The UConn Huskies men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents the University of Connecticut. The Huskies are a member of the Hockey East conference. The Huskies play in the on-campus Toscano Family Ice Forum, having moved from the PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford, Connecticut during the 2022–23 season.
History
The Huskies men's ice hockey program began in 1960 under head coach John Chapman. UConn began NCAA competition at the NCAA Division III level in the ECAC East.
Prior to 1998, the Huskies played all home games outdoors at a partially enclosed rink on-campus near Memorial Stadium. The UConn Hockey Rink had a roof but was open on the sides. However, in preparation for the upgrade to Division I, the University built the Mark Edward Freitas Ice Forum. Construction began in 1996, and the first indoor home game for UConn was on November 7, 1998.
The move to NCAA Division I status allowed the team to join other Husky athletic programs. In 1998 they joined the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, after previously playing for 38 years in the Division III ECAC East. At the time, head coach Bruce Marshall was in his tenth season at the position. In its 2nd season in the 2000 MAAC Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, UConn beat Iona 6-1 to win its 1st league championship. However, due to a 2-year probationary period placed on the MAAC for an automatic bid to the NCAA Ice Hockey championship by the league champion, UConn was unable to participate in the NCAA tournament that year. It has been the only championship UConn has won since moving to Division I. When the athletic department was forced to remove all athletic scholarships from hockey to comply with Title IX, the Huskies then consistently finished in the bottom few spots of the national computer rankings. In 2003, the MAAC formed a new league called Atlantic Hockey.
In June 2010, the University announced that the team would face Sacred Heart at Rentschler Field in East Hartford on February 13, 2011, as part of a doubleheader also featuring a game between the women's team and the Providence Friars. The Huskies won this game 3-1, in front of 1,711 fans. The Huskies also played their first ever game at the XL Center in downtown Hartford that year, though this was not originally scheduled. Due to heavy snow accumulation on the Freitas roof, the team's February 5 game against Army was moved to the off-camps arena, also home to the Connecticut Whale of the American Hockey League. In spite of free admission, only 891 fans turned up on short notice to watch the Huskies lose 5-3. As a whole, the 2010-11 season was also a major improvement for the Huskies, who advanced to the Atlantic Hockey Tournament semifinals at Blue Cross Arena before being eliminated. They finished with a final record of 16-18-4. One of the major factors in the turnaround was the young recruits the Huskies had signed. Freshman Cole Schneider led the team with 32 points, while sophomore Sean Ambrosie finished second with 29. Meanwhile, sophomore Garrett Bartus set a school record with 1,085 saves. The 2011-12 AHA preseason rankings reflected the newly gained reputation, with the Huskies ranked fifth out of twelve teams. The Huskies posted a winning record once again in the 2012-13 season.
On June 21, 2012, UConn announced the program would join Hockey East as the conference's 12th member beginning in the 2014-15 season. Prior to the move into Hockey East, on January 7, 2013, head coach Bruce Marshall resigned after 25 years and was replaced in interim by Asst. Dave Berard. The season ended with a record of 17-13-4. The team finished 4th in the AHA, drawing a crowd of 1438 for their final home game of the season against Sacred Heart. As part of the move from Atlantic Hockey to Hockey East, the university added 18 scholarships for the men's ice hockey team and additional scholarships to existing women's sports programs to meet Title IX gender equity requirements. The university also investigated options to significantly renovate the Freitas Ice Forum, which has a seating capacity around 2,000 fans, and mostly consists of metal bleachers; or build a new, larger ice arena on-campus. As a new member of Hockey East, the team played home games at the 15,635-seat former NHL arena, the XL Center in downtown Hartford, with other select (home) games at the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport. A study by the university projected a cost around $20,000 a game to play at the XL Center.
Head coach Mike Cavanaugh, who spent 18 seasons as an assistant at Boston College, was hired to guide UConn into their new era of scholarship hockey in the Hockey East. He coached Uconn's final season (2013–14) in Atlantic Hockey to a record of 18-14-4, with wins over future Hockey East opponents Providence and UMass, while playing to a 2-2 tie with eventual 2014 NCAA Champ Union . UConn made a successful transition to Hockey East in 2014-15 as they finished in the top 10 nationally in home attendance (5,396) while also leading their new conference . They were also competitive on the ice as their transition year resulted in 4 wins over top 20 teams while gaining ties with national championship game finalists Providence and Boston University. Starting in the 2015-16 season, all home games were played at the XL Center, which drew a much better attendance per game (5,879) than those at the Webster Bank Arena (2,900) in which UConn appeared during the 2014-15 season.
Groundbreaking took place on May 22, 2021 to start construction for UConn's new $48 million ice hockey rink at the Storrs campus, for an opening in fall 2022. The 2,600-seat Toscano Family Ice Forum opened in January 2023 adjacent to the current Freitas Ice Forum in the Athletics District on Jim Calhoun Way. The team facilities also include team lounges; dry locker area and locker rooms with video displays; training space with a hydrotherapy area; strength and conditioning room; and other areas such as coaches' offices. The 97,300-square-foot facility meets all NCAA Division I ice hockey requirements and all Hockey East regulations, which the Freitas Ice Forum did not.
Season-by-season results
Source:
Coaching staff
The Huskies are coached by Mike Cavanaugh, the fourth head coach in program history.
