Huskies Advance in NCAA Tournament after Defeating #11 Quinnipiac
ALLENTOWN, PA. – The UConn men's hockey team advanced to the next round of the NCAA tournament after taking down Quinnipiac by a final of 4-1. Hugh Larkin, Ethan Gardula, Tristan Fraser and Joey Muldowney scored for the Huskies while Callum Tung made 21 saves in net.
The Huskies jumped the Bobcats early in the first period generating multiple scoring chances while preventing Quinnipiac from gaining any momentum on the offensive side of the ice. The Huskies first goal of the NCAA Tournament came when Hugh Larkin collected the puck center of the ice and fired it bar down past Quinnipiac netminder Dylan Silverstein for the goal. UConn doubled their lead shortly after as Ethan Gardula collected a turnover in the offensive end and went forehand then backhand to beat Silverstein for UConn's second goal. Freshman Callum Tung made four saves to enter the period break leading by two.
Both teams battled in the second period. The Huskies had multiple chances to extend their lead, but the Bobcats defense and netminder settled in preventing another UConn goal. Midway through the second period, Quinnipiac corralled the puck in their defensive zone and on the 2 on 1 rush found the back of the net to cut the UConn lead to one. UConn responded late in the period as UConn continued pressing the Bobcats defense and after numerous shots, the puck bounced to Tristan Fraser who fired it into the back of the net to extend UConn's lead to two.
The third period was back and forth with both teams looking for the next goal. Quinnipiac had the early opportunities, yet freshman Callum Tung stood strong in net. The Bobcats best chance of the game came when Quinnipiac fired a puck from the point that bounced off the crossbar and behind Tung, but sophomore Viking Gustafsson Nyberg was there to clear the puck off the goal line to preserve UConn's two goal lead. Later in the period, Quinnipiac had another opportunity midway through the third period as a penalty on the Huskies gave the Bobcats the man advantage, but the UConn penalty kill continued their success killing their third penalty of the evening. With time running down in the period, Quinnipiac pulled their netminder in favor of an extra skater and with the goalie pulled Joey Muldowney scored on the empty net sealing the win.
UP NEXT: UConn will play the winner of Maine vs. Penn State, Sunday March 30 at 4:30pm.
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