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The Forecheck: How UConn's got off to its best start in 45 years

The five biggest reasons for the Huskies' early-season success.

October 11, 2022

Welcome to the 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.

How UConn’s gotten off to its best start in over 45 years

UConn men’s hockey is 4-0-0 after a sweep over Union, marking its best start since 1975-76. Back then, the Huskies were a Division III program, played on an outdoor rink, and were coached by John Chapman. Current head coach Mike Cavanaugh was seven years old.

Those four wins were a third of the victories UConn collected all season en route to a 12-11-1 finish. At one point, the Huskies lost eight straight games and later dropped an 11-0 decision to Army at home.

Since UConn hasn’t gotten off to a start like this in decades, it’s an impressive achievement no matter the circumstances. But the Huskies weren’t expected to be this good — especially not this early — after losing so much from last year’s team.

So what have been the keys to UConn’s early season success?

Special teams

UConn’s special teams have excelled through two weekends. The penalty kill is +1 with no goals allowed in 14 opportunities and a shorty, while the power play is 4-of-17. The Huskies also killed off a 6-on-5 with ease against Vermont and scored an overtime game-winner in 3-on-3 action against Union.

“Our special teams have been excellent,” Cavanaugh said on Saturday. “Tonight we got a shorthanded goal, a power-play goal, and a 3-on-3 goal. Three of our four goals are essentially special teams goals. If you're gonna win the special teams game three to nothing, you're gonna want a lot of hockey games.”

The units have also come through in big spots. Three of four power-play goals put UConn ahead. It killed a third-period penalty in the Sunday game at UVM and survived two more in the final stanza on Saturday against Union — including one with a little more than three minutes left.

The combination of special teams success and the timeliness of that success is the No. 1 reason UConn is 4-0-0. If that continues, the Huskies will be a tough team to beat this season.

Improvement from key returners

UConn returned just five forwards from last year’s squad and so far, all of them have contributed.

Chase Bradley has made the biggest leap and leads the team with five points — after totaling just six in the last regular season as a freshman — while making plays all over the ice and setting the tone with some big hits. Nick Capone had five career goals in his first two seasons and already has three this year. Ryan Tverberg is a menace to opposing defenses thanks to his speed and skating, which has led to one goal and three helpers. Hudson Schandor has just a goal and an assist but his play is steady as ever. Jake Veilleux picked up where he left off last season as a quality fourth-liner.

Those five formed the core of UConn’s forwards and their early-season success has helped the newcomers integrate seamlessly.

Immediate impact additions

Through four games, it’s hard to find a player who hasn’t stood out positively in one way or another.

Matthew Wood is as good as advertised up top and is flanked by two veterans in Ty Amonte and Justin Pearson. Tristan Fraser has centered UConn’s third line — the team’s most productive line — between Bradley and Capone while the fourth line/extra skater group of Jake Percival, Tabor Heaslip, Ryan Tattle, and Jake Black have used their energy to change the momentum at important moments of each game.

Andrew Lucas has provided a much-needed shot of offense to the defensive corps while Tom Messineo has been a steady option next to Jake Flynn. In goal, Arsenii Sergeev has come up with some acrobatic and timely saves through two starts.

All the newcomers have stepped in without skipping a beat. It’s impossible to tell that over half the lineup wasn’t with the program last season by the way the Huskies have played so far.

Two good options in goal

It doesn’t look like UConn will have much of a problem replacing Darion Hanson between the pipes. Logan Terness and Sergeev have split the games and both have impressed in their own unique ways. Terness’ technique is excellent and he’s only faced a total of 32 shots in two games, which is a credit to his puck management. Sergeev has shown off his athleticism and big-save ability — especially in the win over Union on Saturday when he made more than a few crucial stops both on the power play and late in the game.

The Huskies’ two goalies couldn’t be more different in terms of style but so far, both have proven to be capable.

An easy schedule

For as good as UConn has looked, its first real test will be this weekend when Ohio State comes to the XL Center. Vermont looks destined to end up back in the basement of Hockey East after starting 0-4-0 while being outscored 17-4 in those four games and Union wasn’t all that impressive, either. The Huskies deserve credit for the way they played and the fact that they took care of business against lesser teams, but the schedule is also a big factor in UConn’s spotless record so far.

Week in review

From the UConn Hockey Hub:

From The UConn Blog:

Last week’s Forecheck:

Three stars

First star: Chase Bradley

Bradley put together a monster weekend, collecting two goals and two assists — including the game-winner in overtime on Saturday. He’s been a force in all areas of the ice in two weeks and has brought a physical edge — the sophomore laid some big hits on Friday in particular — while taking just one trip to the box, an elbowing call that shouldn’t have been a penalty. Bradley is taking full advantage of the increased opportunities he’s seen this season.

Second star: Nick Capone

Last season, Capone needed a single game to surpass his freshman year goal total with a two-score night at Northeastern in October. This year, he’s nearly matched his sophomore year’s goal total through four games. Capone collected four goals last season but already has three in the young campaign, two of which came this past weekend. Penalties are still a problem — he leads the team with three so far — but he’s clearly taken a step forward in all aspects of his game as a junior.

Third star: Jake Percival

Percival missed the second game in Vermont after taking a puck off the leg but returned to the lineup this past weekend and opened his account with a pair of goals. On Friday, the freshman fired a missile into the top corner and on Saturday, he got in front of the net for a tip-in that tied the game in the third period. Percival brings some much-needed production to a fourth line that excels in the areas that don’t show up on the stat sheet.

Play of the Week

Best of social media

UConn is flying up Bucci’s rankings:

…and also debuted in the USA Today Poll:

More progress on the new rink:

Big day up north:

The week ahead

UConn men’s hockey is hosting a series between two ranked and undefeated teams as No. 11 Ohio State visits the XL Center, while UConn women’s hockey heads up to Burlington to take on UVM.

The Huskies and Catamounts begin at 6 p.m. ET while the Huskies and Buckeyes start at 7:05 p.m. ET. Both games are set for 7 p.m. ET starts on Saturday.