D.J. Miller scored two goals and assisted on another to lead Connecticut past Bentley, 5-2, on Saturday night at the UConn Ice Arena.
The win was the Huskies’ fourth straight, as they improved their record to 9-11-6 overall, 8-6-4 in the league.
The evening’s scoring started in the first minutes of the game. Bentley’s Mike Mulligan popped a shot into the upper part of the net when UConn goalie Jason Carey was caught down and out 1:41 into the game. Connecticut’s Miller flicked in a deflection off of a Matt Grew shot 2:05 later.
Ron D’Angelo notched his fifth power-play goal of the year at the 7:47 mark of the second period. Jon Ames took a shot from the center of the goal crease, and D’Angelo was there to collect the rebound and stuff it into the net.
Connecticut capitalized on yet another power play opportunity with 48 seconds remaining in the period. Miller and Grew skated up ice in a 2-on-1 situation. Grew passed the puck across and forward right to the stick of Miller, who shot it past Falcon goalie Simon St. Pierre.
Bentley’s Andy Peters cut the scoring deficit to one at the 5:25 mark of the third period. Grew then raised the score on UConn’s fourth goal and third power-play tally of the night, on assists from Miller and Matt Owens at the midway point of the stanza.
Matt Herhal tipped in a centering pass from Ames at 15:21 to give the Huskies the 5-2 lead.
Carey earned the victory in net, making 32 saves, while St. Pierre helped keep Bentley alive by stopping 38 shots on goal. UConn outshot Bentley, 43-34. Connecticut was 3-for-6 on the power play, while Bentley failed to convert its three chances.