UConn blown out by Providence, 8-1

The No. 20 UConn Huskies ended up on the wrong side of an 8-1 blowout at the hands of the No. 9 Providence Friars at Toscano Family Ice Forum on Saturday. The visitors scored four goals in the first 7:57, which proved to be more than enough.

Eight goals is the most UConn has allowed since an 8-2 loss to Notre Dame on Nov. 1, 2015.

Kam Hendrickson started in goal for the Huskies but got pulled after allowing four goals on just 10 shots. Veeti Louhivaara replaced him and finished with 16 saves on 20 shots. Ryan Sanborn closed out the contest between the pipes, making his collegiate debut in the process. He turned away the one shot he faced.

Cole Davis scored his first career goal, which proved to be the lone tally for the hosts.

For the first time in six games, UConn failed to convert on the power play (0-4) while the penalty kill went 3-5. Providence outshot the Huskies 39-24.

1:13 in, the Friars opened the scoring. A shot from Everett Baldwin slipped through Hendrickson’s pads and sat untouched in the crease. Logan Sawyer skated it and knocked the loose puck in. 1-0.

3:04 later, Will Elger’s shot from the blue line snuck through traffic and found the back of the net. 2-0.

37 seconds after that, Hendrickson failed to corral a shot and Sawyer buried the rebound. 3-0.

Another 3:03 onward, Jonathan Fauchon scored from the top of the circles. 4-0.

That marked the end of Hendrickson’s night.

In the second period, Providence converted on a power play to extend the lead to 5-0. Davis pulled one back with a nice shot off the rush later in the frame to make it 5-1, though it didn’t matter.

The Friars added X more goals in the third period to reach the final score of xxxxx.

The Huskies came into the night shorthanded. Already without Charlie Morrison (upper body), Kaden Shahan (upper body) and Trey Scott (upper body) both missed out after picking up injuries on Thursday. Those absences opened the door for forward Brittan Alstead and defenseman Jacob Reese to make their collegiate debuts.

Anthony Allain-Samaké appeared to leave the game due to injury as well, which pushed Davis from forward to left defense.

UConn has now given up 5+ goals in five straight contests and 45 total on the season.

With the loss, UConn drops to 4-5-1 overall, 2-3-1 in Hockey East and 0-4-1 on Saturdays. Next, the Huskies will host Northeastern for a pair, beginning on Friday in Storrs.