UConn holds on to beat No. 15 UMass, 3-2

With the game winding down on Saturday night in Storrs, UConn men’s hockey found itself in an eerily similar situation to the night before. The Huskies led the No. 15 UMass Minutemen 3-2 while facing a 5-on-6 situation in the final minute.

On Friday, they gave up the game-tying goal in an eventually 3-3 tie (and shootout defeat). This time, they held on to secure a 3-2 victory at Toscano Family Ice Forum.

Jake Percival scored a pair while Joey Muldowney also found the back of the net. In goal, Tyler Muszelik was stellar with 27 stops on 29 shots.

The special teams battle was even. UConn had a shorthanded goal while UMass picked up a power play goal.

The Huskies found themselves stuck in their own zone for much of the first period. They struggled to get clearances and all too often iced the puck, which just brought it back down their own end. They easily could’ve gone down if not for some key stops from Muszelik in the early going.

It looked as if that trend would continue after UMass got the first power play of the weekend, but UConn had other plans. After blocking a shot, Percival jumped out on a breakaway and tucked it inside the post to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead. It was the team’s third shorthanded goal of the season and Percival’s second.

Despite putting just five shots on net in the opening period, UConn went into the intermission ahead.

While the Huskies’ first goal came against the run of play, their second was anything but. During a 2:03-long stretch of continuous action, UConn locked UMass in its own zone. The Huskies kept the puck inside the blue line and executed multiple line changes without allowing the Minutemen to get anyone off the ice.

The pressure finally paid off. Percival got the puck along the end line and with no defenders around him, he took it straight to net for his second goal of the day.

UConn didn’t let up. At the end of the stanza, Jake Richard hit Muldowney on a cross-ice pass, who tapped it in to make it 3-0. UMass answered 1:12 later and the 3-1 scoreline held into the final intermission.

The Huskies didn’t make it easy on themselves in the third. They killed off one penalty that carried over from the second period, but then took two more in quick succession. While the penalty kill stepped on those to keep the lead at two, UConn kept going to the box. Eventually, the Minutemen capitalized on the power play to cut the lead to 3-2 with 4:54 remaining.

The visitors pulled the goalie with 1:26 left, but the Huskies’ defense held strong to secure the victory.

UConn improves to 4-2-1 overall and gets its first victory in Hockey East play. Next, the Huskies will welcome Vermont for a two game series in Connecticut — Saturday at the XL Center and Sunday at Toscano Family Ice Forum.