The Forecheck: Jachym Kondelik honors Ronaldo with celebration against UNH

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.

Jachym Kondelik honors Ronaldo with celebration against UNH

When Jachym Kondelik in the second period against UNH, he decided to switch up sports for a second. He skated to the corner, jumped and turned in the air, pulling his hands down as he landed. It was the best Cristiano Ronaldo celebration that Kondelik could manage while on skates.

“It was [Ronaldo’s] birthday yesterday,” Kondelik explained postgame on Saturday. “I did it against Providence but it didn't work so I had to do it again.”

Hockey comes first for Kondelik, but he’s also a big soccer fan. He plays a lot of EA Sports’ FIFA video game, which is where most of his experience with Ronaldo’s iconic celebration came from before Saturday.

“I’m a big FIFA guy,” he said. “I use that celebration a lot.”

Unsurprisingly, UConn men’s hockey’s players are big gamers. There’s one group who’s go-to game is EA Sports NHL, which is headlined by John Spetz who once earned the No. 1 ranking in the world for online head-to-head matchups. Kondelik is on top of the FIFA circuit.

“We got a good gaming team. [Spetz] was number one in the world (on NHL), I was 32nd in FIFA,” Kondelik said. “I’d say FIFA has a little more people playing so we're about the same.”

Week in review

News

• UConn men’s hockey’s top veteran forwards beginning to come alive

• Video: Mike Cavanaugh pregame availability (Providence and UNH)

• Weekend Preview: UConn vs. No. 17 Providence & at UNH

• Ep. 45: UConn Hockey Hub Podcast

UConn 2, Providence 1

• UConn men’s hockey takes down No. 17 Providence, 2-1

• Video: Mike Cavanaugh and John Spetz postgame press conference

UConn 6, UNH 1

• UConn men’s hockey blasts UNH, 6-1

UConn 6, Merrimack 2

• Preview: UConn vs. Merrimack

• UConn men’s hockey flies past Merrimack, 6-2

• UConn answers back quickly to blast Merrimack, 6-2

• Postgame: Mike Cavanaugh reacts to UConn's win over Merrimack

Three stars

First star: Ryan Tverberg

After going 12 games without a goal, Tverberg notched three in as many games this past week. He recorded the game-winner against Providence on a breakaway, scored an impressive insurance goal against UNH in which he got taken down by the defenseman, got back up and beat the goalie, then hit Merrimack on the rush in Tuesday’s contest. Tverberg also added assists against Providence and UNH.

Second star: Jachym Kondelik

Kondelik put together a three-point week with one goal against the Wildcats to go with a goal and an assist in the win over the Warriors. He reached double-digit goals for the first time in a UConn uniform and tied Max Letunov for the most career points in the program’s Hockey East Era.

Third star: Darion Hanson

While UConn’s offense is firing, Hanson has also been locked in on the defensive end. He allowed just four goals on 74 shots (a .946 save percentage) over the three games and helped the Huskies earn a lopsided 6-1 victory at UNH despite a sub-par performance from the team. Since UConn’s win over Boston College, Hanson owns a 1.85 goals against average and a .938 save percentage.

Play of the week

Ice-cold capture