No. 11 UConn's offense goes quiet in 3-1 loss to No. 4 BU

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After an eight-goal explosion on Friday night, UConn men’s hockey’s offense struggled to get going in a 3-1 loss to the No. 4 Boston University Terriers on Saturday at Toscano Family Ice Forum. The Huskies finished with a 25-20 edge in shots but didn’t create enough dangerous looks on the night. Joey Muldowney had the lone goal.

Special teams ultimately proved to be the difference. UConn’s penalty kill allowed two goals on four chances while the power play went 0-2.

In goal, Tyler Muszelik stopped 17 of 20 shots for the Huskies in the loss.

Neither side had much of an edge in the opening period. UConn had more possession in the offensive zone but BU created more chances.

The Terriers ultimately broke through first. On the visitor’s first power play, the Huskies’ penalty kill started strong and even forced a few shorthanded looks. Then on BU’s first shot of the man-advantage, Muszelik made an initial save but let the puck slip through his pads. Jack Harvey skated in and knocked it into the back of the net to make it a 1-0 game.

In the middle frame, the Terriers’ power play converted again. A defensive breakdown from UConn let Owen McLaughlin skate in on net, pick a spot and score.

UConn missed a golden chance to get on the board when Jake Richard missed a wide-open net on the back door, though Muldowney quickly made up for it. On the same shift, the junior blasted a one-timer home from the face-off dot to cut the deficit to 2-1.

After the goal, the Huskies were all over BU but couldn’t convert that momentum into an equalizer. Then they took an icing which brought the puck down to their defensive zone and the Terriers scored on the ensuing possession to push the gap back to two.

In the third period, UConn didn’t test BU goaltender Mikhail Yegorov enough despite pushing to tie the game. The Huskies pulled the goalie for the extra skater with two minutes left to no avail.

With the loss, UConn falls to 3-3-0 on the season and 1-1-0 in Hockey East play. Next, the Huskies will face Harvard in a Halloween matchup next Friday, Oct. 31, at Toscano Family Ice Forum.

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