Alternate access link <<
->Long-range goals and national rankings have never been taboo subjects in coach Mike Cavanaugh’s dressing room. Now that the UConn men’s hockey team has reached No. 8 in the national poll, and received a first-place vote for the first time, there is no fear of speaking too soon.
“It’s not something we’re going to shy away from,” Cavanaugh said. “We’re excited to be a Top 10 team, we want to be a Top 5 team, it’s a goal to be No. 1 in the country. I don’t think you can ever hide from that or be afraid to talk about it. It’s what our aspirations are.
In other words, there is much left to do for the Huskies (7-1-1), and opponents like Hockey East’s Maine, which comes to the XL Center Friday and Saturday, will be more and more bent on keeping them from doing it.
“In the past, when we’d be a lower-ranked team, we’d get pretty amped up for the big games,” said senior defenseman Jake Flynn, one of UConn’s captains. “Now, we’re a team that’s up there, teams are going to come and they want to beat us and it’s fun, because we’ve got to bring our ‘A’ game every game as well.” <-
