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Weekly Roundup: A weekend of disappointments

Weekly Roundup: A weekend of disappointments

The Huskies put in their worst performance of the season on Friday night and then had their next game canceled.

February 15, 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.

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Weekend thoughts

Here’s what we know about the cancelation on Saturday:
Mark Divver, the local hockey expert in Providence, reported that the Friars had one positive test, which was enough to force both the men’s and women’s hockey teams to cancel games. That aligns with everything I’ve heard as well.
As of now, it doesn’t appear like this will affect UConn’s schedule beyond the single missed game. As of Saturday, the Huskies were operating under normal procedures, though we’ll have a better picture on Tuesday after Hockey East releases its weekly schedule.
It would be a little strange if UConn isn’t sidelined by the positive test at PC considering the men’s basketball team went into a modified quarantine for 10 days after an official from their previous game tested positive. Also, women’s basketball didn’t play for 10 days out of an abundance of caution after Providence paused all team activities due to the COVID issues shortly after they played UConn. That means either the guidelines changed or UConn wasn’t exposed to whoever tested positive for the virus. Regardless, it’s a confusing situation all-around.
Moving on to Friday night’s game:
It was pretty easily the Huskies’ worst performance of the season. They just were a step behind all night and overall just weren’t sharp with the puck. Though they’ve had moments or periods of play like that, it didn’t last for a full 60 minutes like it did on Friday.
This is really UConn’s first bad game of the season. The fact that it didn’t happen until the 18th game is a positive sign — as long as this poor stretch of form doesn’t continue.
Tomas Vomacka also disappointed for the first time this season. He allowed a soft goal when Tyce Thompson beat him five-hole and it’s not like he made Providence work particularly hard on its next to goals. Again, one sub-par game isn’t too much of a concern — especially considering how well he’s played to this point in the season.
At some point, Mike Cavanaugh will really need to consider dropping Zac Robbins out of the lineup. He only has one point (an assist) in 18 games — more than only Eric Linell (nine games played), Gavin Puskar (two games), John Wojciechowski (one game) and Vomacka (a goaltender), who all have zero points. Cassidy Bowes, who would be next up on the forward depth chart, has two points (0-2—2) in half as many games (nine) as Robbins.
I understand he’s a senior captain and Cavanaugh has gone out of his way to praise his leadership this season but the production just isn’t there. He’s only taken 22 shots on the season. The only players with less are either defensemen or forwards that have played nine or fewer games.
UConn might’ve suffered two even bigger losses on Friday night with both Vladislav Firstov and Hudson Schandor leaving the game with injuries. Cavanaugh made it sound like Schandor got hurt after being crunched along the boards in the second period. I didn’t see what happened with Firstov.
If either of those players were to miss time, it would be a huge loss for the Huskies. Firstov’s return from World Juniors helped completely transform UConn’s offense while Schandor has been the best freshman forward and plays on both the penalty kill and power play. We’ll likely have an update on both of their statuses on Thursday.
The Huskies also don’t have a ton of depth at forward. Bowes can fill in fine but Linell doesn’t have a single point in 23 career games while Puskar and Wojciechowski have a combined six collegiate appearances. Unlike the defense where UConn has eight capable d-men, Cavanaugh’s squad can’t afford to lose many forwards, especially not those with Firstov and Schandor’s production.
Saturday’s cancelation might’ve ultimately benefitted the Huskies. They held firm at No. 4 in the Hockey East Power Index standings despite the loss and completed the season series with Providence by playing at Schneider Arena on Friday night. If Firstov and Schandor weren’t going to be healthy enough to play, Saturday’s game could’ve done a lot of harm for UConn.
There are just three weeks left in the Hockey East regular season. This is a potentially program-defining stretch coming up. UConn currently sits in fourth place and needs to finish strong to not only hold on to that position but potentially play its way into the NCAA Tournament.
PC head coach Nate Leaman said during the broadcast that he thinks the top four teams in Hockey East will make the field of 16. We don’t know how the selection committee will decide on at-large bids but with objective, math-based Hockey East standings, UConn can certainly make a strong case by finishing high in the conference.
Since 2009, Hockey East has gotten at least three bids each year with a high of six bids in 2016. If the field is picked objectively (similar to how it’s done in basketball) instead of by a computer, the Hockey East name will carry a lot of weight, especially with almost no non-conference play.