UConn thrashes Colgate, 6-2

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UConn men’s hockey got its season off to a strong start, thrashing the Colgate Raiders 6-2 on Saturday to complete the weekend sweep.

The Huskies went down 1-0 in the first period but then scored three goals in as many minutes from Tabor Heaslip, Jake Richard and Jake Percival to take a commanding lead in the middle stanza. They continued to pour it on in the third period with two goals 30 seconds apart from Kaden Shahan and Percival.

Colgate pulled one back shortly afterwards, but Ryan Tattle slammed the door on any comeback hopes with a shorthanded empty-netter to secure the victory.

While he didn’t get on the scoresheet, Joey Muldowney notched two assists in the victory.

In goal, Tyler Muszelik performed well in his second straight start, turning away 29 of 31 shots while making a few timely saves throughout the night as well.

Coming off a loss on Friday night, Colgate came out strong and dictated play for much of the first period. UConn struggled to control the puck and often found itself defending in its own zone. The Huskies were efficient when they had possession, though — of their 13 shots in the opening stanza, six were grade-A opportunities.

However, UConn couldn’t capitalize and trailed 1-0 at the first intermission after it left Simone Dadie wide open in front of the net for the tap-in goal.

Out of the break, the Huskies quickly flipped the game on its head.

First, Percival had a shot hit the glove and float over the goalie, where Heaslip skated in and poked the puck home to even the game. Two minutes after that, Muldowney deked past a defenseman and set up Richard on the back post for an easy score. Less than a minute later, Muldowney sent a cross-ice pass to Percival, who buried it.

In the span of 3:02, UConn turned a one-goal deficit into a 3-1 advantage.

Colgate didn’t quit, though. Shortly after the Huskies’ offensive outburst, they found themselves on the penalty kill. That allowed the Raiders to pull some momentum back, though they couldn’t capitalize in large part due to Muszelik, who came up with a few impressive stops.

The Huskies slammed the door in the third. Shahan scored his first collegiate goal on a breakaway, then Percival added another just 29 seconds later to make it 5-1.

Colgate responded with a one-timer that cut the deficit to three then went on the power play. The Raiders pulled their goalie to get a 6-on-4 advantage but the move quickly backfired. Tattle score the puck and scored on the empty net to put UConn back ahead by four, which would ultimately become the final.

Next up, the Huskies will take on Holy Cross in a home-and-home next week, beginning on Friday night in Worcester.

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