The UConn Fast Break - 9/30/2022
Hockey previews, a "new" women's basketball coach and more!
Welcome to this week’s Fast Break, and thank you for being a subscriber. At least it’s almost basketball season!
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UConn men’s hockey starts this weekend
A week after women’s hockey season began, the men’s side will do the same with a pair of games at Vermont this weekend.
The team will feature a new goaltender and also experienced a lot of turnover at forward, but does have a veteran blue line to level the ship in what could be a transition year for Mike Cavanaugh’s team after breaking through to the Hockey East Tournament championship game.
The UConn Blog has had beat and photo coverage of UConn men’s hockey since its move to Hockey East in 2014-15, the only outlet to do so in that span, and in the past few seasons, Daniel Connolly has really stepped up with the UConn Hockey Hub.
On the blog, you can read position-by-position previews for the forwards, defensemen, and goaltenders, while the hub has more in-depth analysis. Connolly and the rest of the team will be as close to Mike Cavanaugh’s squad as possible, with two reporters on hand this weekend. It should be another exciting year of UConn men’s hockey, already Cavanaugh’s 10th on the bench, as they open an exciting new arena as well.
Weekly Rewind
Women’s Basketball
UConn WBB Weekly - Geno Auriemma seems to have a new assistant on the bench, as Paige Bueckers has volunteered to serve in an unofficial role.
Schedule updates - ESPN announced TV designations for the matchups with Tennessee and Maryland.
Cathy Bochain returns as part of Title IX celebration - UConn will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the passage of Title IX Oct. 14-16, including the first all-scholarship class of women’s basketball players.
Men’s Hockey
10 predictions - What’s going to happen to the men’s hockey team this year?
Toscano Family Ice Forum taking shape - The hockey program’s new home is starting to look like a hockey rink.
UConn Hockey Hub - Check out some analysis on the goaltender battle and notes from the team’s 13th preseason practice.
Football
Football podcast - Looking back on the NC State game and ahead to the Fresno State matchup.
Fresno State preview - The Huskies welcome the Bulldogs this weekend. Check out the depth chart and what to watch for in the matchup.
Huskies fall to No. 12 NC State - It was never close in Raleigh.
Future opponents - UConn might be having a tough go of it, but at least the Huskies aren’t FIU.
Men’s Soccer
Field named for Reid - The playing surface at Joseph J Morrone Stadium will be named Ray Ried Field for the longtime head coach.
Women’s Hockey
Chuli throws out first pitch - Former women’s hockey goaltender Elaine Chuli threw out the first pitch before Wednesday night’s Toronto Blue Jays game:
General
Radenka Maric named President - The interim tag has been removed and UConn has its 17th president.
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The UConn Hockey Hub
Highlights
With the other two goalkeepers injured, freshman Adyson Duran continues to serve admirably in goal, making this great save to keep a one-goal game in the 57th minute against No. 19 Georgetown.
Memory Lane
Let’s throw it back to the end of the last men’s hockey season.
Mike Cavanaugh and UConn were 0-9 in Hockey East Tournament games over the team’s first seven seasons in the conference. That ended March 12, 2022 against 5-seed Boston University, as the Huskies took a 3-1 win in a quarterfinal.
Darion Hansen had 38 saves and Jonny Evans buried the game-winning tally just over midway through the game.
Check out The UConn Blog’s game story, photo gallery, and a look back at a celebration eight years in the making.
UConn, Great Pic
The sunset at Morrone Stadium on Thursday evening before women’s soccer battled No. 19 Georgetown was nothing short of breathtaking. Ian Bethune captured this shot pregame.
Some great shots from the newly-named Toscano Family Ice Forum.
Parting Thoughts
UMass athletic director Ryan Bamford apparently woke up on Wednesday ready to start shit, online.
The replies to a tweet from Boston College men’s basketball head coach Earl Grant got Bamford’s attention after it was implied UMass would not play the Eagles. Bamford quote-tweeted it and shared that Grant had it twisted, saying that he has tried to get Boston College on the schedule for seven straight years.
Regional opponents should play each other, UConn included. It’s a huge part of what makes college athletics fun and with gigantic media rights deals altering conference memberships, it’s one of the things that’s going away.
UConn hasn’t scheduled UMass or Boston College in men’s hoops since 2005, though the Huskies did face the Eagles in 2013 as part of the 2K Sports Classic. Maybe not every year and rarely on the road, but both teams should return to playing each other regularly.
However, Bamford’s tweets are not going to accomplish this. You shouldn’t need to strain that hard for a date with Boston College, which hasn’t made the NCAA Tournament since 2009. It reeks of desperation when the Eagles are not a team worth caring very much about.
Thankfully, David Benedict would never embarrass us like that.
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