UConn handled by Colorado College, 4-1

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UConn men’s hockey couldn’t hang with No. 12 Colorado College on Saturday, falling 4-1 at Toscano Family Ice Forum on Saturday. The Huskies scored first then allowed four unanswered goals.

Kaden Shahan recorded the lone tally for the hosts. UConn won the special teams battle 1-0, going 1-4 on the power play and 2-2 on the penalty kill, but struggled otherwise. In goal, Veeti Louhivaara stopped just 26 of 30 shots (an .867 save percentage).

Just like Friday night, UConn came out strong and found a quick goal. After Mike Murtagh got tripped along the boards, the Huskies went on the power play. Despite coming in 0-7 on the season, the unit finally converted. Ethan Whitcomb sent a cross-crease pass to a wide-open Shahan, who just needed to put the puck on frame for an easy goal.

UConn’s lead didn’t last long, though. Just 19 seconds, to be exact. On the ensuing shift, Bret Link redirected a shot past Louhivaara to pull Colorado College even at one goal apiece.

2:32 later, the Tigers added another. Louhivaara blocked the initial shot from the point but the rebound fell right onto the stick of Wilson Bjorck. He dished it to a crashing Zach Olsen, who scored and gave Colorado College its first lead of the weekend, 2-1.

In the middle stanza, the visitors took over. The Tigers doubled their lead less than two minutes in when Connor Hvidston buried a back-door rebound. From there, they piled up a 14-3 advantage in shots during the period and completely dominated play. Colorado College went into the second intermission up 3-1.

Early in the final frame, the Huskies had a chance to claw a goal back with their second power play of the night but couldn’t take advantage. Soon after, Colorado College pushed the gap to three. UConn’s defense let Hvidston get behind and he tapped in an easy back-door chance to give the Tigers a 4-1 lead.

The Huskies had another power play opportunity but squandered it. After an uneventful final few minutes, the buzzer sounded on a three-goal defeat.

With the loss, UConn falls to 2-2-0 on the season. Next, it’ll begin Hockey East play and close out its five-game home stand to open the year when it welcomes Boston University to Storrs on Thursday.

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