Weekly Roundup: Disaster averted

The Huskies needed a late goal to earn a split against Maine but ended up exactly where they started in the standings anyways.

March 01, 2021

Welcome to the UConn Hockey Hub newsletter, which catches you up on all the stories, trends, and anything else you might have missed, along with some quick takes and leftover notes from the weekend.

Weekend thoughts

  • This weekend was about two minutes away from becoming a total, unmitigated disaster for UConn. After an awful loss on Friday night, the Huskies came apart at the end of the second period on Saturday and nearly went to overtime. Luckily, they pulled out the win and kept themselves in fourth place in the standings.

  • After the win on Saturday, Mike Cavanaugh had a good explanation about what went wrong on Friday night: “The hard part is you can't confuse effort with results. What I mean by that is sometimes your efforts’s great, your structure’s, great and you don't win a hockey game. I thought last night, our effort was good but it wasn't smart. We were working hard in the wrong areas: Defensemen down below the goal line in the offensive zone, forwards back-checking the wrong guy. So they're working hard but they're not really working smart and I think that caught up with us a little bit last night.”

  • While Friday night’s loss was bad, those nights happen. In fact, the only team without a loss to one of Maine, Merrimack, UNH, or Vermont is Northeastern. UConn has dropped just two games to those four: a regulation loss to Maine and an overtime loss to UNH.

  • On Saturday, UConn won the game but I wasn’t completely wowed by its performance like after the Huskies’ demolition of Merrimack.

  • Here’s the thing about the dislodged net goal: It shouldn’t have counted, not because the net came off but because Tomas Vomacka was clearly interfered with. Watch No. 30 on Maine come through the crease and take Vomacka down:

  • That’s textbook goaltender interference. If Vomacka doesn’t get taken down, he probably stops the shot from Adam Dawe and the controversy never happens. I imagine Mike Cavanaugh will have a conversation with Hockey East about that this week.

  • The actual ruling with the dislodged net makes sense, though I think it was still a stretch to count the goal. First, this is from the NCAA rulebook:

  • This is what Hockey East said about the goal:

  • Deputy commissioner Brian Smith also added that Dawe was in the process of shooting when the net came off its moorings.

  • I feel like there are a few issues with the explanation, though. When the net came off, the puck was on the goal line. I’m not sure how that qualifies as “in a position to be shot.” If that’s the case, isn’t the puck constantly in a position to be shot, regardless of where it is on the ice?

  • The NCAA rules also states the same logic applies if a player is in position to shoot. Except Dawe gets the puck and takes his stick off the puck to re-adjust his body while moving himself away from the goal line before finally shooting. Apparently the “process of shooting” starts whenever a player touches the puck.

  • Regardless, UConn responded well in the third period. The Huskies peppered the Maine net with shots and did everything except score for the first 17 minutes.

  • UConn’s power play was zero for its last 21 before Ryan Tverberg scored the game-winner Saturday. The breakthrough couldn’t have come at a better time.

  • The playoffs essentially start for UConn this weekend. The Huskies might be back in fourth place but they hold a microscopic lead over Providence with Northeastern still in contention for a top-five spot as well. Another slip-up could result in UConn dropping to the sixth seed, which would force it to play in the opening round of the Hockey East Playoffs instead of receiving a bye to the quarterfinals.

  • I don’t have a prediction for who UConn will play this weekend. Vermont seems like an obvious choice since the two teams haven’t faced each other but from what I know, that “isn’t a slam dunk.” It’s possible but not certain.

Links

Three stars

Each week, we’ll highlight UConn’s top performers from the weekend.

First star: Marc Gatcomb

The junior scored UConn’s opening goal and its final goal of the weekend in addition to two assists on Friday. With Kale Howarth suspended for the first game and Vladislav Firstov injured, UConn needed to find scoring from somewhere else and Gatcomb stepped up. He’s now third on the team with six goals this season.

Second star: Hudson Schandor

After missing the BU game due to injury, Schandor returned to the lineup and showed just how valuable he’s already become to this team. He scored on Friday and then fired the one-timer which Ryan Tverberg tipped in for the game-winner on Saturday. Schandor and Gatcomb both have 11 points on the year, tied for fourth-most behind Jonny Evans (24), Jachym Kondelik (17) and Carter Turnbull (13).

Third star: Carter Berger

Without even looking at the numbers, Berger hard arguably his best two games in a UConn uniform against Maine. He was a constant threat from the blue line and showed off his speed, puck handling, and shooting ability all weekend long, which resulted in a goal and an assist. While the Huskies’s defensemen have generated plenty of offense this season, none of them are as offensive-minded as Berger, which showed through in this series.

Scoreboard

Tuesday, Feb. 23

Men’s:UMass 8, Providence 1

Thursday, Feb. 25

Women’s opening round:UNH 3, Holy Cross 0

Friday, Feb. 26

Men’s:Merrimack 5, BU 2UMass Lowell 3, Vermont 1UMass 3, BC 2 (OT)

Saturday, Feb. 27

Men’s:BU 4, Merrimack 2Providence 4, Northeastern 2UMass Lowell 3, Vermont 2

Sunday, Feb. 28

Men’s:Northeastern 3(2), Providence 3(0) OT/shootout

Women’s quarterfinals:UConn 5, BC 1Providence 4, BU 3Maine 3, Vermont 1Northeastern 7, UNH 0