The Mack report 2015-2016 Season Preview | The Boneyard

The Mack report 2015-2016 Season Preview

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Head Coach: Mike Cavanaugh, 3rd year (28-33-11, .465)
2014-15 Record: 10-19-7 overall, 7-11-4 HEA (T-9th)


Changes: The Huskies didn’t lose much. Trevor Gerling, who was second on the team last season with 11 goals, has graduated, but UConn returns the bulk of its scoring. Perhaps most importantly, UConn returns goaltender Rob Nichols, who posted a .918 save percentage last season and kept the team in far more games than it probably should have been in with a shooting percentage that was fourth-worst in the country. However, Nichols is recovering from offseason hip surgery and according to The Hartford Courant, he just got back on the ice last week. The biggest changes for UConn will be the talent it brings in, particularly up front. Maxim Letunov should make an immediate impact and Miles Gendron is also highly regarded.

Strength: Rob Nichols was incredible for most of last season, posting a .929 save percentage in games through January. The Huskies allowed the ninth-most shot attempts in the country last season and their corsi percentage (43.4) was fifth-worst in the country. All that added up to relying too much on Nichols, and he struggled down the stretch with an .894 save percentage over his final 11 games from the start of February through the end of the season. Regardless, Nichols is this team’s backbone, and the hopes of the Huskies will fall largely on his shoulders once he’s healthy.

Weakness: Like most younger teams, UConn seemed to get really high with the highs, and really low with the lows, to borrow some “coach speak.” There were nights — like a 1-0 win over Boston College in the home opener — where they looked like they would be a team that would surprise. Then there were nights — like a 9-0 loss at Northeastern — where they looked like a program struggling through their first year in Hockey East. Of UConn’s 19 losses last season, 10 came by three or more goals, including six of their final seven losses, where the Huskies were outscored 41-6 in those games after the calendar hit February (45-15 overall over the same span). This will again be a young team, and could once again find themselves streaky.

2015-16 Outlook: Mike Cavanaugh and his staff are building a team that’s going to be highly competitive in Hockey East down the road. However, that road is just beginning. If Nichols is a .930 goaltender the entire season, it wouldn’t surprise to see UConn near the middle of the pack in the league, especially with the potent scorers they bring into the fold. However, that’s probably too much to ask, as it was last season, especially with as much time as UConn spent in the defensive zone.
 
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