UConn Huskies men's ice hockey

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UConn Huskies men's ice hockey
Current season
UConn Huskies men's ice hockey athletic logo
UniversityUniversity of Connecticut
ConferenceHockey East
Head coachMike Cavanaugh[1]
10th season, 123–151–33 (.454)
Captain(s)Adam Karashik
Alternate captain(s)Brian Rigali, Zac Robbins, Carter Turnball
ArenaXL Center
Capacity: 8.089
Surface: 200' x 85'
LocationHartford, Connecticut
ColorsNational flag blue and white[2]
   
Conference Tournament championships
MAAC: 2000

The UConn Huskies men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents the University of Connecticut. The Huskies are a member of Hockey East. The Huskies currently play at XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut;[3] the team will move to the new on-campus UConn Hockey Arena starting with the 2023–24 season.[4]

History

The Huskies men's ice hockey program began in 1960 under head coach John Chapman. UConn began NCAA competition at the NCAA Division III level in the ECAC East.[5]

Prior to 1998, the Huskies played all home games outdoors at a partially enclosed rink on-campus near Memorial Stadium. The UConn Hockey Rink had a roof but was open on the sides.[6] However, in preparation for the upgrade to Division I, the University built the Mark Edward Freitas Ice Forum. Construction began in 1996, and the first indoor home game for UConn was on November 7, 1998.[7][8]

The move to NCAA Division I status allowed the team to join other Husky athletic programs. In 1998 they joined the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, after previously playing for 38 years in the Division III ECAC East.[9] At the time, head coach Bruce Marshall was in his tenth season at the position. In its 2nd season in the 2000 MAAC Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Uconn beat Iona 6-1 to win its 1st league championship. However, due to a 2-year probationary period placed on the MAAC for an automatic bid to the NCAA Ice Hockey championship by the league champion, UConn was unable to participate in the NCAA tournament that year. It has been the only championship Uconn would earn since moving to Division I (as of May, 2016). But when the athletic department was forced to remove all athletic scholarships from the sport in order to comply with Title IX,[10] and the Huskies consistently finished in the bottom few spots of the national computer rankings before the most recent season.[11] In 2003, the MAAC formed a new league called Atlantic Hockey.

In June 2010, the University announced that the team would face Sacred Heart at Rentschler Field in East Hartford on February 13, 2011, as part of a doubleheader also featuring a game between the women's team and the Providence Friars.[12] The Huskies won this game 3-1, in front of 1,711 fans. The Huskies also played their first ever game at the XL Center in downtown Hartford that year, though this was not originally scheduled. Due to heavy snow accumulation on the Freitas roof, the team's February 5 game against Army was moved to the off-camps arena, also home to the Connecticut Whale of the American Hockey League.[13] In spite of free admission, only 891 fans turned up on short notice to watch the Huskies lose 5-3.[14] As a whole, the 2010-11 season was also a major improvement for the Huskies, who advance to the Atlantic Hockey Tournament semifinals at Blue Cross Arena before being eliminated. They finished with a final record of 16-18-4. One of the major factors in the turnaround was the young recruits the Huskies had signed. Freshman Cole Schneider led the team with 32 points, while sophomore Sean Ambrosie finished second with 29.[15] Meanwhile, sophomore Garrett Bartus set a school record with 1,085 saves.[16] The 2011-12 AHA preseason rankings reflected the newly gained reputation, with the Huskies ranked fifth out of twelve teams.[17] The Huskies posted a winning record once again in the 2012-13 season.

On June 21, 2012, UConn announced the program would join Hockey East as the conference's 12th member beginning in the 2014-15 season.[18] Prior to the move into Hockey East, on January 7, 2013, head coach Bruce Marshall resigned after 25 years [19] and was replaced in interim by Asst. Dave Berard.[20] The season ended with a record of 17-13-4. The team finished 4th in the AHA, drawing a crowd of 1438 for their final home game of the season against Sacred Heart. As part of the move from Atlantic Hockey to Hockey East, the university added 18 scholarships for the men's ice hockey team and additional scholarships to existing women's sports programs to meet Title IX gender equity requirements.[18] The university is also investigating options to significantly renovate the Freitas Ice Forum, which has a seating capacity around 2,000 fans, and mostly consists of metal bleachers; or build a new, larger ice arena on-campus.[18] As a new member of Hockey East the team will play home games at the 15,635-seat former NHL arena, the XL Center in downtown Hartford, with other select (home) games at the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, CT. A study by the university projected a cost around $20,000 a game to play at the XL Center.[18]