All-time coaching records As of completion of 2024–25 season TenureCoachYearsRecordPct. 1960–1981 John Chapman 21 196–221–7 1981–1988 Ben Kirtland 7 85–98–2 1988–2012 Bruce Marshall 25 332–377–69 2012–2013 David Berard 1 † 19–10–3 2013–present Mike Cavanaugh 12 158–182–38 Totals 5 coaches 65 seasons 813-900-123 † David Berard served as an interim head coach after Bruce Marshall took a medical leave of absence.
Awards and honors
NCAA
All-Americans AHCA Second Team All-Americans
2020–21: Jonny Evans, F 2021–22: Ryan Tverberg, F 2024–25: Joey Muldowney, F
ECAC East
All-Conference Teams First Team
1991–92: Chris Potter, D; Bryan Krygier, F 1992–93: Chris Potter, D 1994–95: Bryan Quinn, F 1995–96: Ryan Equale, F
Second Team
1987–88: Todd Krygier, F 1989–90: Bryan Krygier, F 1990–91: Bryan Krygier, F 1991–92: Mike Krygier, F 1993–94: D. J. LeBlanc, F 1997–98: Eric Linkowski, D
MAAC
Individual awards
MAAC Defensive Rookie of the Year Eric Nelson, D: 2002
MAAC Tournament Most Valuable Player Marc Senerchia, G: 2000
All-Conference Teams First Team
1998–99: Geoff Angell, F 2001–02: Mike Boylan, D
Second Team
1998–99: Rob Martin, D 2000–01: Michael Goldkind, F
Rookie Team
1998–99: Jon Chain, G; Mike Boylan, D 2000–01: Eric Nelson, D 2001–02: Adam Rhein, D
Atlantic Hockey
Individual awards
Player of the Year Tim Olsen, F: 2004
Best Defensive Forward Trevor Stewart, C: 2007
Regular Season Goaltending Award Matt Grogan: 2013
Regular Season Scoring Trophy Tim Olsen, F: 2004
All-Conference Teams First Team
2003–04: Eric Nelson, D; Tim Olsen, F 2004–05: Tim Olsen, F 2011–12: Cole Schneider, F
Second Team
2006–07: Matt Scherer, F 2007–08: Beau Erickson, G 2008–09: Sean Erickson, D 2011–12: Alex Gerke, D
Third Team
2006–07: Sean Erickson, D 2012–13: Matt Grogan, G 2013–14: Brant Harris, F
Rookie Team
2003–04: Scott Tomes, G; Matt Scherer, F 2004–05: Brad Smith, G 2005–06: Sean Erickson, D 2009–10: Alex Greke, D 2010–11: Cole Schneider, F
Hockey East Individual awards
Best Defensive Forward Jáchym Kondelík: 2022 Hudson Schandor: 2025
All-Conference Teams First Team
2021–22: Ryan Tverberg, F
Second Team
2015–16: Maxim Letunov, F 2017–18: Maxim Letunov, F 2021–22: Jáchym Kondelík, F 2024–25: Jáchym Kondelík, F; Hudson Schandor, F
Third Team
2016–17: Tage Thompson, F 2018–19: Karl El-Mir, F 2024–25: Jake Richard, F
Rookie Team
2015–16: Maxim Letunov, F 2022–23: Matthew Wood, F 2024–25: Callum Tung, G
Statistical leaders Source:
Career points leaders Player Years Games Goals Assists Points PIM Bryan Krygier 1988–1992 92 127 219 Todd Krygier 1984–1988 99 101 200 Ryan Equale 1992–1996 79 109 188 Brian Sutherland 1990–1994 61 92 153 Jeff Ray 1988–1992 78 73 151 Bryan Quinn 1991–1995 64 85 149 D. J. LeBlanc 1990–1994 68 80 148 Harry Geary 1984–1987 70 87 148 Dave L'Ecuyer 1979–1983 66 79 145 Mark Kosinski 1982–1986 59 77 136
Career goaltending leaders
GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average
Minimum 50 Games Player Years Games Minutes W L T GA Matt Grogan 2010–2014 59 3082 25 19 6 119 2 .926 2.32Rob Nichols 2013–2017 93 5386 31 46 15 239 10 .918 2.66Tomáš Vomáčka 2018–2021 71 4195 32 33 5 201 2 .906 2.87Marc Senerchia 1996–2000 93 3.02Garrett Bartus 2009–2013 111 6353 40 58 9 320 5 .911 3.02 Statistics current through the start of the 2021-22 season.
Current roster As of September 18, 2025.
Olympians This is a list of Connecticut alumni were a part of an Olympic team.
Name Position Connecticut Tenure Team Year Finish Tage Thompson Center 2015–2017 USA 2026
Huskies in the NHL
As of July 1, 2025. = NHL All-Star team= NHL All-StarPlayers are identified as an All-Star if they were selected for the All-Star game at any time in their career. = NHL All-Star and NHL All-Star team= Hall of Famers
Player Position Team(s) Years Games Chase BradleyLeft wingCOL2024–202520Marc GatcombCenterNYI2024–present880Adam HuskaGoaltenderNYR2021–202210Ruslan IskhakovCenterNYI2023–202410Todd KrygierLeft wingHFD, WAS, ANA1989–19985430Yan KuznetsovDefensemanCGY2023–present580Maxim LetunovCenterSJS2019–202030Cole SchneiderRight wingBUF2015–201760Tage ThompsonCenterSTL, BUF2017–present5290Matthew WoodRight wingNSH2024–present770
References
External links