It’s safe to say Connecticut men’s hockey coach Mike Cavanaugh likes to use sports metaphors.
He dropped a few of them during a recent press availability.
On his team’s 2-0 loss to Quinnipiac on Jan. 30, its only setback in an otherwise unblemished eight-game stretch, Cavanaugh evoked golf.
“We hit every green in regulation,” he said. “We made par putts — we just didn’t make any birdie putts. They made one. And that’s how the game went down. And sometimes that happens. But it wasn’t because we were double bogeying all game. We played a really strong, hard game and they just made one more play than we did.”
The comparison was apt. The Huskies (16-11-0, 12-6-0 Hockey East), now ranked No. 20 in the latest DCU/USCHO.com poll, outshot the then-second ranked Bobcats, held them scoreless for more than 52 minutes and were within one goal before Quinnipiac sealed it with an empty-netter in the final minute.
On his team’s reliance on net-front goals, as opposed to consistently scoring in a smooth or elegant fashion, football was Cavanaugh’s the game of choice.
“You have to have a running game,” he said. “If you’re going to completely rely on your passing attack, sometimes things are going to go wrong.”
Expanding on that point, he even mentioned a popular, albeit old-fashioned, game for kids.
“Very rarely do you see tic-tac-toe one-timers from the top of the circles and (for) a team to live and die off that,” Cavanaugh said. “You have to be able to generate chances from your offensive zone and second and third opportunities — multiple-shot shifts. If you’re not doing that, you’re not going to have sustained scoring.”
References to other sports aside, the Huskies are excelling at hockey. In its last eight games, UConn has won seven, all in regulation except a 3-2 overtime win at New Hampshire on Jan. 22. The Huskies have outscored opponents 31-15 in that stretch, and now stand third in Hockey East, tied with Boston University and just two points behind UMass-Amherst and UMass-Lowell.
Cavanaugh credits an experience group — the Huskies feature seven seniors and three graduate students.
“They’ve provided a lot of stability for our team, and experience,” he said. “They’ve played a lot of hockey. (They) understand what it takes to win. I really have to credit them.”
A big part of UConn’s success, and one of the most experienced players on the team, is goalie Darion Hanson. The 6-foot-3 graduate student transfer from Union has started all but one game this season for the Huskies, and all eight games in the team’s recent stretch, where he’s averaged just under 25 saves a game.
“He’s become so acclimated to our program, I think he understands the strengths of our team,” Cavanaugh said. “When you have a goaltender that you really believe in, it makes playing the game a lot easier. You’re not afraid to make mistakes because you feel like you have a goalie that can bail you out at times.”
UConn will have a big chance to assert itself atop the league standings in its next four games, starting this weekend with a home-and-home series vs. UMass-Amherst (16-9-2, 11-5-2). The puck drops at 7:05 p.m. Friday in Hartford and 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Amherst. Saturday’s game will be live on NESN-plus.
Jachym Kondelik (11 goals, 15 assists, 26 points) and Ryan Tverberg (12-12-24) lead an otherwise balanced scoring attack for UConn, which features nine other players with 10 points or more.
For good measure, Cavanaugh threw in some pro-hockey comparisons when discussing his team’s scoring tendencies.
“The Bruins need (Brad) Marchand and (Patrice) Bergeron scoring goals,” he said. “The Capitals need (Alexander) Ovechkin scoring goals for them, and (Nicklas) Bäckström making plays. I think that’s true to any team. There’s a reason top guys are top guys.
“Right now, we’re getting contributions from every line,” he continued. “Which makes us a difficult matchup at times.”
