The Quinnipiac Bobcats defeated the UConn Huskies 2-0 on Sunday afternoon to capture the 2022 Connecticut Ice championship.
Here are the key takeaways …
- The two teams skated evenly to get started, and it was Quinnipiac getting the first chance on the power play after UConn’s Roman Kinal picked up a hocking penalty with 15:37 to go in the first period. The Huskies were able to kill the penalty and keep things scoreless. UConn had their own man-advantage in the period’s final minutes, but things remained scoreless heading into intermission.
Yaniv Perets made nine saves in the first for the Bobcats, while Darion Hanson stopped all six shots he faced for Huskies.
- Four minutes into the second period, a bouncing puck at center ice led to a transition opportunity for Guus van Nes, but he was hooked down to the ice by John Spetz, resulting in a Bobcats power play. Wyatt Bongiovanni drew iron during the man advantage, but nothing came of it.
The second period was much of the same as the first, with both goaltenders coming up big. Perets’ save total was up to 16 by the end of the second, while Hanson stopped all 18 shots that came his way. Quinnipiac led in faceoffs at 28-20, but UConn played the more physical first couple of periods.
-Quinnipiac finally struck first in the third period. Ty Smilanic was able to get ahead of the Huskies defense in a quick-forming transition play, and while Hanson was able to make the initial save, Desi Burgart was there to chip the rebound in with a backhander, giving the Bobcats a 1-0 lead with 12:49 left on the clock.
- With 2:47 to go, UConn head coach Mike Cavanaugh pulled Hanson to get an extra attacker on the ice. The Huskies were able to control the puck in the final minutes, but a turnover in the offensive zone led to Ethan de Jong streaking down the ice on a breakaway, and he buried the empty-netter to ice the 2022 Connecticut Ice Championship game.
- Perets was stellar, stopping 29 shots to set a school record with his ninth shutout of the season. As a team, the Bobcats also tied an NCAA record with 12 shutouts this season.
Hanson played very well for UConn as well, stopping 25 of the 26 shots he faced.
