The Forecheck: UConn is in the same spot it was a week ago

The Huskies are still tied for third and remain two games off the top spot in the Hockey East standings.

February 23, 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.

UConn back in the exact same spot

Entering last weekend’s series, UConn was tied for third place and just two points out of first in the Hockey East standings. One week later, the Huskies remain tied for third place and are still just two points back of first.

UConn pulled out a split with first-place UMass, while UMass Lowell and Providence split the points and Merrimack took five of six points from UVM to draw even with the Huskies.

Nothing has changed for UConn aside from the fact that now just four games are left as opposed to six. The Huskies remain in the thick of the battle for the regular season crown — one that increasingly looks like it’ll be between them and UMass.

The reason is each team’s remaining schedule. Both will play UVM (UMass away, UConn at home) which should be a six-point weekend. Obviously there’s no guarantees but for argument’s sake, that would give the Minutemen 46 points in 22 games and the Huskies 44 points in 22 games.

UConn’s other remaining series is at Northeastern while UMass will take on a full-strength Boston College squad. The Huskies would need to finish with two more points than the Minutemen to take the regular season title since they’d hold the tie breakers — the first is head-to-head record, second is number of wins in conference play and UConn has one more than UMass.

Now, that’s all assuming nothing strange happens around the rest of the league.

UMass Lowell has 40 points in 22 games and finishes the year with a home-and-home against New Hampshire. Not only would the River Hawks need to take all six points, they also need UMass to finish with six or fewer points and UConn to finish with eight or fewer points in their last four games.

Meanwhile, Merrimack (third place, 38 points in 21 games) and Northeastern (fifth place, 35 points in 19 games) face-off in the final series of the season and will likely take points away from each other. The Warriors also play once at UNH while the Huskies face UConn in a home-and-home series and will also take a one-game road trip to UVM.

The last team with a chance at first place is BU, though it can only earn a maximum of 47 points and has both a home-and-home against Boston College as well as the unenviable two-game set at Alfond Arena left on the docket.

Nothing is a guarantee, but it’s hard not to view UMass as the favorite, followed by UConn and then everyone else. That means this weekend against Northeastern is critical. The Huskies probably need five points to have a realistic chance at the regular season title barring a massive slip-up from the Minutemen in Burlington. And even if they get that, they’ll still need some help from Boston College.

But this is Hockey East, after all. Even though UConn only has four games left, plenty can change over the next two weeks and the Huskies have kept themselves in the hunt for a trophy.

Week in review

News

UMass 2, UConn 1

UConn 4, UMass 2

Three stars

First star: Ryan Tverberg

Tverberg was everywhere in the win on Saturday as he had a hand in every score with a goal and three assists. He used his speed to torch UMass multiple times but also showed off his skill and strength by posting up in front of net for a tip-in goal. When Tverberg went through his 12-game scoreless drought, it was fair to wonder whether his early season play was an aberration. But with four goals and six assists over his last six games, it’s clear Tverberg is no fluke.

Second star: Darion Hanson

Every week, Hanson seems to get better. He was phenomenal in both games this weekend but especially on Saturday as he helped UConn steal a victory. Hanson made 68 saves on 72 shots — a .944 save percentage — in the series and earned a spot on the Hockey East Weekly Top Performers list.

Third star: Jachym Kondelik

Kondelik only had two assists in the win but they helped him achieve a pair of milestones. He became the program’s Division I career assists leader with his first and hit the 100-point mark with his second. Not only has Kondelik been UConn’s steadiest players this season, he’s consistently produced since the moment he arrived in Storrs and has already proven himself as one of the top players in program history — with more still to come.

Play of the week

Ice-cold capture