Senior defenseman Miles Gendron had a goal and an assist for the Huskies
UConn Downed By Yale, 6-3, At Friendship Four

BELFAST, Northern Ireland - The Yale University Bulldogs put three goals on the board in both the second and third periods to deal the UConn Huskies a 6-3 loss in the consolation game of the 2018 Northern Irish Connections Friendship Four from The SSE Arena in Belfast.

The Huskies have dropped four-straight and fall to 5-8-1 overall with the loss while the Bulldogs finish the weekend with a win and a tie to move to 3-2-2 on the year.

Yale sophomore Kevin O'Neil finished with a pair of goals including the game-winner to pace the Bulldogs. In net, senior Sam Tucker turned away 34 UConn shots to claim victory. UConn freshman goaltender Tomas Vomacka (Trutnov, Czech Republic) stopped a season-best 31 shots in taking the loss.

The Huskies had a 1-0 lead after the first period thanks to senior captain Miles Gendron's (Shrewsbury, Mass.) first goal of the season. Yale went up 2-1 in the second before junior Alexander Payusov (Montreal, Quebec) knotted the game up. O'Neil's first of the night sent Yale to the locker room with a 3-2 lead after two periods.

In the third, O'Neil made it 4-2 just 1:36 in the period before UConn senior Max Kalter (Highland Park, Ill.) pulled the Huskies to within 4-3 at 8:01. Yale's Joe Snively scored on the power play at 13:43 and freshman Curtis Hall put the game away at 15:26.


1st Period:

The Bulldogs found themselves in the box three different times over the course of the first 20 minutes with UConn only in once on a hooking call but neither team was able to capitalize on the power play.

Despite a five-on-three opportunity for the Huskies at 12:44, it wasn't until the 18:21 mark when senior Gendron put one on the board. Gendron got to the front of the net past two Yale defensemen and put a rebound of a Carter Turnbull (Naniamo, British Columbia) shot past Tucker for his first of the season.

Huskies held a 15-10 edge on shots and a 16-6 edge on the faceoff.


2nd Period:

Just 16 seconds into the second period, Yale's Luke Stevens gets one right off the faceoff and pulled the game even off the opening face-off. At the 4:57 mark, Yale's Brett Jewell got in on Vomacka who made the save but Dante Palecco picked it up and sent it back to Jewell who scored and gave the Bulldogs their first lead of the game, 2-1

Just after taking the lead, Yale's Snively was sent in for five minutes on a cross checking call while UConn sophomore Adam Karashik (Ridgefield, Conn.) went in for interference. After killing off the Karashik penalty, UConn had a three-minute power play and were able to capitalize at 8:17 with Payusov burying his ninth of the season off a feed from Gendron.

Yale was able to end the period with a 3-2 lead after O'Neil's first goal at 11:15. Snively got O'Neil the puck right out front from behind the net and he put one in top shelf.


3rd Period:

An UConn turnover led to a quick Yale goal to start the third. O'Neil picked up the loose puck and found the back of the net for his second of the game and his third on the season, making it 4-2 at 1:36.

At the eight-minute mark, Kalter made it a one-goal game, scoring his fourth of the season coming off a Ruslan Iskhakov (Moscow, Russia) rebound. Iskhakov one-timed it from the top of the right circle that Tucker couldn't hold on to and Kalter tapped it in to make it 4-3 at 8:01.

From there Yale closed the game out with back-to-back goals at 13:43 and 15:26 as Snively and Curtis Hall both scored to seal a 6-3 win.


Up Next:

The Huskies return stateside and will head up to the University of Massachusetts to face the nationally ranked Minutemen on Friday, November 30.




Game Summary

Saturday, November 24, 2018
Friendship Four Third Place (Belfast, Northern Ireland)

6
3
Game statistics
37 Shots 37
1 / 2 Power Plays 1 / 6
5 / 13 PIM 3 / 6
3-2-2 Records 5-8-1
GOAL SCORERS
Yale UConn
Miles Gendron (1)
1st/18:21
Luke Stevens (2)
2nd/0:16
Brett Jewell (1)
2nd/4:57
Alexander Payusov (9)
2nd/8:17 PP
Kevin O'Neil (2)
2nd/11:15
Kevin O'Neil (3)
3rd/1:36  GW
Max Kalter (4)
3rd/8:01
Joe Snively (5)
3rd/13:43 PP
Curtis Hall (3)
3rd/15:26
GOALTENDERS
Yale UConn
Sam Tucker
59:55, 34 Saves, 3 GA
(W, 2-1-0)

Empty Net
0:05, 0 GA
Tomáš Vomáčka
59:51, 31 Saves, 6 GA
(L, 2-3-0)

Empty Net
0:09, 0 GA