Huskies defeat Robert Morris in Game 1 of Atlantic Hockey Quarterfinals

The UConn men’s hockey team used two goals in 50 seconds during the second period to earn a 4-1 win over Robert Morris in Game 1 of a best-of-three series in the Atlantic Hockey Quarterfinals in Storrs.

UConn is now one win away from clinching a spot in next Friday’s Semifinal round that will decide who plays

Robert Morris got on the board first, exactly 11 minutes into the game. 23 seconds after UConn’s Jacob Poe was sent to the penalty box for tripping, Colonials’ forward Cody Wydo beat goaltender Matt Grogan to give Robert Morris the lead.

But as they have done so many times this season, UConn responded almost immediately.

Two minutes after Wydo broke the deadlock, Brant Harris got on the end of a pass from Sean Ambrosie and hit the puck off the post and in to tie the game.

“I really liked the response,” Interim Head Coach David Berard said. “It wasn’t a great goal – there was a couple of breakdowns on their goal – so it kind of left a bad taste in your mouth, how they scored, and our penalty kill has been really good all year. I didn’t really like how it happened, but to come and get a power play goal right away…was really important.”

During the second period, the Huskies used two goals in 50 seconds to put the game out of reach.

On the Huskies’ second goal, freshman Joey Ferriss drove to the net and beat Robert Morris goaltender Eric Levine with a backhand shot on Levine’s stick side.

Within moments, the Huskies made it 3-1. Senior captain Alex Gerke threw a puck on net from just under the blue line and freshman Shawn Pauly tipped it past Levine on the glove side for his third goal of the season.

Penalties killed UConn in their last meeting with Robert Morris on Jan. 12, and the Huskies took a couple that could have cost them in the third period. But UConn’s eighth-ranked penalty kill was up to the task of stopping the Colonials, who struggle on the power play as it is, and kept the game out of reach.

Robert Morris pulled Levine with two minute to play in order to bring on an extra skater. With the net empty, UConn senior left winger Evan Carriere gained control of the puck and dumped it in into the goal to clinch the game for the Huskies.

The Huskies also won the opening game of their two-game weekend series against Robert Morris back in January, but UConn is less concerned with what happened during the regular season than what is still to come during the postseason.

“We can’t think about the past,” senior captain Alex Gerke said. “We have to take one game at a time. It was a big win tonight, but we have to forget about it and come back tomorrow like it’s a tied series.”

The Huskies will have a chance to clinch the series and book their spot in the Semifinals on Saturday at the Mark Edward Freitas Ice Forum in Storrs. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.