FINAL SCORE: Vermont 2, UConn 1HARTFORD – Sophomore
Rob Darrar batted a rebound out of mid-air in the second period for the eventual game-winner as 9-seed Vermont grinded out a 2-1 victory over 8-seed UConn in Game 1 of the Hockey East First Round at the XL Center on Friday night. The Catamounts improved to 13-20-3, while the Huskies dropped to 11-20-4.
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Mike Santaguida stopped 32 of the 33 shots he faced for the win in just his second appearance back from an 18-game injury absence.
"It was well played from the opening faceoff to the end," said head coach Kevin Sneddon. "Our experienced playoff players played well and showed our younger players how to play playoff hockey."
Vermont took the lead just 1:28 into the night as Alexx Privitera's right point wrist shot beat Rob Nichols (34 saves) low through a screen. Trey Phillips and Craig Puffer collected the assists on the opening goal of the game.
UConn answered at the 13:45 mark as Spencer Naas broke up the ice on a 2-on-1. Naas deked inside the left faceoff dot to improve his shooting angle and wristed a shot under the armpit of Santaguida to knot the score.
Santaguida made his best save of the night during a UConn power play in the second period, flashing out his right pad to deny a point-blank chance on the doorstep.
The Catamounts killed off the remainder of the penalty and struck shortly after to recapture the lead. Kevin Irwin gained the UConn line down the left wing boards and dangled into the circle before firing a shot on target. Nichols punched the save to the right side of his crease, and Darrar followed by whacking the puck out of the air into the back of the net for his first of the year at 13:42.
UVM kept UConn at bay for the first half of the third period, limiting the Huskies in transition and keeping pucks in the offensive zone. Max Kalter nearly knotted the game from the left doorstep but grazed the crossbar after a stuff attempt from linemate Karl El-Mir.
UConn called its timeout and pulled Nichols with 1:03 remaining in regulation, but Vermont kept the Huskies to the outside and held on to take Game 1.
"We had a great team effort but Mike was unbelievable, sensational in net," said Sneddon of Santaguida, who has stopped 55 of 57 shots in two starts since his return. "After the UConn goal, he settled down and made some big saves for us right down to the end."
The teams return to the XL Center on Saturday (March 5) at 7 p.m. for Game 2 of the best-of-three series. A win for Vermont clinches a trip to the Hockey East Quarterfinals next weekend.
All the action will be streamed live on a pay-per-view basis at HockeyEastOnline.TV, and radio coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. on WVMT 620-AM, SportsJuice.com, and the TuneIn app with Alastair Ingram and Jim Connelly on the call.
