UConn wins 5-4 overtime thriller over No. 15 BU

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No. 16 UConn men’s hockey came out on top in a 5-4 overtime thriller against the No. 15 Boston University Terriers on Thursday at Toscano Family Ice Forum. The Huskies surrendered a two-goal lead in the final 3:26 of regulation but responded to claim the win in OT.

BU held possession for the first two minutes of overtime but once UConn got the puck, it refused to give it back. With 49.9 seconds left, Joey Muldowney ripped a shot from the slot that found the back of the net and gave the Huskies the victory.

UConn recorded a season-high five tallies in the victory — as many as the Terriers had given up through their first four games — thanks to five different goalscorers: Ethan Whitcomb, Kaden Shahan, Trey Scott, Carlin Dezainde and Muldowney.

Only one Husky finished with multiple points on the night: Goaltender Kam Hendrickson. He notched a pair of assists, making program history along the way. In UConn’s Hockey East era, his two points set a single-game high for a netminder and matched Darion Hanson, Tyler Muszelik and Rob Nichols on the career list. Between the pipes, Hendrickson set a career-best with 46 saves on 50 shots and improved to 3-0-0 on the season.

UConn went 1-3 on the power play while the penalty kill finished 5-6 despite facing 15 shots.

The Huskies opened the game on the man advantage thanks to a pregame penalty against BU — Terriers goaltender Mikhail Yegorov came out onto the ice early. The Huskies didn’t do anything with the extra skater but still went ahead soon after.

Whitcomb slipped past a defender at the blue line and then beat the rest of the opposition to the net, where he tucked a shot inside the far post to put UConn out front, 1-0.

Five minutes later, BU tied it. Will McIsaac turned the puck over in the defensive zone, which sprung the visitors on an odd-man rush. A centered pass bounced around the front of the net and Kamil Bednarik slipped a shot under Hendrickson’s pads to make it 1-1.

It didn’t remain tied long. Soon after, Shahan stole the puck at center ice, sped into the offensive zone and caught Yegorov leaning with a near-side shot. The Huskies went back on top, 2-1.

The Terriers eventually battled back and evened the score before the intermission. Nick Roukounakis sent a point-blank shot on net that somehow snuck past Hendrickson and evened the score at two goals apiece.

Penalties defined the middle stanza. The two teams went to the box a combined five times, albeit with differing results. The Huskies’ penalty kill blanked the visitors on all three opportunities while their power play came up clutch. Scott sliced through the neutral zone then connected with Ethan Gardula for a give-and-go. The defenseman got it back as he entered the zone, flew to the net and scored five-hole to retake the lead, 3-2.

The one-goal advantage held into the final break.

BU came out strong in the third period as it searched for an equalizer. It had an early power play chance thanks to a tripping penalty on Alexandre Blais but couldn’t capitalize.

Despite the push from the Terriers, the Huskies doubled their lead with 6:50 remaining courtesy of a lucky bounce. Blais missed Dezainde on a pass in the neutral zone but the puck caromed off the boards and found a streaking Dezainde behind the defense. He picked it up and wired a shot that went off two posts and in. UConn went ahead 4-2.

A two-goal lead wasn’t enough, though. BU pulled one goal with 3:36 to go on a shot from the point that beat a screened Hendrickson. Then Muldowney took a hooking penalty with 2:30 left that put the Terriers on the power play. They pulled the goalie for the extra attacker with 1:18 remaining to gain a 6-on-4 advantage.

With 47.5 to play, the visitors broke through. Jack Murtagh’s shot went wide of the net but bounced off the end boards to a wide-open Ryder Ritchie, who buried the rebound and tied the game at 4-4. The two sides eventually went to overtime.

In the extra period, UConn came in on a 3v2 rush. Mike Murtagh found Muldowney in the middle of the ice while Trey Scott crashed the net to screen the goalie. Just below the top of the circles, Muldowney let it fly and found twine to secure the 5-4 victory.

With the win, the Huskies improve to 3-2-0 overall and 1-0-0 in Hockey East. Next, they’ll make the trip to Agganis Arena for the second leg of the home-and-home series on Saturday. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

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