Weekly Roundup: UConn's offense explodes against UNH

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.

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• Well, this last week has been chaotic. In the last roundup, UConn was still on a COVID pause indefinitely. Now, we’re talking about a dominating series sweep over the weekend.

• Obviously, things are changing fast, so please bear with us as our content schedule is likely to be interrupted by any sudden changes.

Weekend Thoughts

• Five out of six points this weekend is pretty good in a vacuum. But blowing a two-goal lead in the third period and missing a wide-open empty-net chance? That’s a tough way to drop a point.

• The uniform combination on Friday was miserable. UNH clad in all navy against UConn, wearing alternate jerseys that are mostly navy, made it difficult to figure out which team was which. I asked around about how that happened and got this back: “Disaster. Won’t happen again.”

• Apparently, the team likes wearing those alternates at home because they’ve played well in them. The BC, Providence, and now UNH wins all happened in those sweaters.

• Vladislav Firstov is clearly UConn’s best player. I don’t think the offensive turnaround is exclusively because of his return but he definitely played a huge part in it.

• One stat that stood out: Firstov is fourth on the team with six points despite playing in seven fewer games than everyone else ahead of him.

• Carter Turnbull is another player who helped spark the offense. His hat trick provided a much-needed boost for the junior who’s been quiet this season. Hopefully, this weekend finally gets him going.

• Jonny Evans is having an unbelievable year, one that might not get its proper due because of the shortened season. Right now, he’s averaging 1.18 points per game. Stretch that over a 36-game season (the minimum UConn would’ve played last year if the Hockey East Tournament happened) and Evans would have ~42 points.

• To put that total in perspective, the Huskies’ Division I single-season points record is 45, set by Cole Schneider in 2011-12. The program’s Hockey East record is 40, set by Max Letunov in 2015-16.

• Another player on a record-setting pace? Jachym Kondelik, who has 11 assists in 11 games. UConn’s DI-single season record is 27 (Michael Goldkind, 1999-00) while Letunov has the Hockey East record with 24. Kondelik would be on pace to shatter both records at 36 assists in a normal year.

• This freshman class is really, really good. Hudson Schandor has been a staple in the face-off circle and on both special teams units. John Spetz has been a plug-and-play defenseman who’s already quarterbacking power plays. Nick Capone, Artem Shlaine, and Cassidy Bowes have all played really well at times, even if the production isn’t there yet. Gavin Puskar, despite being inactive most of the season, stepped in on both the power play and penalty kill in his first career action in the first series against UNH. This group is a foundational building block for the program moving forward.

• We’re not forgetting Ryan Tverberg, either. He dressed for the first time this weekend and immediately showed why the coaching staff is so high on him. His speed and skating ability caused a lot of problems for the Wildcats and will continue to wreak havoc going forward. He’s still pretty raw, so expectations should be tempered, but it’s not hard to see the potential.

• Cassidy Bowes and Harrison Rees were both healthy scratches on Saturday. After the game, Mike Cavanaugh made it sound like those two didn’t do anything wrong, he just wanted to rotate the lineup and give guys like Eric Linell and Ryan Wheeler some playing time.

• UNH coach Mike Souza called 3-on-3 overtime a “skills competition” after Friday’s game. I’m not sure I’ve heard any coach speak positively about the new OT format and I’m with them. I liked the old way (an extra five-minute, 5-on-5 period before ending in a tie) and point system (two points for a win, one for a tie, none for a loss). It felt more fair and objective.Last newsletter: UConn hits the pause buttonEpisode 6: UConn Hockey Hub PodcastEpisode 7: Celebrating OG Ice Bus dudes (UConn Hockey Hub Podcast)Preview: UConn vs. UNH WildcatsUConn men’s hockey beats UNH in overtime, 6-5Video: Mike Cavanaugh and Carter Turnbull postgame availability (UNH)UConn men’s hockey dismantles UNH, 8-3Video: Mike Cavanaugh postgame availability (UNH)

Social media headlines

UConn finally joined in on the #HotSauceChallenge.

Plenty of weekly honors for the Huskies:

UConn lands in Bucci’s top 16:

…and also picks up two votes in the USCHO poll:

Three stars

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

First star: Vladislav Firstov

Evans might’ve taken home Hockey East Offensive Player of the Week, but it’s hard to give the first star to anyone but Firstov. His return helped UConn’s offense explode for 14 goals in two games, after scoring 17 goals in its first nine games, and also fixed a power-play unit that had been anemic all season long. It doesn’t hurt that Firstov also finished with five points on the weekend as well.

Second star: Jonny Evans

The junior totaled four points in the series with a goal and an assist on Friday night followed by a pair of goals on Saturday. Evans has notched a point in nine of his 11 games this season and leads the team in both goals (six) and points (13).

Third star: Carter Turnbull

After starting the year with just two goals and three assists in his first nine games, Turnbull exploded on Friday night with his first career hat trick, including this incredible goal:

That performance alone vaulted him to the Huskies’ second-leading goal scorer behind Evans.

Goal of the week

While Turnbull’s impossible-angle goal is tough to beat, Spetz’s solo score was a thing of beauty:

Scoreboard

Wednesday, Jan. 13

Men’s:Northeastern 7, UNH 0

Friday, Jan. 15

Men’s:Maine 4, Providence 3

Women’s:UConn 1, UNH 0BC 3, Holy Cross 2Providence 3, Merrimack 2

Saturday, Jan. 16

Men’s:Providence 3, Maine 2BC 2, Merrimack 1

Women’s:UConn 4, UNH 0BC 5, Holy Cross 1

Sunday, Jan. 17

Men’s:BU 4, UMass 2BC 5, Merrimack 3

Women’s:Providence 4, Merrimack 2Northeastern 3, Maine 2 (OT)

Monday, Jan. 18

Men’s:BU 4, UMass 3 (OT)