University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
Bentley
Winter Leads Huskies To 6-4 Victory Over Bentley
2/19/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Feb. 19, 2011
UConn sophomore forward Miles Winter tallied two goals in a back-and-forth contest tonight against Bentley in Mark Edward Freitas Ice Forum to give UConn a 6-4 victory. The Huskies see their record jump to 11-17-4 (11-12-2 AHA) while Bentley falls to 10-16-15 (9-12-4 AHA). Sophomore Garrett Bartus made 34 saves, including 15 in the final period, to earn the win. Senior Jeff Sapieha tallied three assists tonight as well.
In a wild first period with five goals, the Huskies came out on top earning a 3-2 edge after 20 minutes. Freshman Brant Harris opened the scoring with a well-executed play from the left face-off dot in the Bentley zone. Sophomore Sean Ambrosie took the face off, pushing the puck past the opposing center. Ambrosie then slid the puck across the top of the crease to Harris for the easy tap in. The goal was Harris' seventh of the season with Ambrosie earning his 14th assist.
Bentley responded on the next shit with a goal from Joe Campanelli at 8:13.
Connecticut regained the lead at 9:56 with sophomore Miles Winter's third goal of the year. A shot from senior Jeff Sapieha was popped into the air above the Bentley net. After a scramble in front when the puck came down, Winter was able to pounce on the loose puck beating the Bentley defenders to put the Huskies ahead, 2-1.
The scoring took a five-minute hiatus before Bentley evened the score at 2-2 with a goal from Aaron Stonacek at 14:20. Stonacek took a drop pass from Mike Switzer in the slot and wristed a shot off the left post past Bartus.
UConn finished the period with its third goal at 15:04 to go ahead, 3-2. Senior Justin Hernandez fired a shot from the left side that was saved by Rank. The puck fell into the slot where freshman Billy Latta slapped home his 10th goal of the year. Hernandez and senior Andrew Olson earned their sixth and eighth assists on the play, respectively.
Bartus finished the first period with 10 saves while Bentley goaltender Kyle Rank denied eight UConn shots.
Bentley switched goaltenders at the start of the period bringing Branden Komm into the cage. The Huskies continued to find the back of the net, however, increasing their lead in the second period, outscoring the Falcons 2-1 in the middle stanza.
The Huskies scored their two goals just eight seconds apart midway through the period. Junior Corey Jendras made it 4-2 for UConn with his fourth goal of the season at 7:12. Winter added his second of the game at 7:20 with an assist to Jendras.
Bentley closed the gap to 5-3 at 9:12 when Jamie Nudy beat Bartus from in front for his fourth goal of the season.
After two periods, Bentley held a 22-21 edge in shots with UConn ahead on the scoreboard, 5-3.
The third period saw just two goals combined with both team's lighting the lamp once. Bentley increased the pressure in the UConn zone and outshot the Huskies 16-11 in the final period. The Falcons pulled their goalie for the extra attacker with 2:25 remaining. The Huskies kept the attack at bay until 19:44 when Brett Gensler beat Bartus from the left side for his 12th goal of the season.
UConn freshman Jordan Sims ended the game with an empty-net goal as time expired to end the game with UConn ahead, 6-4.
The Huskies will finish the regular season with a home-and-home series against AIC on Friday and Saturday, February 25 and 26. UConn will host AIC on Friday at 7:05 p.m. in Freitas Ice Forum. Coach Bruce Marshall and the University of Connecticut will honor the eight graduating seniors on the roster: Stevie Bergin, Justin Hernandez, Jason Krispel, Matthew Miller, Andrew Olson, Brian Reagan, Jeff Sapieha and Chris Spicer.
