The Forecheck: UConn's Shipping Up To Boston

The Huskies win their first Hockey East Playoff game and are headed to the TD Garden for the first time in program history.

March 15, 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.

Shipping Up To Boston

After eight long years, UConn men’s hockey finally has its breakthrough. The Huskies took down the Boston University Terriers 3-1 in the Hockey East Quarterfinals to advance to the TD Garden for the first time in program history.

Let’s relive the historic night from the XL Center.

First, the moment Chase Bradley sealed the win with an empty-netter.

The play:

UConn’s bench reaction:

Cav’s reaction:

The crowd reaction:

UConn also took plenty of time to celebrate on the ice with the fans.

Here’s the locker room reaction from the team, the highlight of which is easily Ryan Wheeler dancing to “Shipping Up to Boston” and Cav telling him to keep going.

After the game, both Cavanaugh and the players were complimentary of the crowd, even though the announced attendance was just 3,416.

“The crowd was incredible,” Cavanaugh said. “The fan support we had here today — especially with the weather — was above and beyond what I was expecting and it really got us through that third period because it was tough.”

“When I was at BC, I remember when they played UConn in women's basketball and I was just blown away by the number of buses,” he added later. “That was the first time I think they sold out a women's basketball game at BC — when UConn came to town. So I knew that there was a rabid fan base down here and they've been supportive from day one. We led the league in attendance my first year here, so I can't say enough about them and I’m asking them all to make the trip up to Boston next Friday night.”

“It was insane,” Darion Hanson said. “The energy that we got in the first 10 minutes we were just feeding off it. Vladdy’s goal there, that was the loudest I have ever heard XL — up to that point. When we scored the empty-net goal was the loudest and I must say, being in the crease, seeing Chase put that one away with 10 seconds left and getting to watch our bench and how fired up we were and how fired up Cav was, that's a moment that I'm never gonna forget.”

“Honestly, it gave me chills,” Jonny Evans chimed in. “The last 20 seconds, the whole crowd is up. It kind of felt like a few years ago I think we played UMass and came back…The energy was just electric.”

Week in review

News

UConn re-entered the USCHO Poll at No. 19 after its win. Somehow, BU is No. 18 despite losing three of its last four games — including an 8-1 drubbing to last-place Maine. The Huskies also just ended the Terriers’ season, so it’s strange that BU maintained the higher ranking.

Darion Hanson earned Hockey East Goaltender of the Week.

Tickets for a UConn section are now on sale for Friday:

We’re tying to designate a bar/restaurant around TD Garden to be the spot for UConn fans before and after the game. Once that gets decided, we’ll send something out.

Now, to the links.

UConn 3, BU 1

Three stars

First star: Mike Cavanaugh

After all he’s done to build the program, Cavanaugh finally got a well-deserved first postseason victory. Now that the monkey’s off his back, we’ll see if he can guide UConn on a run in the Hockey East Playoffs to claim the team’s first league title and NCAA Tournament appearance.

Second star: Chase Bradley

Not only did Bradley’s empty-netter secure UConn’s victory, his return to the lineup after missing six games with a lower body injury provided a major boost. He set the tone with some big hits in the first period and proved that his value to the game goes beyond his relatively modest point total.

Third star: Everyone else

Is this a cop-out? Sure. But UConn played so well as a team on Saturday that it’s hard to single out anyone else in particular. The Huskies got a great performance from practically everyone in the lineup, so everyone gets the third star.

Plays of the week

Ice-cold capture

Parting thought