Notebook: UConn returns from winter break with a golden opportunity

When UConn men’s hockey reconvened for its first practice after winter break on Wednesday, head coach Mike Cavanaugh felt a pit in his stomach. Three and a half weeks had passed since the Huskies last played a game — and they looked bad.

"I thought that we were very rusty, a little sloppy,” he admitted.

Those fears proved to be premature. The team got things back on track during Thursday’s session.

“I felt a lot better about our team after this morning's practice than I did yesterday,” Cavanaugh said.

The Huskies have four practices to get ready before the puck drops for their next game on Sunday. That won’t be the case next year when they travel to Milwaukee for the Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off.

“It's just getting the rust off. Next year, we might have one practice before we play. That's kind of tough,” Cavanaugh said. “It certainly won't be an excuse because Harvard's been off as long as we have.”

Sunday won’t just be UConn’s first game of the second half, though. It’ll also be the team’s first chance for marquee victory this season with ESPNU set to broadcast the game.

Among the Huskies’ shortcomings last year, Cavanaugh pointed to the team’s poor record in “so-called big games”: A 6-0 loss to Cornell at Madison Square Garden, a 4-1 defeat to Northeastern at Frozen Fenway, a 4-3 loss in the opening game at Toscano Family Ice Forum, falling 4-3 to Quinnipiac in the CT Ice final after taking a lead into the third period, and a one-and-done showing in the Hockey East Playoffs.

“We didn't find a way to win those games,” Cavanaugh said in April. “That bothered me and stayed with me for a while after the season.”

Harvard is the perfect opportunity to turn that around for a couple of reasons. First, UConn doesn’t have many showcase games: This, CT Ice, and the postseason are the only ones. Second, the Crimson are beatable, owning just a 1-5-3 record with the second-worst offense in the nation at 1.8 goals per game. They only rank above Stonehill, who is 0-17 in its second year at the Division I level.

Thanks to ESPNU, the Huskies can showcase their program in their new rink to a national audience. They can’t afford to fumble the opportunity.

“It's great for both programs to be on ESPN,” Cavanaugh said. “We gotta pack the house now without the students here.”

Injury updates

Jake Veilleux (knee) won’t make his season debut against Harvard, but he’s nearing a return to game action. According to Cavanaugh, he could even be back to practice, albeit in a limited capacity, on Friday.

“He's making his way back,” the coach said. “We're hoping to have him out in the red cross (non-contact jersey) tomorrow.”

Veilleux has yet to play this season after suffering a knee injury during the preseason. He’s been a fixture in UConn’s lineup since breaking in midway through his freshman year. As a fourth-liner, Veilleux has totaled four goals and four assists in 48 career games.

Aside from the junior, the Huskies should be healthy entering the second-half opener.

“I think we're pretty healthy,” Cavanaugh said. “We had everybody in practice today except for Jake.”

UConn will also be without leading scorer Matthew Wood, who is in Sweden for World Juniors with Team Canada.

Sergeev’s status

When UConn took the ice for its season opener at Colgate, Arsenii Sergeev led the team out and started the first game of the opening six weekends as part of a rotation with Ethan Haider. Then, he had a rough first period at Vermont (but recovered over the final 40 minutes) and fell apart in his next outing against Merrimack, getting pulled after two periods.

Sergeev hasn’t played since — Haider backstopped the Huskies in their final five games of the first half.

But even though Haider has been stellar between the pipes with a 2.36 GAA and .915 save percentage (compared to Sergeev’s 2.82 GAA and .897 save percentage), Sergeev will likely see some action at some point in the second half.

“Arsenii’s a good goaltender,” Cavanaugh said. “Certainly expect him to contribute here in the second half.”

Sergeev may have to wait, though. The Huskies play one game against Harvard this weekend followed by a single game at UMass the weekend after. Their next series isn’t until Jan. 12-13 when Maine comes to the XL Center for two.