DURHAM, N.H. - Jonny Evans led the Huskies with three goals and two assists as University of New Hampshire men's hockey team fell to UConn, 7-4, at the Whittemore Center on Friday night. Junior forward Eric MacAdams (Salem, Mass.) led the Wildcats with one goal and two assists for three points.
The Wildcats are now 13-10-2 (7-7-1 HEA), while the Huskies improve to 10-12-4 (7-7-2 HEA).
UP NEXT:
The Wildcats will conclude the two-game series with UConn on Saturday, Feb. 1 at the XL Center at 4 PM on NESN.
NEXT HOME GAMES:
The Wildcats will return to the Whittemore Center when they host Vermont for two games on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 7-8 at 7 pm. Both games are on NESNplus. Friday is Heart Health Awareness Night and also the first 1,000 fans will receive the fifth set of trading cards. Then Saturday is 80s Night, presented by Eastern Propane & Oil, as the first 1,000 fans will receive a UNH fanny pack. Individual game tickets with affordable options that start as low as $9 and a convenient six-ticket flexible miniplan can be purchased for the season by calling the Whittemore Center Box Office at (603) 862-4000 or by visiting UNHWildcats.com.
Score: UConn 7, New Hampshire 4
Records: UNH (13-10-2, 7-7-1 HEA), UConn (10-12-4, 7-7-2 HEA)
Location: Durham, N.H. (Whittemore Center)
Date: Friday, Jan. 31, 2020
Time: 7 p.m.
Attendance: 4,671
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Huskies were first on the board at 1:45 as Ruslan Iskhakov managed to sneak the puck in past UNH goalie Mike Robinson (Bedford, N.H.) in the lower glove-side corner off of a rebound.
- At 4:32, UConn extended its lead as Evans sent a cross-ice pass to Carter Turnbull, who fired a one-timer from just outside the crease to the lower glove-side to put UConn up 2-0.
- Just over a minute later at 5:11, the Huskies put a third goal on the board on a power play as Wyatt Newpower sent a shot to the lower stick-side.
- At 11:32, the Wildcats chipped away at the deficit as junior Patrick Grasso (Ankeny, Iowa) received a cross-ice pass from sophomore Jackson Pierson (Zionsville, Ind.) and launched a one-timer to the upper right corner on a two-man advantage power play.
- UNH scored just over a minute later at 12:20 as MacAdams capitalized on a power play as he sent a shot that rebounded off of UConn goalie Tomas Vomacka's pads and into the net, which made the score 3-2.
- Just 1:10 into the second period, Filip Engarås (Stockholm, Sweden) scored a power play goal as he knocked in the puck just outside the crease to the back of the net to tie up the score at 3-3.
- UConn took the lead back as Evans scored at 17:35. After the UConn goal, the officials reviewed a possible UNH goal but the call on the ice of a no goal remained after the review.
- UConn extended its lead at 18:18 as Vladislav Firstov scored on a breakaway for the 5-3 advantage.
- Evans put the Huskies up 6-3 at 7:39 of the third period as he received a pass across the crease and fired a wrist shot to the lower stick-side.
- The Wildcats cut the lead to 6-4 at 11:07 as sophomore Eric Esposito (West Haven, Conn.) dodged across the front of the goal and snuck the puck in with a backhand shot past Vomacka on the lower stick side.
- At 17:57, UConn clinched the win as Evans fired a shot from the defensive end to the back of an empty net, giving him a hat-trick and a 7-4 win for the Huskies.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- UNH outshot UConn by a 46-29 margin.
- Robinson made 22 saves, while Vomacka recorded 42.
- The Wildcats went 3-5 on the power play and the Huskies went 0-2.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
- Engarås has posted nine points over the past eight games with three goals and six assists.
- The Wildcats have a record of 8-3-1 at the Whittemore Center this season.
- UNH is now 16-7-1 all-time versus UConn.
