Huskies Roll to 6-1 Win at Merrimack
N. ANDOVER, Mass.– UConn junior Carter Turnbull (Nanaimo, British Columbia) and sophomore Harrison Rees (Oakville, Ontario) both scored twice to lead the Huskies to a 6-1 win over Merrimack at Lawler Rink Friday afternoon.
UConn had 11 different Huskies get on the scoresheet with six players posting double digit points in the win. UConn evens their record at 6-6-2 on the year with the win.
The Huskies scored two goals just 58 seconds apart in the first period and never looked back putting three on the board in the second period, two on the power play. UConn finished 2-for-6 on the power play, taking advantage of a five-minute power play and 5-on-3 chance in the second period.
Rees scored his first goals of the season while Turnbull now has a team-leading eight goals on the year. Sophomore Vladislav Firstov (Yaroslavl, Russia) scored a goal with an assist. Senior defenseman Adam Karashik (Ridgefield, Conn.), junior Jonny Evans (North Delta, British Columbia) and sophomore defenseman Yan Kuznetsov (Murmansk, Russia) all had two assists.
Freshman Hudson Schandor (North Vancouver, British Columbia) scored the Huskies other goal. Junior Tomas Vomacka (Trutnov, Czech Republic) needed to make just 19 saves as UConn limited Merrimack to just 20 shots on the day.
1st period:
UConn struck for a pair of goals just 58 seconds apart in the middle of the period to take a 2-0 lead and chase starting Merrimack goaltender Zachary Borgiel. Rees opened the scoring at 11:58 coming off a Merrimack turnover.
Trying to keep the puck in their zone, the puck got free into the neutral zone where freshman Nick Capone (East Haven, Conn.) took it and headed up ice. Capone fed a trailing Rees who snapped a wrister from the high slot low into the left corner to beat Borgiel for his first on the year.
UConn made it 2-0 at 12:53 scoring off a face-off win in the Merrimack zone. Kuznetsov sent the puck to Karashik on the right side who fired on net where Schandor was set-up in front near the right post to get a deflection for his fourth of the season and a two-goal lead.
2nd period:
The Huskies started the second period on the power play and needed just 20 seconds to make it a 3-0 lead. Karashik and Kuznetsov again set up the UConn goal. Taking the pass at the top of the left circle, Kuznetsov whipped a cross-ice pass to Firstov at the right post who finished on an open net for his third of the season just as the penalty expired for Merrimack.
Merrimack took a five-minute major at 6:24 and then got a 5-on-3 chance during the major penalty. The Huskies struck twice during the power play span, both off the stick of Turnbull. On the 5-on-3, Turnbull was able to pick-up a loose puck off a John Spetz (Oak Ridge, N.J.) blast and put home the rebound at 8:49.
Turnbull made it 5-0 at 11:57, finishing off a one-timer in the slot after Evans sent a pass out of the deep corner to Firstov at the right circle who fed Turnbull for his second on the day. Merrimack got on the board late in the 2ndas Liam Walsh scored his second of the season to cut it to 5-1.
3rd period:
UConn put the finishing touches on the win in the third period on the second goal by Rees. The Huskies won a puck battle behind the net and junior Marc Gatcomb (Woburn, Mass.) kept the puck in the zone feeding Rees on the right wing. Rees snapped another one low to the far post to make it 6-1 and finish out his first career multi-goal game.
Up Next:
The Huskies and Warriors are back at it tomorrow to close out their weekend series at the Freitas Ice Forum at 3 pm.