Injury report: Jake Veilleux finally cleared to play

UConn men’s hockey’s Jake Veilleux has been cleared to play after a knee injury sidelined him for the first 19 games of the season.

“He's cleared by the training staff to play,” head coach Mike Cavanaugh said on Wednesday.

That doesn’t mean Veilleux is a lock for the lineup, though. The Huskies have settled into a consistent top 12 at forward, so the junior will likely have to beat out the likes of Jake Black and Oliver Flynn to suit this weekend against Maine.

“We haven't decided yet on the lineup for Friday night but there's certainly a chance (Veilleux could play),” Cavanaugh said.

Numbers-wise, Veilleux doesn’t jump off the page with just four goals and four assists in 48 career games. However, he is a steady fourth-liner who rarely makes mistakes or hurts the team, exemplified by his two career penalty minutes.

“He’s a very disciplined, smart hockey player,” Cavanaugh said about Veilleux. “He’s a guy that you can trust. You know what you’re going to get from him every shift when he’s on the ice.”

Matthew Wood settling back in

Last week, Matthew Wood returned from World Juniors in Sweden on Wednesday night and still played in Friday’s game at UMass. He started slow and didn’t have a great game for his standards — no points, just one shot on goal — but drew a crucial penalty that allowed the Huskies to tie the game with two minutes left in the third period.

“He was a little tired on Friday night, although I actually thought he might have gotten better as the game went on,” Cavanaugh said. “He started really slow and I thought he maybe got a little bit better as the game went on.”

This past week, UConn forced him to take a few days off so he could get re-energized after a grueling couple of weeks with Team Canada. If it were up to Wood, he would’ve pushed through.

“He doesn't want to take time off, I'm making him,” Cavanaugh said. “He's begrudgingly taking some time off. But he wants to go out there. He's a rink rat. He just loves being on the ice.”

The break seemed to benefit Wood ahead of a big weekend against Maine.

“He's looked back to normal this week in practice,” Cavanaugh said.

Bauer Swift returns to practice

UConn has quietly been without one of its defensemen for the first half. Bauer Swift, a freshman from West Hartford, only recently started practicing again after dealing with a health issue, according to Cavanaugh.

While the Huskies haven’t needed him for game action, his absence has left them a d-man short in practice — which is a major reason they added him at the end of July. Swift was initially set to play at Division III Hobart College.

Now that he’s back, UConn has eight healthy defensemen again.

Trio of injured players “all good”

Last Friday at UMass, three Huskies left the game at various points with apparent injuries: Jake Percival, Nick Capone and Jake Black. Percival crashed hard into the boards but skated off under his own power and remained on the bench. Both Capone and Black went into the locker room during the second period and didn’t re-emerge until the start of the third.

Luckily, all three escaped anything major and should be okay.

“They're all good,” Cavanaugh said.