New Head Coach Mike Cavanaugh, who spent 18 seasons as an assistant at Boston College, was hired to guide Uconn into their new era of scholarship hockey in the Hockey East. He coached Uconn's final season (2013–14) in Atlantic Hockey to a record of 18-14-4, with wins over future Hockey East opponents Providence and Umass, while playing to a 2-2 draw with eventual 2014 NCAA Champ Union . Uconn made a successful transition to Hockey East in 2014-15 as they finished in the top 10 nationally in home attendance (5,396) while also leading their new conference . They were also competitive on the ice as their transition year resulted in 4 wins over top 20 teams while gaining ties with national championship game finalists Providence and Boston University. Starting in the 2015-16 season all home games were played at the XL Center, which drew a much better attendance per game (5,879) than those at the Webster Bank Arena (2,900) in which Uconn appeared during the 2014-15 season.

Groundbreaking took place on May 22, 2021 to start construction for UConn's new $48 million ice hockey rink at the Storrs campus, for an opening in fall 2022. The 2,600-seat arena (plus standing room), expected to open in 2023, will be located adjacent to the current Freitas Ice Arena in the Athletics District on Jim Calhoun Way. The team facilities will also include team lounges; dry locker area and locker rooms with video displays; training space with a hydrotherapy area; strength and conditioning room; and other areas such as coaches' offices. The new 97,300-square-foot facility will meet all NCAA Division I ice hockey requirements and all Hockey East regulations, which the Freitas Ice Forum does not.[4]

Season-by-season results

Main article: List of UConn Huskies men's ice hockey seasons

Source:[21]

Coaching staff

[22] The Huskies are coached by Mike Cavanaugh, the fourth head coach in program history.

All-time coaching records

As of completion of 2021-22 season[5]

Tenure Coach Years Record Pct.
2013–present Mike Cavanaugh 9 123–151–33 .454
2012–2013 David Berard 1† 19–10–3 .641
1988–2012 Bruce Marshall 25 332–377–69 .471
1981–1988 Ben Kirtland 7 85–98–2 .465
1960–1981 John Chapman 21 196–221–7 .471
Totals 5 coaches 62 seasons 755-857-114 .470

† David Berard served as an interim head coach after Bruce Marshall took a medical leave of absence.

Awards and honors

NCAA

All-Americans

AHCA Second Team All-Americans

ECAC East

All-Conference Teams

First Team All-ECAC East

Second Team All-ECAC East

MAAC

Individual awards

All-Conference Teams

First Team All-MAAC

Second Team All-MAAC

MAAC All-Rookie Team

Atlantic Hockey

Individual awards

All-Conference Teams

First Team All-Atlantic Hockey

Second Team All-Atlantic Hockey

Third Team All-Atlantic Hockey

Atlantic Hockey All-Rookie Team

Hockey East

Individual awards

All-Conference Teams

First Team

Second Team

Third Team

Rookie Team

Statistical leaders

Source:[21]

Career points leaders

Player Years Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Bryan Krygier 1988–1992 92 127 219
Todd Krygier 1984–1988 99 101 200
Ryan Equale 1992–1996 79 109 188
Brian Sutherland 1990–1994 61 92 153
Jeff Ray 1988–1992 78 73 151
Bryan Quinn 1991–1995 64 85 149
D. J. LeBlanc 1990–1994 68 80 148
Harry Geary 1984–1987 70 87 148
Dave L'Ecuyer 1979–1983 66 79 145
Mark Kosinski 1982–1986 59 77 136

Career goaltending leaders

GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

Minimum 50 Games

Player Years Games Minutes W L T GA SO SV% GAA
Matt Grogan 2010–2014 59 3082 25 19 6 119 2 .926 2.32
Rob Nichols 2013–2017 93 5386 31 46 15 239 10 .918 2.66
Tomáš Vomáčka 2018–2021 71 4195 32 33 5 201 2 .906 2.87
Marc Senerchia 1996–2000 93 3.02
Garrett Bartus 2009–2013 111 6353 40 58 9 320 5 .911 3.02

Statistics current through the start of the 2021-22 season.

