UConn captures second straight CT Ice title with comeback win over Quinnipiac

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UConn men’s hockey captured its second straight Connecticut Ice championship with a 4-2 comeback win over the No. 6 Quinnipiac Bobcats on Saturday night at Ingalls Rink. The Huskies trailed 2-1 entering the third period but scored three unanswered to capture the crown.

In the first period, UConn took a 1-0 lead on a shorthanded goal from Tabor Heaslip, only to allow two unanswered in the middle stanza to go into the third period down by one. Despite getting out-played to that point, UConn rallied to tie it at 2-2 behind a goal from Carlin Dezainde before Avon, Connecticut native Jake Percival scored the game-winner with 2:25 remaining. Joey Muldowney added an empty-netter to seal the victory.

Ryan Tattle earned CT Ice Most Outstanding Player after recording three points in Friday night’s win and becoming the tournament’s all-time scorer. Percival also made the all-tournament team.

Tyler Muszelik stopped 28 of 30 shots to improve to 4-0 in his career at Connecticut Ice.

Quinnipiac jumped UConn in the early going, piling up a 10-1 edge in shots. Despite the onslaught, the Huskies held on defensively and limited the dangerous chances. They also consistently cleared the d-zone — which has been an issue throughout the season.

While the Bobcats got the first power play of the night, UConn capitalized on it. Off the face-off, Heaslip forced a turnover at the blue line and sprung free on a breakaway, where he beat the goalie five-hole for the shorthanded goal. That gave the Huskies a 1-0 lead, which held into the first intermission.

In the middle stanza, Quinnipiac continued to dominate play and finally broke through at the 6:18 mark. 58 seconds later, the Bobcats added another to take their first lead, 2-1.

UConn refused to go down without a fight and eventually, it answered back. Less than five minutes into the third period, Viking Gustafsson Nyberg held the puck in at the blue line and got it to Alexandre Blais. The freshman skated in and found a wide-open Dezainde on the back post, who buried it pull the Huskies even at 2-2.

From there, the game opened up. The two teams went back and forth trading chances with end-to-end action. Muszelik came up with a few big saves to preserve the lead while UConn created some dangerous looks down the other end.

Ultimately, a Connecticut kid called game. Tristan Fraser fired a shot on net that rebounded out to Percival, who buried it to put the Huskies back ahead with 2:25 left, 3-2.

Quinnipiac immediately pulled the goalie for the extra attacker but UConn defended it well and eventually cleared the zone. Muldowney ended up with the puck and buried a shot from center ice into the empty-net to extend the Huskies’ advantage to 4-2 with 44 seconds remaining. The Bobcats couldn’t find another before the final buzzer sounded on UConn’s second straight CT Ice championship.

With the win, the Huskies improve to 15-7-3 overall. They’ll have next weekend off before returning to Hockey East action with a trip to Northeastern (at Bentley Arena) on Friday, Feb. 6.

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