Weekly Roundup: UConn's big weekend against No. 2 Boston College

Welcome to the UConn Hockey Hub newsletter, which will catch 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.

Subscriber news

A couple of notes for subscribers:

• We actually had games this weekend, which means the Film Room will be out later this week. Same with the Hubcast.

• If UConn doesn’t end up playing this weekend, we’ll have some extra content to make up for it next week.

Team news

Three Huskies earn weekly Hockey East honors

After two stellar performances against BC, Tomas Vomacka was named Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week. He stopped 54 of 59 shots on the weekend and made more than a few incredible saves to either keep UConn close or protect a lead. Meanwhile, Jonny Evans (one goal, two assists, one shattered glass pane) and Nick Capone (one goal) were both Hockey East Top Performers.

UConn approaching top 20

The Huskies have never been ranked in program history, but they’re firmly on the doorstep of the USCHO Top 20 Poll. After a win and overtime loss against No. 2 BC, UConn received 25 votes in the poll, which is likely the most in team history.

Though the Huskies have never been ranked, they picked up the 22nd-most votes, meaning they’re just two spots out of finally appearing in the poll.

Firstov, Kuznetsov make history

Vladislav Firstov and Yan Kuznetsov both made Russia’s World Juniors’ roster, becoming the first NCAA players ever to make that squad. Russia will open the tournament on Christmas Day against Team USA at 9:30 p.m. EST.

Links

Last week’s newsletter: Another weekend off for UConn

UConn women’s hockey still searching for its first win

UConn men’s hockey looking to schedule games before Christmas, open to non-conference play

UConn Hockey Hub Podcast: Episode 3

Hockey East changes format — New this week.

Preview:

The UConn Blog: UConn men’s hockey happy to be playing again

Patreon Preview: UConn vs. No. 2 Boston College

Friday: BC 4, UConn 3 (OT)

Recap: UConn falls to BC in overtime, 4-3

Video: Mike Cavanaugh’s postgame press conference

Saturday: UConn 3, BC 1

Recap: UConn knocks off BC, 3-1

Video: Mike Cavanaugh’s postgame press conference | Jonny Evans, Nick Capone postgame interviews

Three stars

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

First star: Tomas Vomacka

Vomacka has claimed the first star for each of the Huskies’ series — and for good reason. Though four games is a small sample size, the junior goaltender has elevated his game to a new level and may have a claim to being one of the best (non-Spencer Knight) goaltenders in Hockey East.

Through four games, Vomacka has allowed 2.91 goals per game with a 9.18 save percentage. Those numbers are even more impressive considering they came against the No. 10 and No. 2 teams in the country, respectively.

Though Vomacka has always been a solid shot-stopper, he handles the puck far better than before. Instead of simply keeping the puck out of the net, Vomacka is corralling the puck and limiting rebounds — something that’s been a point of emphasis with his game.

“He’s working with our goalie coach, Vince Stalletti and that's something Vince is working with him on,” Cavanaugh said after Saturday’s game. “His hands were a problem last year and he's worked to fix his hands. I think that's a big part of his game that's gotten a lot better as well.”

Second star: Jonny Evans

Forget about the goal and two assists. Evans lands the second star exclusively for this:

In all seriousness, Evans’ three points propelled him to the team lead with four total on the season. Though his skill level has never been in question, Cavanaugh highlighted the junior’s improvement in other aspects of his game ahead of the weekend.

“I think that Jonny Evans has made a great jump this year,” Cavanaugh said. “Physically in the weight room, he's a lot stronger. His compete in practice every day has been really impressive.”

Third star: Marc Gatcomb

Raise your hand if you had Gatcomb as UConn’s top goal-scorer through four games. The junior’s two goals are tied for the team lead with Kale Howarth while his .222 shot percentage is a squad best.

Both Gatcomb’s goals came against Boston College and both were the result of heady play. On Friday night, Jachym Kondelik stole the puck from behind the net and delivered it to Gatcomb, who perfectly placed himself in position to receive the pass and buried a quick wrist shot.

On Saturday, he fired a shot from the corner but followed it in on goal. After BC goaltender Henry Wilder failed to collect the rebound, Gatcomb was perfectly positioned to put the second chance into the back of the net.

Gatcomb isn’t the flashiest or most talented player on UConn’s roster, but he’s the type that’ll help the Huskies win games like these. Not everyone can be a star and Gatcomb played his role to perfection this weekend.

Scoreboard

Friday, Dec. 11

Men’s:Maine 1 (3), UNH 1 (2) OT/Shootout

Women’s:UConn 4, BU 1Maine 2, UNH 1Northeastern 4, BC 1Holy Cross 4, Merrimack 2

Saturday, Dec. 12

Men’s:Northeastern 8, Merrimack 2UNH 6, Maine 2

Women’s:Maine 2, UNH 1Merrimack 3, Holy Cross 2

Sunday, Dec. 13

Men’s:Northeastern 6, Merrimack 2Providence 4, UMass Lowell 2

Parting thoughts

• No surprises with UConn’s inactives. Vlad Firstov and Yan Kuznetsov were both away at World Juniors’, John Wojciechowski was injured and neither Gavin Puskar nor Matt Pasquale dressed for the UMass series either.

• Roman Kinal is quietly off to a great start this season. He’s tied for second on the team with two assists, has the best +/- with a +5 and hasn’t committed a penalty yet this year.

• Aside from Kinal, UConn’s production from its defensemen has been disappointing so far. Excluding Kinal, the group has combined for just two assists on the year — one from Kuznetsov and the other from John Spetz. Improvement in that area could really take this team to the next level.

• Eric Linell still hasn’t recorded a point but I thought he looked like a Division I forward this weekend. He’s improved from last season.

• Brian Rigali probably doesn’t get credit for how good he is. Like Gatcomb, his ceiling isn’t as high as some of his teammates’ but his skating ability is elite and he’s a critical part of what the Huskies do.

• For as well as the Huskies played this weekend, it’s disappointing that BC didn’t have a full squad. Without four of its best players, it’s hard to judge just how good the Eagles are.

• Things could change, it but doesn’t look like UConn will play this weekend. That means the Huskies will sit for another three weeks after playing one of their best games in program history.