UConn ready for all possibilities in first NCAA Tournament

Mike Cavanaugh knows what it takes to win a national championship. During his 18-year tenure as an assistant coach at Boston College, he helped the Eagles hoist the trophy four times. Those teams all shared two basic qualities.

“If you get a group that plays collectively and your goaltender gets hot at the right time, you can go really far in this tournament,” Cavanaugh explained.

UConn checks both those boxes. The Huskies have put together a historic season not because they have gobs of high-end talent but because they play together as a team and don’t stray from their principles.

“All their forward lines play the exact same way, all their D play the same way,” BU coach Jay Pandolfo said. “They have structure in everything they do and they all buy into doing it. That's a pretty good recipe.”

Meanwhile, both goaltenders are plenty capable. Tyler Muszelik earned CT Ice Most Outstanding Player honors after stopping 57 of 58 shots over the weekend while Callum Tung owns a 2.06 goals against average and .933 save percentage on the season while allowing two goals or fewer in his last four starts.

So despite being in its first-ever NCAA Tournament, UConn believes it’s capable of going all the way.

“I think we have all the ingredients,” Cavanaugh said.

That doesn’t mean the Huskies are looking ahead, though. Their first round opponent is in-state rival Quinnipiac, a program that’s made six straight NCAA Tournaments (11 overall) and won the national championship in 2023. UConn knows its first appearance could be a quick one.

“We can get knocked out in the first round and we can win the thing,” Cavanaugh said. “We have a team that's good enough to win it. I also understand if we don't play well, we'll get knocked out in the first round.”

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