Northeastern wins battle of hockey Huskies, defeating UConn, 4-1, at Fenway
This past week was big for the UConn men’s hockey team. The Huskies moved into their new arena, the Toscano Family Ice Forum. On Saturday, UConn, ranked ninth nationally, traveled to play Northeastern on the big stage at Frozen Fenway.
But the excitement of the week was marred by the Huskies’ 4-1 loss on the rink set up on the infield of the historic baseball field Saturday afternoon.
“I want to thank UConn fans for coming down, there was a lot of them. I wish we gave them something more to cheer about,” UConn coach Mike Cavanaugh said. “It was really well run and fun to be a part of.
“I thought we played OK. We didn’t play a bad game. I thought they buried their opportunities and we didn’t. That’s what the game came down to. Northeastern is a really good team. I don’t think their record is indicative of how good they are.”
Cavanaugh, coaching in his fourth Frozen Fenway game, called Northeastern (9-9-3, 7-4-2 Hockey East) a “dangerous opponent” before the game.
“It’s always a fun experience,” he said. “My kids are disappointed for sure but it will be an experience they’ll never forget.”
UConn (13-6-3, 8-5-2) put pressure on Northeastern goalie Devon Levi early in the first period but Northeastern scored twice in a five-minute span toward the end of the period to take a 2-0 lead. Aidan McDonough, who is ranked ninth in scoring nationally, scored first at the 10:36 mark and Liam Walsh followed with a goal at 15:33. UConn outshot Northeastern 15-7 in the first period.
After a second period with no scoring, the teams had a burst of offense in the third. UConn finally got on the board with 7:34 left when freshman Matthew Wood scored to make it 2-1 but Northeastern scored 30 seconds later to boost the lead back to 3-1.
Thirty seconds later, UConn appeared to score again and while Brass Bonanza played over the loudspeaker, the Husky fans cheered. But the officials reviewed the goal and disallowed it much to the displeasure of the UConn fans in the crowd.
Northeastern scored its final goal with 3:16 left.
UConn is tied for first in the Hockey East standings with Merrimack with 27 points but Saturday’s game was considered a nonconference game. Northeastern is in third place with 25 points.
The Huskies unveiled an old school look uniform with the hooked C and Connecticut written on the chest.
It was 40 degrees and overcast for much of the game, a much better weather day than Friday, where the Quinnipiac women beat Harvard 3-1 in a mixture of freezing rain, sleet and snow.
Cavanaugh had hoped to be able to practice Friday on the outdoor rink so all of his players could get a chance to experience the Fenway rink (only 19 players were allowed to dress for the game) but because the weather was so bad, the Huskies opted to practice at UConn.
The UConn men will get another shot at Northeastern on Jan. 14 when the Huskies play their first game at their new rink. The UConn women open the new arena Friday.
Lori Riley can be reached at lriley@courant.com.
