HAMDEN, Conn. - UConn freshmen Jonny Evans (North Delta, British Columbia) and Carter Turnbull (Nanaimo, British Columbia) each scored the first collegiate goals but the Huskies managed just 13 shots in a 4-2 loss at Quinnipiac Tuesday night.
Quinnipiac, now 2-0 on the year, got two goals from freshman William Fallstrom in the win. Senior Brandon Fortunato and sophomore Odeen Tufto each scored first period goals to put the Bobcats up 2-0. UConn's Evans scored at 17:06 in the first to send the Huskies to the locker room down 2-1.
Fallstrom's first of the night was the only goal of the second before Turnbull cut the lead to 3-2 with a third period power play goal. Fallstrom put the icing on the win with an empty net goal at 18:24.
UConn junior goaltender Adam Huska (Zvolen, Slovakia) made 24 saves for the Huskies in net. The Bobcats held a 28-13 edge on the shot chart but were 0-for-4 on the power play.
1st Period:
After a pair of grade "A" chances for the Huskies early, the Bobcats struck for the game's first two goals. At 4:22, QU's Desi Burgart dug the puck off the right half boards and dished to an oncoming Fortunato up the middle who put it past Huska, stick side.
The Bobcats struck again at 6:17 as Tufto put home a rebound off a Wyatt Bongiovanni shot. The Huskies got on the board and cut the lead in half before the first break on Evans' first collegiate goal. The rookie took a feed from classmate Kale Howarth (Red Deer, Alberta) up the right wing and place a shot from a tough angle just over the goaltender's right shoulder.
2nd Period:
Quinnipiac put the clamps on defensively in the second period, allowing just two UConn shots on goal while adding on a third goal. The Bobcats got a 2-on-1 chance in the Huskies zone and Alex Whelan sent a pass cross ice, getting Huska moving while Fallstrom buried it on the empty net for his first career goal and a 3-1 lead at 12:32.
3rd Period:
The Huskies suffered a blow early in the third when freshman Ruslan Iskhakov (Moscow, Russia) was forced out of the game after a brutal hit that resulted in a five minute major for charging and a game misconduct being assessed to Quinnipiac's Matthew Cassidy. UConn failed to capitalize on the five-minute power play, keeping the game 3-1, QU.
UConn did capitalize on their next power play chance when Turnbull whacked home a rebound, loose puck in the slot to pull within 3-2 at 11:50. The Huskies used their time-out with just under two minutes to play and pulled Huska for the extra skater.
QU forced a turnover and Fallstrom scored his second of the night, finding the empty net from mid ice at 18:24 for the 4-2 final.
Next Up:
The Huskies will close out their season-opening road trip this weekend with their Hockey East opener Friday night at Providence and Saturday at RPI.
