Carlin Dezainde explains his moonwalk celebration

Carlin Dezainde had a premonition before UConn men’s hockey’s Thriller against Boston University on Friday. He sensed he would score his first collegiate goal — and he knew just the way to celebrate.

“I was joking around with [Kaden] Shahan before the game and I just said, ‘You know what? I'm gonna score tonight and I'm just gonna do the moonwalk,’” the freshman forward explained. “I don’t know, something came over me.”

14:32 into the first period, Dezainde’s vision became a reality. Shahan streaked over the blue line with the puck like a Smooth Criminal, sliced through four defenders and found a wide-open Dezainde on the back post. The Calgary native buried the chance, skated to the corner and delivered on his promise.

Dezainde turned himself around, stuck his glove over his face and began to moonwalk in his skates. Surprisingly, he wasn’t Bad.

“I scored and first thing that came to my head was the moonwalk,” Dezainde laughed. “I pulled — I tried to pull it off. So hopefully I did.”

Dezainde admittedly isn’t a big Michael Jackson fan — “I mean, I like some of his songs,” he said — but he does have some experience moonwalking.

“We always joke around, I pull that off my buddies back home and stuff sometimes,” he said.

It’s not Black or White, though. Dezainde hadn’t tried it in a game until Friday.

“It was cool to get that, I guess,” he said.

That wasn’t Dezainde’s only goal of the night, either. He buried another midway through the second period, though his celebration was more traditional as he threw his hands up in the air before getting mobbed by teammates. But considering how good Dezainde’s first was, it would’ve been nearly impossible to Beat It.

Polls

UConn men’s hockey moved up two spots to No. 9 in the USCHO Poll after splitting with Boston University over the weekend, which fell one spot to No. 5. While both teams picked up a win, the Huskies thrashed the Terriers 8-4 on their home ice in the opener. The two are now the top-ranked schools in Hockey East.

Meanwhile, UConn women’s hockey held at No. 8 in the USCHO Poll despite earning a win and a tie at Mercyhurst. Maya Serdachny earned Hockey East Defender of the Week honors after scoring twice and blocking six shots on the weekend.