UConn men's hockey blanked by Holy Cross, 2-0

UConn men’s hockey was swept by the Holy Cross Crusaders following a 2-0 defeat at Toscano Family Ice Forum on Saturday. The Huskies dominated play with a 28-17 advantage in shots on goal and a 62-34 edge in attempts but couldn’t find the back of the net.

Holy Cross went ahead in the second period off a bad UConn turnover and then added an empty netter late in the game. The Huskies were 0-3 on the power play.

After a shaky start to the game, UConn settled in after its first power play even though it came up empty. The Huskies dominated the second period with an 11-4 edge in shots on goal and a constant barrage of grade-A chances, yet couldn’t find the back of the net. They either couldn’t get a solid attempt on target, had it blocked, or whiffed on the shot.

Despite owning play, UConn went into the second intermission down 1-0. Jake Percival turned the puck over in the middle of the Huskies’ defensive zone, which allowed Holy Cross to pick it up and score against the run of play.

UConn locked the visitors in their zone for long stretches of the third period but just couldn’t convert. The Huskies didn’t help themselves by taking a too-many-men penalty immediately following an extended sequence of riding time, which immediately shifted the momentum back to the Crusaders. They also failed to hit the target on far too many shots.

UConn pulled Ethan Haider for the extra skater with just under two minutes left but Holy Cross quickly won back possession and sent the puck down the ice. While it would’ve been icing, Jack Ricketts beat Andrew Lucas down the ice and scored on the empty net, sealing the 2-0 victory and weekend sweep.

With the loss, UConn falls to 1-2-1 on the season. It’ll return to action next weekend with a two-game series at Union.