Final: UConn Men’s Hockey Hangs on to Defeat Brown, 3-1

The UConn men’s hockey team improved to 5-4-1 after holding off Brown in the final period to earn a 3-1 victory. The Huskies were powered by two goals from freshman Jonny Evans (2) and one from Max Kalter.

UConn lines:

Brown lines:

First Period:

2:25 - GOAL: UConn strikes first off the stick of Jonny Evans. Huskies won the face-off and Evans just let it rip from just behind the face-off circle. Wasn’t the hardest of shots but the Brown goaltender might not have seen it until it was too late. Assist to Kale Howarth.

Recap: It was a quiet period after the first goal. UConn was in control for most of the period, out-shooting the Bears 10-4. The Huskies had a few dangerous chances in front of the net thanks to bad turnovers deep the zone by Brown but were stoned by the goaltender.

Down the other end of the ice, the Bears didn’t threaten too much. UConn goaltender Tomas Vomacka wasn’t tested but looked shaky when he needed to come away from the net.

Second Period:

1:34: First penalty of the day goes to UConn. Ryan Wheeler goes to the box for interference.

3:34: UConn kills the penalty and instantly goes on the power play. Brown’s Zach Giutarri gets whistled for tripping.

9:50: Another power play chance for UConn. Brown’s Jake Harris is sent to the box for slashing.

11:44 - GOAL: Jonny Evans gets his second goal of the night to put the Huskies up 2-0. Carter Turnbull slid the puck across the crease to Evans, who five-holed the goaltender from close-range.

16:46: UConn on the penalty kill after Marc Gatcomb goes to the box for slashing.

Recap: After a power play from each team went uncapitalized, UConn finally took advantage of the extra skater to extend their lead to 2-0. The Huskies passed it around before Benjamin Freeman found Carter Turnbull down low, who sent the puck across the net to a streaking Evans. He one-timed it and found space between the Brown goaltender’s pads to put it into the back of the net.

Third Period:

0:25: Bad start to the final period for UConn as Carter Turnbull goes to the box for hooking.

5:21: Brown gets one back to cut the Huskies’ lead in half, 2-1. Vomacka got screened on the shot and didn’t see the puck until it was too late.

17:08: Alexander Payusov gets loose on a breakaway but is pulled down from behind. No penalty shot for the Huskies, just a minor penalty on Brown’s Joe Maguire. UConn will have a man-advantage for two of the final three minutes in this game. Still 2-1 Huskies.

17:14: Benjamin Freeman gets a penalty for interference, negating UConn’s power play. Brown calls a timeout to pull their goalie and will have a 6-on-4 advantage for about 30 seconds.

19:19 - GOAL: Exhale. Max Kalter puts home an empty-netter to lock down the win for UConn with 41.5 seconds left.

Recap: Brown didn’t take long in the third period to put the pressure on UConn. The Bears scored just over 5 minutes in to cut the Huskies’ lead in half, 2-1. Brown cranked up the pressure and began getting more quality shots on net.

Tomas Vomacka was big down the stretch, making a handful of big saves. However, the save of the night came from Miles Gendron, who got in front of a shot on puck that looked to beat Vomacka.

UConn finally put the game away in the final minute. Karl El-Mir exploded out of the neutral zone and sent a cross-ice pass to Max Kalter, who sent home the short-handed, empty-netter goal to seal it.