UConn men’s hockey ranked No. 20 in USCHO Poll after sweeping Vermont

After a convincing sweep of Vermont in its opening weekend, UConn men’s hockey came in at No. 20 in this week’s USCHO Top 20 Poll. The Huskies have now been ranked in each of the last three seasons, though this is the earliest they’ve ever been in the polls.

UConn opened its season with a 4-1 win on Saturday night followed by a 3-1 victory on Sunday. This is the first time the Huskies have opened a new campaign with a sweep since 2016-17, when it defeated Alabama-Huntsville by a combined score of 10-0.

Prior to this week, UConn had only been receiving votes. The Huskies came in at No. 19 — their highest ranking ever — in the final poll last season and also made an appearance earlier in the year. UConn first broke into the rankings in 2021-22, though it never rose higher than 20th.

Over the next three weekends, the Huskies will play Union (received two votes), Ohio State (No. 14) and Boston University (No. 9).

Andrew Lucas named Hockey East Player of the Week

After a four-assist weekend against his former team, UConn defenseman Andrew Lucas earned Hockey East Player of the Week honors. The blue liner added a pair of primary assists in the Huskies’ on Saturday and picked up two more helpers on Sunday. Lucas transferred to UConn this offseason after spending the previous three seasons at Vermont.

Meanwhile, freshmen Matthew Wood, Tristan Fraser and Arsenii Sergeev were all named Hockey East Weekly Top Performers. Wood scored UConn’s opening goal in both games and also added an assist on Sunday. Fraser had a goal and a pair of assists across the weekend while Sergeev earned the win in his debut on Sunday, stopping 24 of 25 shots.

Hockey East announces NESN schedule

On Tuesday, Hockey East finally released its NESN slate, which features 49 men’s and women’s games on the network.

UConn men’s hockey will make four appearances — Jan. 7 vs. Northeastern (Frozen Fenway), Jan. 20 at UMass, Feb. 11 at UNH and Mar. 3 at Boston College — while the women’s hockey team will have three games aired — Oct. 7 at Northeastern, Nov. 5 at Boston College and Feb. 10 vs. Northeastern.

All games on NESN will also be available on the NESN 360 app with a direct subscription or by logging in with a participating television provider, as well as on ESPN+.