The Forecheck: It all comes down to Saturday

The Huskies open the postseason on Saturday against BU at the XL Center.

March 09, 2022

Welcome to the revamped UConn Hockey Hub newsletter, which catches you up on all the stories, trends, and anything else you might have missed, along with some quick takes and leftover notes from the weekend.

It all comes down to Saturday

After everything that happened this weekend, UConn’s stunning loss to Vermont on Friday proved to be completely inconsequential in terms of the Hockey East standings. Even if the Huskies won, they still would’ve finished in fourth place. If anything, a wake-up call ahead of the postseason might not be the worst thing in the world for this team.

Now, the attention turns to the playoffs, where UConn will host Boston University on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. As much as the Huskies underachieved during the regular season, they have a chance to erase all of that by making a run in the conference tournament.

Of course, that would require winning even a single postseason game, which UConn has been unable to do since it joined Hockey East. The Huskies have proven that they can beat the Terriers — or really anyone in the league — but they did drop both contests at the XL Center this year by a final score of 2-1.

BU also underwhelmed for most of the season but got hot in January and won 11 of 12 games — including the Beanpot. Then, the Terriers dropped two of their last three, including an an 8-1 drubbing at Maine on Saturday. Will the Terriers use the loss to light a fire for the postseason or will their 100th season end with a massive collapse? We’ll find out on Saturday.

Regardless, UConn needs to win on Saturday. Even though the Huskies haven’t played well at home this season, they should have a good crowd on hand — especially if they get some spillover from the St. Patrick’s Day Parade — and aside from the one blip against Vermont, have been playing their best hockey since Connecticut Ice.

UConn’s previous postseason misfortune can be excused, for the most part. The Huskies were outmatched in their early years, lost a chance to take a winnable series at Maine in 2020 and got a bad draw last by playing Providence a week after blasting them in the regular season finale.

Now? There’s no excuses. This was supposed to be the year UConn broke through.

It was in the mix for the Hockey East regular season title as of just two weeks ago but ultimately fell out of the race. That’s understandable.

It was on the NCAA Tournament bubble until the sweep to Northeastern and loss to Vermont. That’s tougher to swallow, but the Huskies can still get in if they win the Hockey East Playoffs.

But at the very least, a single win would get UConn to the TD Garden for the semifinals — a place the program has never been. Even if the Huskies lose in the semis, they’d still have that to remember the season by.

But another first round exit? That would be unconscionable. As much as Mike Cavanaugh has built the program up — four top-five finishes in the last five years is nothing to scoff at — it’s all for nothing if every season is guaranteed to end the moment the postseason begins.

If UConn gets to Boston and makes some noise in the playoffs — regardless of what ultimately happens — then the program can usher in the new era with some hope about what the next group can accomplish. Ice Bus 1.0 got the Huskies on their feet and capped it off with a fifth-place finish. Ice Bus 2.0 turned the team into annual contenders for home ice and could end up with a trip to TD Garden.

What would be next for Ice Bus 3.0? Winning Hockey East? Making the NCAA Tournament? Winning a national championship? There’s plenty of room to dream.

But if UConn skates off the XL Center ice for the final time with yet another postseason defeat, it’ll be hard to conjure much optimism for the future.

Quote of note

Mike Cavanaugh on freshman defenseman Aidan Metcalfe, who made his first appearance of the season on Saturday: “I thought he did a great job. I really did and I'm not surprised. I mean, he hasn't played a game all year long and he's down twice a week working with Tyler Helton at 7:30 in the morning, working on his game. So when his number got called, I wasn't surprised that he gave us a great effort tonight.”

Week in review

News

Vermont 5, UConn 3

UConn 4, Vermont 0

Three stars

First star: Darion Hanson

Hanson picked up his first shutout in a UConn uniform and also earned his first win with his parents in attendance. Considering the Huskies usually struggle to blank teams — the last time they shutout an opponent was in Dec. 2020 — that’s enough to earn him the first star.

Second star: John Spetz

Spetz was named Hockey East Defenseman of the Week after picking up a goal and an assist over the weekend. He scored UConn’s first goal on Saturday during a 5-on-3 power play which set the tone for the 4-0 victory. While Spetz has dealt with some inconsistency throughout the year after a stellar freshman campaign, he’s the Huskies’ most productive defenseman with 17 points (four goals, 13 assists).

Third star: Jake Veilleux

Veilleux scored his first career goal in the win over Vermont on Saturday. The freshman has been a pleasant surprise for UConn in the second half as a fixture on the fourth line and it was nice to see him finally find the back of the net.

The goal also gave senior John Wojciechowski his first career point with an assist.

Play of the week

Ice-cold capture

Best of social media

Not UConn related, but too funny not to share: