NEW HAVEN — The UConn hockey team got goals from five different players and held off a pesky Yale squad to advance to the final of the CT Ice tournament with a 5-2 win over the Elis on Friday night at Ingalls Rink.
The 13th-ranked Huskies (14-7-3) will try to defend their CT Ice title against No. 6 Quinnipiac on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. in a sought-after matchup between two of the top teams in the nation. The Bobcats advanced by defeating Sacred Heart 5-1 in the opening game. Host Yale will meet the Pioneers in the consolation at 4 p.m.
The opening period could not have started better for the Huskies as Joey Muldowney scored 1:10 into the game. Just 24 seconds later Ethan Whitcomb made it 2-0, beating Yale goalie Noah Pak at 1:34. Yale cut the lead in half when Micah Parsons found the net at the 15:06 mark and the opening period ended 2-1.
The Bulldogs (7-12-0) tied the game early in the second when David Chen beat UConn goalie Tyler Muszelik at 2:38. UConn regained control with a pair of power-play goals, the first by Ryan Tattle at 5:14 of the period. Jake Richard added some insurance, again on the power play, at 12:15.
The Huskies’ Mike Murtagh closed out the scoring with an empty-netter at 19:03 of the third period. Muszelik had 26 saves for the Huskies.
In the earlier game, William Gilson had a goal and two assists to lead the Bobcats to their seventh consecutive win. Ethan Wyttenbach had a goal and an assist and goalie Dylan Silverstein 24 saves as Quinnipiac improved to 19-4-2.
Reid Pabich ruined Silverstein’s shutout bid with the Pioneers’ lone goal at 15:43 of the final period. Sacred Heart falls to 12-8-3 overall.