum Tung finished with 27 saves in net.
Coming off a long break, the Huskies looked like they never missed a step as they jumped on Alaska Fairbanks, scoring two goals in the period. The Huskies speed caused issues for the Nanooks as they were forced into taking penalties to prevent breakouts. On their first power play of the afternoon, the Huskies special teams went to work, and were rewarded as freshman Ethan Whitcomb took a pass from Kai Janviriya and fired it past the Alaska netminder for the first goal of the game. Following the goal, Alaska pushed back but the Huskies defense and netminder Callum Tung kept the Nanooks off the scoreboard. With time running down and a faceoff in the Huskies offensive zone, graduate student Hudson Schandor won the faceoff and sophomore Jake Richard did the rest, skating around defenders before finding the back of the net to give UConn the 2-0 lead heading into the break.
The Huskies offense continued to shine in the second period as freshman Trey Scott went top shelf for the Huskies second power play goal of the afternoon and UConn's third goal of the game. Alaska wouldn't be held scoreless for long as they were able to score a goal of their own midway through the period to cut into the Huskies lead. Neither team was able to find the back of the net again in the period, as UConn entered the third with the two-goal lead.
UConn was able to extend its lead back to three in the third period, as pressure from the Huskies resulted in a turnover where Tabor Heaslip fired a shot that was saved but junior Jake Percival was there for the rebound and his eighth goal of the season. Freshman Callum Tung continued to shine in net, holding the Nanooks to just one goal. Tung finished with 27 saves to notch his second win of the season.
UP NEXT:
UConn will await the winner of Wisconsin vs. Ferris State. The Championship game will take place at 5pm and will be streamed live on BigTen+.
