UConn sticking with its goalie rotation

UConn men’s hockey will not make a change to its goaltender usage despite Ethan Haider’s rise into one of the top statistical net-minders in the nation and Arsenii Sergeev’s recent struggles.

“If both goalies are giving us a chance to win, we'll continue to play two goalies,” head coach Mike Cavanaugh said Wednesday. “If there's one that separates themselves, then we'll go in that direction.”

Haider owns a 1.39 goals against average and .942 save percentage — both of which rank fifth nationally. Sergeev certainly hasn’t been bad with a 2.40 GAA and .916 save percentage, but he struggled in the first period against Vermont during his last outing.

First, he misplayed the puck from behind the net and couldn’t recover in time to stop the goal. Then, he allowed a savable shot above the dots with a clear line of vision. Sergeev has also struggled with positioning throughout the season — he’s prone to end up outside the crease after an initial save — which has resulted in a few goals as well.

But Cavanaugh feels it’s unfair to zero in on Sergeev’s mistakes last Friday.

“I'm sure he would have liked to have had the first two goals back,” the coach said. “But also in that game, we gave up 16 grade-A opportunities. The most we had given up in a game prior to that was eight. So he held us in there in the second and third and gave us a chance to try to get back in that game, but we just couldn't score any goals for him.”

“I was really impressed with how he performed in the second and third period after having a first period like he did,” he added later.

Even if Sergeev has kept UConn in games as the coach said, Haider has been at another level. He’s allowed two goals or fewer in his last four starts and does a much better job of limiting second chances — illustrated by the fact that he’s only faced 114 shots compared to Sergeev, who’s seen 131 in the same number of starts.

Haider’s also been hung out to dry at times. His last four goals allowed have all been the result of some sort of miscue — a bad turnover by Jake Percival against Holy Cross, a puck that didn’t clear the zone because it hit the ref against UMass Lowell, and two bad giveaways by defensemen at Vermont.

When Haider is facing shots in the normal flow of offense, he’s been unbeatable for a month now.

Still, no change is imminent.

“I don't think we're at that point yet,” Cavanaugh said if Haider has earned the starting job through his play. “If one guy is just playing completely lights-out, yeah. I mean, throughout my career, I’ve had no problem riding a hot goaltender if that's the case. But I do think they both played exceptionally well and given us chances to win hockey games every night.”