UConn drops Ice Breaker Tournament final to Bowling Green, 5-2

UConn men’s hockey let a trophy slip through its fingers on Saturday, falling to the Bowling Green Falcons 5-2 in the Ice Breaker Tournament final at Toscano Family Ice Forum.

The teams were tied 2-2 at the end of the second period before a cascade of self-inflicted mistakes sank the Huskies in the final stanza.

Ethan Gardula started it off by taking a roughing penalty after the buzzer sounded in the middle frame and Bowling Green scored just as the ensuing power play expired. A few minutes later, Ethan Whitcomb received a major spearing penalty and game misconduct. Even though UConn briefly tied the game with a shorthanded goal, it fell back behind after allowing another power play goal.

The Huskies then gave up a pair of empty-netters to reach the final score.

Mike Murtagh and Carter Sproule scored for UConn. The Huskies outshot the visitors 41-32 but effectively lost the special teams battle 3-1. Veeti Louhivaara made his collegiate debut in goal and stopped 27 of 30 shots (a .900 save percentage).

UConn carried the play in the opening period, though that didn’t lead to any goals. The Huskies were stout defensively and looked good when they set up in the offensive zone, but turned it over in the neutral zone far too often. Despite a 14-4 edge in shots, UConn went into the intermission tied at 0-0.

That changed just 17 seconds into the middle stanza. On the first shift, Murtagh took the puck to the net and had his first chance turned away, but stuck with it and buried a rebound to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead.

Bowling Green only needed a few minutes to answer back. On its first power play of the night, the Falcons converted when UConn left Ty Higgins unmarked on the back side. He fired a shot past Louhivaara to make it a 1-1 game.

The Huskies nearly responded right away. Jeremy Loranger put a backhanded shot on target that landed on the goal line, only to be denied by a desperation save from Bowling Green goalie Jacob Steinman.

The Falcons went back on the power play thanks to Lirim Amidovski’s second tripping penalty but couldn’t find a way to beat a shaky UConn PK unit. In the final seconds of the man advantage, Bowling Green turned the puck over at the blue line and sprung Cole Davis on a shorthanded breakaway, but the freshman couldn’t convert.

Moments later, the Huskies got a power play opportunity of their own but didn’t do much with it.

In the final minutes of the period, UConn took it to the visitors. The Huskies hemmed the Falcons in the zone and peppered the net, but didn’t break through before the buzzer sounded.

UConn got off to a nightmarish start in the final frame. Gardula took a two-minute roughing penalty after time expired in the second, which put Bowling Green on the power play in the third. One second after the man advantage expired, Tyler Hotson buried a rebound to put the Falcons ahead, 2-1.

Just over a minute later, UConn’s power play unit came over the boards after a tripping penalty on the visitors. But during the man advantage, Whitcomb hit an opposing player below the belt with his stick and received a major spearing penalty and game misconduct after a Bowling Green coach’s challenge.

After a stretch of 4-on-4 action, the Falcons began a 4:16-long power play — a golden chance to extend their lead. Instead, UConn tied it on a shorthanded goal. Sproule skated in on the rush and scored from the top of the circles to pull the Huskies even at 2-2.

It didn’t remain tied long, though. Noah Morneau blasted a one-timer home on the power play to put Bowling Green back on top, 3-2.

UConn never found its way back. It pulled the goalie with 2:11 remaining but let it an empty-netter just 18 seconds later. The Huskies vacated the net for the second attacker but gave up their fifth goal of the night with 24 seconds to play.

With the loss, UConn drops to 1-1-0 on the new season. Next, it’ll host Colorado College for a weekend series in Storrs, beginning on Friday night.