by Ryan Fay
BRIDGEPORT, Conn -- Spencer Naas broke a 2-2 tie midway through the third period to lift Connecticut to a 3-2 win over Union in the opening round of the Frozen Holiday Classic Saturday at Webster Bank Arena.
The win gave Connecticut its first victory over Union. The Dutchmen entered play 7-0-4 in 11 meetings against the Huskies. With the loss, Union's 11-game winning streak against Hockey East opponents dating back nearly two years came to an end.
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| Union's Ryan Scarfo ties to jam the puck past Connecticut goalie Rob Nichols. photo: Connecticut athletics |
Naas provided the game-winner at 10:13 of the third after taking a pass from Kasperi Ojantakanen and firing the puck past Union goaltender Colin Stevens. The Huskies (4-8-4) tied the game at 2-2 at 18:23 of the second after Cody Sharib beat Stevens through the five-hole.
Union grabbed a 2-1 lead with second period power-play goals from Daniel Ciampini and Mike Vecchione. Ciampini's tally, his team-best 10th of the season, brought Union even, 1-1, at 2:28. Vecchione assisted on the goal and then scored his own just over a minute later after he blasted a laser from the left circle over the shoulder of Connecticut goalie Rob Nichols.
Connecticut opened the scoring on a goal from Patrick Kirtland at 16:35 of the first.
The Dutchmen's comeback bid following Naas' goal was hindered by losing two players to misconducts. Matt Wilkins, one of the team's hottest players before the holiday break, was tossed for arguing an embellishment penalty at 11:00 of the third. David Roy was ejected for hitting from behind at 14:25.
Union, which came into play second in the country with a .569 winning percentage on faceoffs, went 19-37 on draws against the Huskies, who were 39th at .494.
The Dutchmen had been undefeated in their last four games at Webster Bank Arena, including NCAA East Regional final wins in 2012 and 2014 that clinched berths in the Frozen Four.
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