{"id":125948,"date":"2021-02-11T10:00:02","date_gmt":"2021-02-11T16:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/?p=125948"},"modified":"2021-02-10T14:44:42","modified_gmt":"2021-02-10T20:44:42","slug":"this-week-in-hockey-east-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/2021\/02\/11\/this-week-in-hockey-east-2\/","title":{"rendered":"This Week in Hockey East: UConn boasting positive mindset where ‘we think if we\u2019re going into a game, we\u2019re winning’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
UConn’s Carter Turnbull has compiled eight goals and 12 points over 17 games this season for the Huskies (photo: Stephen Slade).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Connecticut junior Carter Turnbull doesn\u2019t think there was ever a dramatic shift.<\/p>\n

Instead, Turnbull, one of 10 upperclassmen with the Huskies, thinks there was a culture shift from the moment he began at UConn, a process that\u2019s led them to where they are now, being ranked for the first time in program history.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a pretty old core,\u201d said Turnbull. \u201cEven though we only have four letters, I think we have 10 guys who could be captain of this team. We got a ton of leaders on this team and that for sure helps the younger guys who look up to us.\u201d<\/p>\n

UConn received its ranking before dropping a Tuesday night overtime contest to UMass Lowell. The Huskies had been coming off three consecutive wins, including two over Merrimack where they posted six goals each time.<\/p>\n

Tuesday night games — or any week night, really — are an adjustment for not only young players, but college hockey vets who have been around before Covid put a damper on the season and sport.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not an excuse, but it certainly impacts the way teams prepare before a game.<\/p>\n

In some ways, that can help and up-and-coming program like UConn focus on itself, distraction free.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s weird not knowing who you\u2019re going to play the following week,\u201d said Turnbull. \u201cAt the same time, you put a game in front of us and we\u2019re gonna play it and we\u2019re always ready. None of these teams are too surprising, but if you\u2019re not thinking about who you\u2019re playing you can just focus on practice.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat has a little bit of a benefit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now 6-3-1 in their last 10 games, the Huskies have found some sort of groove in a season where it\u2019s tough to have any momentum day to day. The rankings — at 20 in the USCHO poll and 15 in the USA Today poll — are just benchmarks, and everything\u2019s tough to get a gauge on with some teams sitting out and others with heavy schedules.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a good lesson for the young Huskies to internalize their own play and keep that focus, and a mantra the upperclassmen have adopted as their message.<\/p>\n

\u201cFreshman year we had a tough year,\u201d said Turnbull. \u201cThen last year at the end of the year we were just winning games and coming into this year we put forth like, we\u2019re not just going to put an effort in and that\u2019s it, we expect to win every night. I think the culture has changed from freshman year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sophomores Vladislav Firstov and Yan Kuznetsov have been on a tear since returning from World Juniors, which forced them to miss seven games earlier on the slate. Since they returned, the offense has kicked up a notch, with juniors like Turnbull and Jonny Evans carving out roles as elite scorers.<\/p>\n

Evans in particular leads Hockey East in scoring and is second in the nation with 12 goals. He and Turnbull, serving as leadership off the ice, are doing the work in the ice to keep focus for the younger players as well.<\/p>\n

One loss to the River Hawks isn\u2019t a huge concern to strip away momentum in a momentum-less year. The Huskies, like everyone else, have to generate that on their own with so much uncertainty.<\/p>\n

Perhaps that makes single-loss weeknights less of a big deal when you have no clue who or if you\u2019re playing over the weekend. Maybe that\u2019s part of the mindset the Huskies needed to find their own identity, independent of whatever is happening around them.<\/p>\n

The Huskies will play a home-and-home series with Providence this weekend, another test on short rest following the Tuesday overtime contest.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s just another challenge UConn is excited to answer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe think if we\u2019re going into a game, we\u2019re winning,\u201d said Turnbull. \u201cThat\u2019s the only mindset we have. I think that\u2019s spread through the team; we think we\u2019re winning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Good week to BU<\/h4>\n

Making a college hockey debut is enough pressure, now imagine doing it in the middle of the Battle of Comm Ave.<\/p>\n

Vinny Duplessis did just that on Saturday night, earning a 3-1 win for Boston University with 40 saves against Boston College.<\/p>\n

The rival squads split the weekend, with BC taking Friday\u2019s game in overtime and the freshman Duplessis — who was named the Hockey East rookie of the week — stopping double digit shots from the Eagles in each period to take the Saturday win.<\/p>\n

The 21-year-old stepped in with the Terriers missing Drew Commesso in net — also, Logan Cockerill and David Farrance were out — to topple the No. 1 ranked team.<\/p>\n

“He’s a 21-year old freshman. He’s had to carry a team to the playoffs,\u201d said BU coach Albie O\u2019Connell to reporters on Saturday night. \u201cHe’s been in some pressure situations. He probably had some good nights and bad nights on the bus. Just the way he skated out to start the game, he was like sprinting, it was very reassuring. I thought, ‘This kid seems like he’s got it.’ That was a good sign. He’s confident. He wants to compete for the job. He had a great week of practice.”<\/p>\n

Playoff format announced<\/h4>\n

Hockey East announced<\/strong> a single-elimination format<\/strong><\/a> for both the men\u2019s and women\u2019s postseason tournaments on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Each game will be hosted at the arena of the higher-seeded team, and the seeding will come via a mathematical formula the conference is calling the Hockey East Power Index.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 2020-21 season has presented new challenges each day and Hockey East has done everything in our power to ensure a safe and fulfilling experience for our student-athletes in this difficult year,\u201d said Hockey East commissioner Steve Metcalf in a press release. \u201cInviting all teams into the Hockey East tournament and using the Hockey East Power Index to seed each program respects the importance and integrity of each regular-season game. Ultimately, our goal is to provide the best experience possible for our student-athletes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The men\u2019s format will begin with contests between seeds 6-11 on Wednesday, March 10. Seeds 1-5 automatically qualify for the quarterfinals, which will begin on March 14.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Connecticut junior Carter Turnbull doesn\u2019t think there was ever a dramatic shift.<\/p>\n

Instead, Turnbull, one of 10 upperclassmen with the Huskies, thinks there was a culture shift from the moment he began at UConn, a process that\u2019s led them to where they are now, being ranked for the first time in program history.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":117,"featured_media":125949,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[4,1,7],"tags":[812],"coauthors":[880],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThis Week in Hockey East: UConn boasting positive mindset where 'we think if we\u2019re going into a game, we\u2019re winning' - College Hockey | USCHO.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Connecticut junior Carter Turnbull doesn\u2019t think there was ever a dramatic shift. 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