Current roster

As of September 12, 2022.[23]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
1 Texas Ryan Keane Senior G 5' 9" (1.75 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 1998-03-15 Coppell, Texas Jamestown (NAHL) —
2 Massachusetts Jack Pascucci Freshman D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2002-02-15 North Andover, Massachusetts Des Moines (USHL) —
4 Michigan Roman Kinal (C) Senior D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1998-07-20 Waterford, Michigan Dubuque (USHL) —
5 California Aidan Metcalfe Sophomore D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 191 lb (87 kg) 2000-01-24 Palos Verdes, California Shreveport (NAHL) —
6 Virginia Andrew Lucas Junior D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 1999-02-05 Alexandria, Virginia Vermont (HEA) —
7 California Huston Karpman Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 2001-02-07 Manhattan Beach, California Minot (NAHL) —
9 British Columbia Ryan Tattle Freshman F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2001-09-07 Port Moody, British Columbia Coquitlam (BCHL) —
10 British Columbia Tristan Fraser Freshman F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2001-11-13 West Vancouver, British Columbia Nanaimo (BCHL) —
11 Massachusetts Ty Amonte (A) Graduate F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1998-01-11 Humarock, Massachusetts Boston University (HEA) —
12 New Hampshire Justin Pearson Graduate F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1998-05-17 Nashua, New Hampshire Yale (ECAC) —
13 Finland Samu Salminen Freshman F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2003-04-09 Helsinki, Finland Jokerit U20 (U20 SM-sarja) NJD, 68th overall 2021
15 Massachusetts Thomas Messineo Freshman D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2002-05-02 Westwood, Massachusetts Chilliwack (BCHL) —
16 Massachusetts Jake Flynn (A) Senior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2001-05-26 Bridgewater, Massachusetts Thayer (USHS–MA) —
17 Connecticut Jake Percival Freshman F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2002-02-11 Avon, Connecticut Cedar Rapids (USHL) —
18 New Jersey John Spetz Junior D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1999-12-01 Oak Ridge, New Jersey Chicago (USHL) —
19 Connecticut Jake Black Freshman D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2002-03-05 Pomfret, Connecticut Johnstown (NAHL) —
20 Missouri Chase Bradley Sophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2002-01-09 St. Louis, Missouri Sioux City (USHL) DET, 203rd overall 2020
21 Connecticut Nick Capone Junior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2001-12-17 East Haven, Connecticut Tri-City (USHL) TBL, 157th overall 2020
22 British Columbia Hudson Schandor (A) Junior F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 2000-09-29 North Vancouver, British Columbia Surrey (BCHL) —
23 Texas Tabor Heaslip Freshman F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2001-12-17 Frisco, Texas Sioux City (USHL) —
24 Connecticut Mark D'Agostino Freshman F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2001-05-06 North Branford, Connecticut Powell River (BCHL) —
27 Ontario Harrison Rees Senior D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2000-03-19 Oakville, Ontario North York (OJHL) —
28 Ontario Ryan Tverberg Junior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2002-01-30 Richmond Hill, Ontario Toronto Jr. Canadiens (OJHL) TOR, 213th overall 2020
29 Connecticut Jake Veilleux Sophomore D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2000-01-19 South Windsor, Connecticut Victoria (BCHL) —
30 Russia Arsenii Sergeev Freshman G 6' 3" (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2002-12-16 Yaroslavl, Russia Tri-City (USHL) CGY, 205th overall 2021
31 Massachusetts Matt Pasquale Junior G 6' 2" (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2000-10-06 North Reading, Massachusetts Northeast (NAHL) —
34 Newfoundland and Labrador Adam Dawe Graduate F 5' 7" (1.7 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 1999-01-18 Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador Maine (HEA) —
35 British Columbia Logan Terness Sophomore G 6' 1" (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2002-09-18 Burnaby, British Columbia Trail (BCHL) —
71 British Columbia Matthew Wood Freshman F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2005-02-06 Nanaimo, British Columbia Victoria (BCHL) —

Huskies in the NHL

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