UConn, Quinnipiac men’s hockey to face each other in NCAA Tournament
In-state rivals UConn and Quinnipiac will face off against each other in the first round of the NCAA men’s ice hockey tournament in Allentown, Pa. on Friday.
It’s the first-ever appearance for UConn in the 16-team field. The Huskies, who reached the Hockey East final last week, won 22 games and reached No. 6 in the PairWise ratings.
Quinnipiac has reached the Frozen Four three times and won the national championship in 2023. The Bobcats reached the regional finals last season.
The winner of their matchup would play the winner of Maine, the region’s top seed, and Penn State, in the regional final on Sunday for a chance to advance to the Frozen Four in mid-April in St. Louis.
John Spetz pushes the winning habits that changed UConn’s trajectory in Hockey East
UConn beat Quinnipiac, 2-1, in the CT Ice semifinal on January. The Huskies have wins over six teams in the NCAA field, including Quinnipiac, UMass, Boston University, Providence, Boston College, and two wins and a tie against Maine before losing the conference final to the Black Bears in Boston last Friday.
Boston College is the tournament’s top overall seed and will head to Manchester, N.H. to take on Bentley University, from nearby Waltham, Mass. in round one.
UConn began playing hockey in 1960, and for 38 years played in an open-air rink on campus. They moved to Division I and into the Freitas Ice Forum in 1998. The program moved up to Hockey East in 2-4 and hired Mike Cavanaugh, an assistant coach on four championship teams at BC, to build the program and, two years ago, moved into the new Toscano Family Ice Forum on campus.
Dom Amore: Goalie Tyler Muszelik made the math work for UConn in CT Ice
This season, the Huskies (22-11-4, 12-8-4 in conference) are led by sophomore Joey Muldowney, who set a school record for goals in the Hockey East era with 27, along with 18 assists. Jake Richard (42 points), Hudson Schandor (40) and Ryan Tattle (32) are other top scorers. Schandor, the program’s career leader in points, and defenseman John Spetz are fifth-year seniors and captains. In goal, Ryan Muszelik (22 games) and freshman Callum Tung (13) split time, as the Huskies have outscored opponents 124-93.
Quinnipiac is a perennial tournament team under longtime coach Rand Pecknold, making its 11th NCAA appearance. The Bobcats were national runner up in 2013 and 2016 before breaking through to win it in 2023. This season, Quinnipiac is 24-11-2, 16-5-1 in conference before losing to Cornell in OT in the ECAC semifinal. Jeremy Wilmer (14 goals, 25 assists) and Marcellus Mason (10-27) and Travis Treloar (16-20) are top scorers. Dylan Silverstein had the most minutes in goal as he Bobcats outscored their opponents 134-79.
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