Positional Preview: UConn has all new goalies

Over the offseason, UConn men’s hockey completely overhauled its goaltender position. Gone are Arsenii Sergeev (transferred to Penn State), Ethan Haider (signed a pro deal) and Matt Pasquale (graduated), opening the door for transfer Tyler Muszelik and freshmen Callum Tung and Thomas Heaney.

The change might not be a bad thing. The Huskies’ net-minders cost them wins on numerous occasions last season and both starters dealt with inconsistency.

While the new group has plenty of question marks themselves, there’s reason to believe they could provide an upgrade between the pipes.

Tyler Muszelik

UConn turned to the transfer portal to replace Sergeev and came out with Muszelik, a junior who spent his first two seasons at UNH. A former member of the US National Team Development Program and a sixth round pick of the Florida Panthers in 2022, he hasn’t lived up to his potential to this point in his college career.

As a freshman, Muszelik put up just a 3.24 goals against average and .883 save percentage in 13 starts. This past season, those numbers got worse — 3.38 GAA, .874 save percentage in eight starts — though he was hampered by a knee injury for most of that time.

UConn is hoping for a turnaround from Muszelik. He’s back to full health and should have a better defense in front of him than he did back in 2022-23, when UNH allowed 29.4 shots per game. All signs point to Muszelik being the starter in the Huskies’ opener vs. Colgate on Friday night.

Callum Tung

While Muszelik was brought in as a plug-and-play option in goal, Tung represents as the future of the position. A top prospect out of the BCHL, the freshman has size (6-3), athleticism and big-game ability. After putting up a 2.80 goals against average and .917 save percentage during the regular season this past season, Tung stepped up in the postseason with a 2.11 GAA and .940 save percentage while leading the Alberni Valley Bulldogs to the finals.

Tung will start games this season. The question is whether he’ll split games with Muszelik — similar to how UConn rotated its goalies each of the last two seasons — or just get occasional nod.

Thomas Heaney

A freshman out of Oceanport, New Jersey, Heaney spent the last two seasons with the NAHL’s Maine Nordiques. This past year, he put up a 3.36 goals against average and .900 save percentage while owning a 14-11-4 record.

Although Heaney was brought in to be a third-string goalie in the same vein as Matt Pasquale or Ryan Keane, he’s impressed during camp. While he might not get any starts this season (barring injury), he could factor in later in his career.