Despite Injuries, Huskies Look Forward

If there has been a theme for UConn men's hockey this year, it's been injuries. Standout goaltender Beau Erickson became the latest Husky expected to miss the remainder of the regular season, as he joins juniors Sean Erickson and Ryan Hawkins on the sidelines.

After suffering a slight ACL tear in last Friday's loss to Sacred Heart, Erickson was replaced in goal by freshman Brad McInnis, who allowed four goals to the Pioneers in his first career start.

McInnis and the Huskies (8-17-3, 7-12-3 Atlantic Hockey) will try to dig themselves out of last place in the conference as they take on seventh- place Bentley (6-16-6, 6-10-6) in a home-and-home series this weekend.

While the pressure to replace Erickson may feel overwhelming, McInnis is more than suited for the job, according to head coach Bruce Marshall.

"I think he had a good game Saturday against Sacred Heart," said Marshall. "I think he gained a lot of confidence and I think the kids gained a lot of confidence. We have these kids here because we think they can help us out, if we didn't think that, they wouldn't be a part of it. We're looking forward to his next start."

McInnis will have his hands full when he takes the net versus Bentley. Though the Falcons are only one point ahead of UConn in the standings, they possess a high-octane offense that has been finding the net of late. Bentley averages 2.4 goals per game and is averaging 3.25 in its last six games. Junior forward Tom Dickhudt fueled a seven-goal outburst against American International last weekend with one goal and five assists. Dickhudt, the Falcons' assist leader with 15 for the season, was named AHA Player of the Week for his standout performance.

The Falcons, who yield a conference-high 3.3 goals per contest, have been unable to translate their high-powered offense into victories. UConn will look to take advantage of the porous Bentley defense and revitalize an attack that has been inconsistent all year.

"I thought we had some nice offense on Friday night, but we haven't been able to put good games together on both ends lately," said Marshall. "Your offense is only as good as your defense, as weird as that may sound. If we score five goals and let them get six, it's not going to matter."

If the offense and defense can work together to ease the pressure on UConn's young goaltender, the Huskies could climb out of the AHA cellar and make a playoff run. Marshall says that the team isn't looking that far ahead, however, and will take each game one by one and try to build off of previous success.

"Setting goals is great, but the thing is, if you want to go 5-1 in the next six and all of the sudden you drop two this week, then uh-oh we didn't hit our goal," said Marshall. "I think the goal for us is to get better everyday and get stronger everyday and when it comes playoff time we want to be playing well. We need to continue to get points and feel confident against any team we play."

Contact Kevin Duffy at Kevin.R.Duffy@UConn.edu.