UConn Men’s Hockey Falls to Boston College, 2-1

On Tuesday evening at Conte Forum, special teams continued to plague UConn men’s hockey in a 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Boston College Eagles. All three of the game’s goals came in the second period, with the Huskies striking first but followed it up by allowing a shorthanded goal and power-play goal.

The Eagles outshot the Huskies 38-to-26 on the strength of a second period where they took 17 shots.

The first period was incredibly disjointed. Neither team had any sort of rhythm, even with two power plays to each side, and the period ended 0-0.

Jeff Wight got the Huskies on the board with a power-play tally 5:01 into the next period. It was his fourth goal of the year on a nice shot from the slot, just behind the hash marks. Karl El-Mir took the puck from goaltender Adam Huska and took it all the way up the ice, circling behind the BC net before finding Wight in the right corner. Wight’s wrist shot gave UConn a 1-0 lead and Huska his first career point.

“I don’t think we got the power play going,” head coach Mike Cavanaugh said. “We got a power-play goal but it was the end of the power play and we were changing lines.

“It’s an area where we have to get better.”

Julius Mattila scored the Boston College goal shorthanded 10:10 into the second period to tie the game. Adam Huska sent the puck into the corner and Logan Hutsko beat the Huskies to gain possession. He centered it to Mattila who beat Huska stick side. UConn has now allowed three shorthanded goals this year.

“It was a tough play for me,” Huska said. “I shot it in the corner and they were able to battle there and pass it to the middle.”

Boston College would take the lead the next time they had the man advantage.

At 15:41, Benjamin Freeman committed a hooking penalty and just over a minute later, Michael Kim took a slap shot from the right point, just inside the boards. It made its way through traffic and behind Huska to give the home team a 2-1 edge.

The Huskies did not quit and played well in the third period, getting 11 shots on net, but Ryan Edquist made the difference as he finished with 27 saves on 28 shots.

“I have to give credit to Edquist. I thought he made some great saves when he had to,” Cavanaugh said.

Spencer Naas took the first good shot less than a minute in, getting behind the defense while UConn was shorthanded. However, Edquist was up to the task.

Jesse Schwartz also had a chance to tie the game up with just under six minutes remaining, but he could not redirect the puck into an open net with a backhanded shot.

UConn (3-7-1, 2-4-1) returns to action on Friday as they take on No. 17 Ohio State at the XL Center. Puck drop is at 7:05 p.m.