BOSTON -- Playing a full 60 minutes is a necessity in Hockey East.
Assistant captain Max Kalter didn’t think his UConn team did that Friday night as host Northeastern scored twice in the latter half of the third period to earn a 3-2 win at Matthews Arena. But there’s plenty to learn from the process of playing in four straight one-goal contests, especially with nine freshmen in its lineup of 19 skaters.
“It's a theme that we haven't mastered yet, and I think it's cost us some wins in the past,” said Kalter said of closing out games, as UConn has now lost back-to-back games in the third period or overtime. “We just need to be more detailed and play a full 60. I don’t think we’ve done that in the past couple games, but it’ll come. We’re nine games in, still learning and developing.”
Despite 4-4-1 overall and 2-3-1 Hockey East marks, the good news, though, is that sixth-year head coach Mike Cavanaugh (North Andover, Mass.) likes the way his club — the league’s second-youngest with 12 first-year members in total — is showing and coming together.
And it played with confidence for a large percentage of the game against a No. 15 team in the nation that has shown well late in games, already coming back for three victories when trailing after two periods.
“It's certainly a disappointing loss, but I really like our club and how we're playing the game,” said Cavanaugh. “When you have a young team, one of the hardest things to learn how to do is close out games. … It's an area where I know we'll get better, and I'm excited to see what this team is going to look like in January and February.”
Defenseman Roman Kinal got the scoring going with 3:40 left in the first period, becoming the fourth of UConn’s rookies to net his first collegiate goal, but Northeastern blue line ace Jeremy Davies whipped home a tying goal midway through the second period.
The after 60 minutes wasn’t desired, but the visitors responded in a big spot to carry a lead into the second straight intermission. And the response came from a reliable source in Kalter at the 17:19 mark of the middle stanza.
“He's the heartbeat of our team,” Cavanaugh said of the Highland Park, Ill., native, who is three points away from 50 in his career after scoring his second goal of the season. “He's a four-year kid, and I can't say enough about him. He's the epitome of what we want in a player at UConn; he’s great off the ice, a dog on the ice, and just a wonderful kid to coach.”
The Huskies are no strangers to speed and skill. Two-time All-Hockey East forward Maxim Letunov spent the last three years playing for Cavanaugh before signing with the San Jose Sharks, while current Buffalo Sabre Tage Thompson (Orange, Conn.) spent two.
Those who surrounded the aforementioned pros have taken leading roles this year, and the freshmen, too, are making an impact. UConn’s lineup featured NHL draft picks on three forward lines, two defensive pairs and in goal with junior Adam Huska, who made 17 of his 36 saves in the third period against Northeastern.
Kalter has had the good fortune of centering a line that features one of those draftees in New York Islanders second-round pick Ruslan Iskhakov, who slipped a pass from the right circle to the charging assistant captain for a top-shelf finish.
But the coach knows that the native of Moscow can round out his game and become even more dominant as a member of the top six, behind the senior Karl El-Mir, hulking rookie center Jachym Kondelik, and crafty junior Alexander Payusov. That top unit has been together for seven of UConn’s nine games.
“Ruslan is certainly a very talented player, but he can get better, too,” Cavanaugh said. “He makes some dynamite plays. He made a great play for Max Kalter's goal. But when he learns sometimes when to ‘punt,’ he'll be even that much better. But he's a special player, and we're very excited to have him.”
Kalter compares the experience playing with Iskhakov to that of his right winger Brian Rigali. Prior to joining the Huskies, the sophomore skated with a prospect in the USHL who drew significant buzz in 2017 and was ultimately a Nashville Predators pick.
“You've always got to be ready when he has the puck because he's so talented, so skilled,” Kalter said. “I was actually talking to (Rigali) before the game about Eeli Tolvanen, who he played with in Sioux City. He said you've always got to be ready for the puck. You never know when it’s coming to you. You look up, then look down and the puck's on your stick.”
Speed and skill. The Huskies are looking to make them hallmarks, just part of the everyday game plan as they look to rise in Hockey East. And, of course, turn some of those one-goal scores around.
“We try to use our speed, our skill, and try to take over games as much as we can, but we still want to work hard,” Kalter said. “It's a fun group (of freshmen). We have 12 of them, so it's a new team. We're young and energized. It stinks we haven't been finishing games, but we'll learn and we're all excited moving forward.”
