UConn men's hockey defeats Colgate 4-2 in season opener

UConn men’s hockey opened the 2023-24 campaign with a 4-2 victory on the road against the Colgate Raiders on Saturday night. Matthew Wood started the scoring 7:13 in and Samu Salminen doubled the lead just moments later, only for Colgate to find the back of the net on the ensuing shift.

That 2-1 scoreline held into the third period when the two teams traded shorthanded goals, but Jake Percival sealed the victory with an empty netter.

Joey Muldowney recorded a pair of assists while Jake Richard notched one helper in their respective collegiate debuts. Chase Bradley and Tabor Heaslip picked up assists as well. In net, Arsenii Sergeev kept UConn afloat with 35 saves on 37 shots. The Huskies went 4-4 on the penalty kill but 0-5 on the power play.

After a cagey opening seven minutes between the sides, all hell broke loose. Richard settled a bouncing puck and found a wide-open Wood in the slot, who buried a one-timer to give UConn the lead. Thirty-six seconds later, Joey Muldowney sent Salminen in a breakaway and the sophomore doubled the lead. But just 14 seconds after the second goal, Colgate answered to pull back within one.

Following the flurry of goals, both teams settled down and the Huskies took the 2-1 lead into the first intermission — a score which held through the next 20 minutes as well. Both teams had opportunities on both power plays and at even strength but couldn’t capitalize.

Out of the second intermission, Colgate put UConn on its heels and held the puck in the offensive zone for long stretches. The Huskies relied on timely blocks from skaters and a handful of tough stops by Sergeev to preserve the lead but even when they cleared the zone, they didn’t generate much offensively to keep the pressure off.

UConn couldn’t extend its lead with its fourth power play of the day but its special teams still came up big. On a Colgate advantage, Heaslip sprung free on a 2-on-1 rush and slipped a pass to Salminen, who went bar-down for the shorthanded goal to push the Huskies’ lead back to two.

The game of copycat continued, though. The Raiders came right back with a shorthanded goal of their own to get back within one and then pulled the goalie with just over two minutes left.

Percival quickly ended their hopes of a comeback, though. He fired an initial shot from center ice that just missed but he chased the puck into the zone and tucked it in the empty net as Colgate attempted to knock the frame off its moorings. That gave UConn a 4-2 lead, which held as the final.

Next, the Huskies will go for the road sweep on Sunday at 3 p.m.