CANTLON: (FEB 9) UCONN WINS BIG MATCHUP WITH MERRIMACK 

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings

HARTFORD, CT – Ruslan Ishkarov and Jonny Evans, each had three points in leading the UCONN Huskies in a must-win game over Merrimack College, a 5-0 shutout before a season-high XL Center crowd of 8,211 on Saturday.

UCONN’s record climbs to 9-17-2 (4-12-2 HEA) while Merrimack falls to 7-20-1 (4-14-0 HEA). UCONN climbs to ninth place and within five points of Maine for the eighth and final Hockey East playoff spot.

“That was the most complete game our team has played all year long with the exception of six minutes at the start of the second. We played very consistent, smart, and played the smart way. All of a sudden the puck starts bouncing for you. We’ve struggled a few good games together here and we’re reaping the rewards that come with that. I’m very happy with the effort.”

The Huskies put the cap on a full sixty minute game in the third period with a gorgeous give-and-go between Ishkarov and Evans.

Evans was in the center area inside the Merrimack zone. He sent a pass to Ishkarov, who quickly put it back on Evans stick. Evans got inside position on Merrimack’s rearguard, Tyler Heidt, and deposited his second goal of the game, and fifth of the season inside the near post at the 5:00 mark.

Evans returned to the lineup following an absence due to a concussion. He was a key factor in what UCONN has been badly missing, scoring.

“It’s nice to play with him,“ remarked Evans. “We started the year together on the power play and we have kind of built from that the last five games or so.”

For Cavanaugh, Evans return was a necessary ingredient they needed.

“We struggled to score goals in that tough stretch we had. He’s a dynamic player and he and Ruslan had found some chemistry and Max (Kalter) is the engine of that line.

In his last four games, Ishkarov, a second-round draft pick of the New York Islanders, has displayed his varied skill set which prompted the team to select him when they did. The biggest change was a more directed use of his smooth skating skills.

“He is playing with two guys who like to go North in a hurry. When he first got here he played a lot of East-West hockey and not using his speed to his advantage. He has manifested himself into a player who is playing hard and adjusting to North American hockey and getting results.”

Evans who missed eleven games with an upper-body injury is the perfect complement to Ishkarov getting into offensive positions all game as UCONN, as a team, kept their feet moving right from the game’s first shift.

“We worked on that this week. We wanted to get on top of their D early and we did that effectively,” said Evans.

The Huskies and Merrimack jockeyed for position in the first eight minutes of the second period. UCONN’s netminder, Tomas Vomacka, made key saves, but a strong cycle shift with three quality UCONN shots, one went off the post, halfway through the period, set up the next shift and the Huskies tallied their second goal.

“In this league, you’re going to have to weather storms. You’re not going to have the puck for sixty minutes every game. We used the TV timeout to regroup, mitigate some of the turnovers that were causing us problems, and we took it to them and opened the game up,” said Cavanaugh.

Vomacka felt good, while his team knew of the importance of the game.

“We were focused right from the beginning. We started fast and that’s what we talked about in the locker room and everybody started to feel better. Making the saves, that’s my job, and after those five minutes the boys had me pretty good and that’s what you have to do to be successful,” Vomacka, a freshman from the Czech Republic, said.

Evans and Miles Gendron were denied on their scoring attempts, and then the Huskies’ Ben Freeman went from behind the net to the right wing corner side and shielded the puck with his 6’5 frame perfectly on Warriors defenseman Alex Carle. He hit Zach Robbins, who was open on the left-wing side, fifteen feet out and snapped his first goal of the season at 10:16.

“Zach did a nice job on that play. Their strength is they carry it out well and they try to outnumber you and we won those battles as Ben did there to feed it to Zach.”

The Huskies scored again 44 seconds later on the powerplay just ten seconds after the penalty call.

UConn started the man-advantage perfectly by winning the faceoff. Four of the five UCONN players on the ice then touched the puck with Ishkarov spotting Freeman in a perfect situation in the slot down. He went down to one knee and fired his sixth into the back of the net at 10:50.

“I just have to pass the puck to (Freeman) and he shot it, not hard,” remarked a smiling Ishkarov.

Cavanaugh was elated with the play

“You don’t often get a powerplay to work like that. There were a lot of options we had out there, but Ben finished off the play as Ruslan made a nice feed to him.”

UCONN had full control of the puck and offensive zone time scored for a fourth goal.

Evans took Kalter’s lead pass and marched down the left wing. Kalter got around the Warriors’ Dman, Matt McArdle. He approached the net. Halladay made the first move and Evans snapped his shot into the top shelf under the crossbar at 14:25 sending the large, exuberant crowd dancing in their seats throughout the XL Center.

“I was going to the net and I thought I was going to get blown out (hit), so I cut back across quickly, and I just saw the opening and shot it,” Evans said with a laugh.

The Huskies got exactly the start they wanted controlling the puck in the offensive zone and keeping Merrimack out of the Huskies end of the ice and scoring the first goal to get the home crowd into the game.

From behind the net, Evans spotted Ishkarov all alone. Ishkarov handled the puck well in the small space and just long enough to find room to put in his fifth goal of the season on the short side at 1:55.

The surprise UCONN starter in net, Tomas Vomacka, made a save on a two-on-one by Sami Tavernier, a righthanded shot taken from the left-wing. The calculus of the decision was not a Cavanaugh developed algorithm.

“He won the last game,” Cavanaugh said with a smile. “The team played pretty well in front of him (so), let’s give him another one.”

Vomacka stood tall in a pressure filled game.

”He played very well and we didn’t give up too many Grade A chances and that is a credit to the defense playing well in front of him and he did a good not leaving rebounds out there for them to have second chances.”

Halfway thru the period, UCONN had a decided edge in shots 10-4.

Jachym Knondelik and Payusov had back-to-back chances repelled, and with 2:23 remaining in the period, Ishkarov was on a breakaway and stopped, as was Ben Freeman’s wraparound attempt with under a minute to went through the crease from the left wing side.

NOTES:

Merrimack featured several sons of New Haven Nighthawks. Tyler Drevitch son of Scott, Tyler Heidt son of Mike and Cole McBride son of Daryn.

Mike Babcock for the Warriors is indeed the son of Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock Sr.

Ex-Husky Brian Morgan was taken by Greenville (ECHL) on waivers from Florida (ECHL).

Robert Cronin, Gunnery Prep (Washington, CT) has committed to University of New Hampshire (HE) for 2019-20.