No. 9 UConn's comeback falls short against No. 7 Providence, 6-3

The No. 9 UConn Huskies erased a three goal deficit and tied the game in the third period but couldn’t complete the comeback in a 6-3 loss to the No. 7 Providence Friars.

After going down 3-0, UConn scored back-to-back goals on the power play courtesy of Ethan Gardula and Jake Richard in the middle frame. The Huskies tied it 3-3 on a one-timer from Joey Muldowney at the 16:29 mark of the third but then allowed three unanswered goals — one on the power play and two empty-netters.

The loss, which came in front of a program record crowd of 11,781 at the XL Center, snaps UConn’s seven game unbeaten streak.

The Huskies didn’t do much right in the first period. They were sloppy, slow and didn’t manage the puck well. Providence took the lead on an extended stretch of play in its offensive zone then doubled the advantage after UConn turned the puck over deep in its own end. The Huskies’ malaise continued into the middle stanza and the Friars made it 3-0 less than two minutes in.

They finally woke up thanks to their first power play opportunity of the day. Gardula re-directed a shot that hit the post but bounced right back to him. He buried his own rebound to put UConn on the board.

The Friars committed another penalty right after the goal and the Huskies’ power play converted again. This time, a shot from Muldowney went off the pads and found Richard on the back post, who sent it into the twine to cut the deficit down to one.

Early in the third, UConn found the equalizer. Richard took the puck down low and dished it to Muldowney in the slot, who ripped a one-timer to make it a 3-3 game.

That proved to be a high point for the Huskies. A few minutes after tying it, Gardula picked up a major cross-checking penalty and game misconduct. That gave Providence a five-minute power play, which it converted on to re-take the lead at 4-3.

Before UConn killed the remained of the penalty, it nearly tied the game on a shorthanded chance from Muldowney but his shot hit the post and stayed out.

The Huskies pulled the goalie for the extra skater with 1:49 remaining but the aggressive move immediately backfired. UConn lost the face-off and Providence cleared the zone then won the puck in the neutral zone and scored in the empty net to make it 5-3. The Friars added another empty netter with three seconds left to bring the final score to 6-3.

With the loss, the Huskies drop to 14-9-3 overall and 7-7-3 in Hockey East play. Next, UConn will take on UMass on Friday afternoon at Toscano Family Ice Forum.