UConn falls to Holy Cross, 2-1

UConn men’s hockey dropped its first game of the season on Friday night, falling to the Holy Cross Crusaders, 2-1.

The Huskies’ lone score came on the power play off the stick of Jake Richard, but overall the PP unit went 1-of-5 on the night, failing to capitalize on a five-minute major while also allowing a shorthanded goal.

After UConn went behind in the third period, it took four penalties which cut into its opportunities to tie the game. Then with the goalie pulled for the extra skater, the Huskies couldn’t control the puck.

Arsenii Sergeev started in goal and saved 20 of 22 shots.

After an uneventful first period, the Huskies’ power play appeared to come alive. Richard swatted a puck out of mid-air and into the back of the net to put the Huskies up 1-0 and snap the team’s 0-10 start on the advantage this season.

The unit couldn’t sustain that momentum. Holy Cross tied the game five minutes later and UConn went back on the power play — this time for five minutes. Tyler Ghirardosi hit Jake Flynn in the head behind the play and after a review, the Crusaders were hit with a major penalty and game misconduct.

Despite the long advantage, the Huskies didn’t capitalize. They had a few grade-A chances — Samu Salminen put a back-post shot high and they had a couple other opportunities on the doorstep — but failed to convert.

Poor finishing continued to plague UConn at the end of the second period. Matthew Wood hit the post on a one-timer, then Richard couldn’t settle a pass during an odd-man rush and never got a shot off. As a result, the Huskies went into the final stanza knotted at one goal apiece.

It got worse for UConn’s power play in the third period when Holy Cross took the lead on a shorthanded goal — the second shorty the Huskies have allowed in three games this season.

When UConn pulled Sergeev for an extra skater, it couldn’t get possession which allowed the Crusaders to dictate play. Eventually, they broke out of the zone and Andrew Lucas took a slashing penalty to prevent the empty-netter.

Soon after, Tabor Heaslip joined him in the box for goalie interference which all but ended the Huskies’ comeback efforts.

UConn will look to bounce back in its home opener on Saturday. The puck drops at 7 p.m. at Toscano Family Ice Forum as the Huskies attempt to salvage a split against the Crusaders.