UConn plays to 5-5 tie with No. 16 Merrimack

UConn men’s hockey came out of the weekend winless after settling for a 5-5 tie with the No. 16 Merrimack Warriors on Saturday at Lawler Rink. The Huskies won the shootout to claim an extra point towards the Hockey East standings.

Carter Sproule, Joey Muldowney, Colin Frank, Ethan Whitcomb and Anthony Allain-Samaké scored for UConn. In goal, Veeti Louhivaara finished with 28 saves on 33 shots (an .848 save percentage) but shined in overtime by denying a pair of breakaways.

The Huskies’ special teams stayed hot. The power play went 2-4 while the penalty kill pitched another shutout with a 2-2 day.

After UConn scored an early opener on Friday night, it was Merrimack’s turn on Saturday. A minute in, Muldowney attempted a one-timer from the point that went straight into a shin pad. That sprung the Warriors on a breakaway, which Nick Pierre converted to put the hosts ahead 1-0.

The Huskies didn’t wait long to answer back, though. 5:20 later, Cole Davis battled for the puck and found Sproule at the top of the circles. The sophomore skated in and buried his shot to tie the game at 1-1.

The teams traded power plays in the latter half of the period but neither converted. Then, in the final minute, Merrimack went back ahead when UConn left Mavrick Lachance unmarked in front of goal. That gave the Warriors a 2-1 lead just 47.7 left before intermission.

The floodgates opened for both sides in the middle stanza. Merrimack doubled its advantage just 55 seconds into the period but the Huskies again responded a few minutes later. On their second power play of the day, Muldowney cleaned up a rebound on the back side to cut the gap down to one.

Less than 90 seconds onward, the Warriors pushed it back to two at 4-2.

But UConn closed the period strong. Frank scored his first collegiate goal on a shot from the point to make it 4-3, then the power play unit came up big again to pull even.

The Warriors gifted the Huskies with a nearly full-length 5-on-3 when they committed a slashing penalty followed by a faceoff violation on the ensuing draw. UConn converted on a one-timer from Whitcomb to tie the game at 4-4 entering the final period.

The Huskies couldn’t keep the momentum going, though. Seven minutes into the third period, Merrimack went back in front. Louhivaara turned the initial shot away but the rebound hit off Caden Cranston and ended up in the net.

UConn didn’t panic. Four minutes later, Mike Murtagh carried the puck through the neutral zone, held off a defender and found Allain-Samaké at the point. The blue liner blasted a one-timer into the twine to pull the Huskies even at 5-5.

In the final minutes of regulation, UConn pushed hard but couldn’t find a winner. For the third time in as many weekends, the Huskies went to overtime.

During the extra period, UConn struggled to gain possession and only ended up with one shot. Merrimack had a pair of breakaways but Louhivaara denied both.

In the shootout, Jeremy Loranger scored in the second round, only for Merrimack to respond on its next try. In the fourth round, Ethan Whitcomb scored and Louhivaara followed up with a stop to secure the extra point.

With the tie, the Huskies move to 3-4-1 overall and 1-2-1 in Hockey East play. Next, UConn will take on No. 5 Providence in a home-and-home, beginning at Schneider Arena on Thursday.