The Worst Seasons in the Past 25 Years Part 18: Connecticut
Welcome to the Worst Season in the Past 25 Years, a series in which r/CollegeHockey reviews the worst season for all 60 Division I teams over the summer to alleviate the crushing boredom known as the off-season and take a horrific tour down memory lane.
If you are interested in writing an entry for your team, please let me know via PM. I’ll be posting entries on weekdays at approximately at 6 pm Eastern time and will be going in alphabetical order. If an entry is not posted at that time, assume that “real life” has gotten in the way and that I am not able to post. If I am aware in advance that I will not post at 6 pm on a particular day, I will announce it in prior posts as a heads up.
And now.../r/CollegeHockey presents the Connecticut Huskies! UConn are more known for their basketball programs but their hockey team does have some history attached to it. Starting in 1960 as a member of the ECAC East in DIII, the Huskies eventually upgraded their program to DI in 1998, joining the Metro Atlantic and winning the conference championship in 2000. In 2003, UConn were part of Atlantic Hockey, the MAAC’s successor. Eventually, in 2012, UConn announced that they were moving to Hockey East, effective for the 2014-15 season. Since then, the Huskies have been one of the HEA’s most attended teams.
Knowing this, the worst season for the Huskies has been…
2009-2010 Record: 7-3-27 (W-D-L); Atlantic Hockey: 6-3-19 (W-D-L; 9th/10th)
Wins: American International (x2), RIT, @Army West Point, Bentley, Mercyhurst, Bentley*
Ties: @Canisius, Air Force, @Air Force
Losses: @Ferris (Wheel) St (x2), @Bentley, @Merrimack, @RIT (x2), @Canisius, Air Force, @Holy Cross, @Brown, @Mercyhurst (x2), Bentley^, Union^, @Air Force, RIT, @Army West Point, @Princeton, Sacred Heart (x2), Canisius (x2), @Holy Cross, @Bentley, Mercyhurst, @RIT (x2)-
*Atlantic Hockey First Round
^ UConn Classic
-Atlantic Hockey Quarterfinals
Biggest Beatdown: RIT 7 - Connecticut 0, Brown 8 - Connecticut 1, Connecticut 0 - Union 7, Princeton 8 - Connecticut 1
Head Coach: Bruce Marshall
As mentioned earlier, UConn were originally in DIII and Marshall was the man who helped them upgrade their program and their rink (Mark Edward Freitas Ice Forum, opened in 1998). In this season, Andrew Olson had the most goals (nine) and Jason Krispel had the most assists (twelve). In goal, Garrett Bartus had a .900 save percentage and a GAA of 3.26.
UConn started their season with an exhibition against the Royal Military College, winning 7-2. A trip on the to Ferris State was no good, losing both games. A short trip to the state of Massachusetts for games against Merrimack and Bentley also ended in defeat. Halloween weekend required a trip to Western New York and to RIT, which the Tigers swept the Huskies.
November kicked off with a home series against AIC led to UConn’s first win of the season. Another trip to Western New York, this time to Canisius, had only a tie. A home series against Air Force had the same results. Thanksgiving week had a Tuesday game against Holy Cross ended in defeat, as well as a Saturday loss to Brown.
December was not busy, with a trip to Mercyhurst led to the Huskies being swept. UConn had a couple of weeks of rest before hosting the UConn Classic. There, they lost to Bentley and to Union. The new year started with a trip out west to Air Force, where a tie was garnered. A home series with RIT was split, as well as an away series with Army. A Monday game with Princeton led to a seven goal loss. The month ended with a series with Sacred Heart, two losses to the Huskies.
Canisius handed two losses to UConn at home, which was followed by a Tuesday trip to Holy Cross. A home-and-home series with Bentley was split, each team winning the home game. The regular season ended with a home series with Mercyhurst, which was split. In the Atlantic Hockey tournament, UConn won the first round away to Bentley. They then faced RIT in the quarterfinals, losing in two.
Marshall resigned in 2013, replaced by Mike Cavanaugh. Under Cavanaugh, UConn completed their move to Hockey East. The team’s form has dipped a bit, possibly because of the stronger programs in the HEA. Maybe in the future, UConn can seriously challenge in ice hockey.
For Week 4 of this series, we will look at the worst seasons in recent memory for the following schools: Cornell and Dartmouth. Once again, if you are interested in doing the entry for your favorite school, shoot me a PM. Your school, name, and date will be added at the end of each post to serve as a reminder. So far, the following people have inquired about a spot:
| School | Username | Tentative Date |
|---|---|---|
| Cornell | u/ABigRedWallaby | 6/29 |
| LSSU | u/binkelman | 7/10 |
| UML | u/LantisEscudo | 7/13 |
| Northeastern | u/therevengeance | 8/2 |
| Penn State | u/saucysalesman | 8/8 |
| RPI | u/Nicholas1227 | 8/16 |
| Union | u/azurearmor | 8/22 |
| Vermont | u/LocksTheFox | 8/23 |
Finally, a shoutout to u/saucysalesman who inspired the idea of this series for doing one for football over at r/cfb. Additionally, thanks to r/CollegeBasketball for the idea of the sub-par MS Paint logos for each school.
Previous Entries in the Worst Seasons Series:
Posted Jun 28, 2017, 9:58 PM UTC