The past week has not been a great one for UConn Men’s Hockey.
It started very poorly as most of the UConn Hockey family arose on Sunday to some deeply sad news. Bruce Marshall, the head coach who shepherded the Husky program from Division III to Division I and ready to transition to Hockey East, passed away late Saturday night. Marshall was a former Husky hockey player who graduated in 1985 and coached his alma mater’s team from 1988-2013.
When it came time to play the games, the Huskies lost by a score of 5-2 to No. 4 Quinnipiac in a tough road environment while dealing with early injuries and an early ejection.
On Friday, a 2-2 tie against AIC, was a worse look for the Huskies. They dominated the course of play, allowing less than 20 shots in 65 minutes, but a relatively soft goal in the first period along with a goal that went in off of a skate in the second gave the Yellow Jackets enough to tie the game. UConn also went 0-for-5 on the power play in the third period. They spent practically the entire first half of the final period with the man advantage but failed to convert.
The Huskies (2-1-3) do not get any rest this week, with no days off as the Hockey East schedule gets underway. UConn will head to South Bend to play No. 7 Notre Dame, who is currently 3-2-1 on the year.
The Fighting Irish also had a rough weekend, failing to get a win at home against Penn State with a 3-3 draw on Friday followed by a 3-2 overtime loss.
The Irish have a few notable players to keep an eye on. Junior forward Anders Bjork (5-6—11) leads the team in both goals and points. He is tied for the lead in assists with another junior forward, Connor Hurley (1-6—7). Sophomore forward Andrew Oglevie (4-5—9) sits just behind Bjork.
Cal Peterson, a junior, has manned the net for Notre Dame in all but one period this year, when he was replaced following the second period in their opening night 9-2 drubbing of Division 1 transitional member Arizona State. He has a GAA of 2.45 and a save percentage of .913.
Notre Dame also has a lethal power play, sitting at 12th in the nation at 22.6 percent. Their 91.7 percent success rate on the penalty kill is the eighth best rate in Division 1.
Puck drops on both Thursday and Friday night from Compton Family Ice Arena are at 7:35 p.m. For those who may be in the area, Thursday’s tilt will be televised on CSN Chicago.