The old English saying goes: "Remember, remember the Fifth of November" as a warning to the people that the British Monarchy was under threat of upheaval from lawless Catholics 400 years ago and the rebellion successfully quashed with brutality and quickness.
What Connecticut (2-4-2) did on Wednesday night against the Boston College Eagles wasn't exactly a mission of vengeance to uphold the honor of the Crown, but for the Huskies players, coaching staff and the 8,089 who witnessed the program's first-ever home game as a member of Hockey East at XL Center in Hartford, there was a lot to stash away for future reference and recall.
Like putting a three-game winless streak (0-2-1) to rest against the No. 3 program in the country.
Like 35 saves from sophomore goaltender Rob Nichols.
Like holding the Eagles scoreless on five power-play opportunities with sound positional play and shot blocking acumen despite giving up 15 shots while shorthanded.
Like a supercharged crowd roaring with delight at every chance, who rose to give their home team multiple standing ovations, including a prolonged deafening salute at the buzzer.
And having your head coach go one-up on his former employer and mentor.
"This state's starved for UConn to have a hockey team...it's not really about me, it's about our whole program and the university. Tonight was an amazing night. I've been asked a lot about what it's going to be like to coach against BC, and I said it was just another team," noted Huskies head coach Mike Cavanaugh. "You know what? When I walked onto the bench, and saw that Maroon and Gold, I thought 'that's weird.'"
Sure, Boston College (4-3-0) might have been looking ahead two days to a prime-time matchup against Jack Eichel and bitter rivals Boston University, but the loss was a refresher for last year's Frozen Four entrant that nothing comes easy in this stacked 12-team conference and that reunions aren't all they're cracked up to be.
"We didn't get a chance to chat before the game," said Eagles head coach Jerry York a bit ruefully. "But I put together a good staff. When they go someplace, you know, I don't worry about those teams. Mike's done a terrific job here for two years."
Evan Richardson's first-period tally stood as the lone -- and winning -- marker as UConn shocked BC, 1-0, for a historic signature win in the first-ever meeting between the hockey programs.
Trailing by a goal but working on an increased territorial advantage through the second period, BC wasted 42 seconds' worth of a 5-on-3 early in the third period thanks to UConn's penalty killers active in the passing and shooting lanes, and Demko had react instantaneously to flash his left pad on a tap-in from Trevor Gerling before the six-minute mark.
The Eagles' attackers fizzled on another advantage which was cut short by Ryan Fitzgerald's hooking call, and seemed to have little energy thereafter as their ungracious hosts went for the kill.
Due to heavy forechecking pressure, the Eagles were not allowed an extra skater until 63 seconds remained. Nichols put an end to a scrum in front with 15.4 on the clock and the visitors failed to squeeze off one more chance to the goal before the puck slid just out of reach and beyond their blue line.
Demko had to be sharp early, with two saves on point-blank chances in the game's opening three shifts against a charged-up Huskies offense.
Kasperi Ojantakanen missed an open shot from the right side with just under five minutes played while UConn enjoyed the game's first power play, and kept up the intensity through the first half of the first period, gaining an 8-2 shot edge.
"As soon as the puck drops and the game gets going, you really forget about it and you're just coaching your own team," Cavanaugh said. "To get off to that quick start, it allows you to have a little momentum and belief that, hey, we can play with these guys and we're going to play with these guys."
Demko's next test came from a media timeout on the following shift, as Ojantakanen tried to sneak a stuffer in from the right post, but the Eagles' netminder tracked the loose puck and smothered it with the blocker in the crease.
BC's Fitzgerald sat for roughing at the end of the play, and it was a former Eagle who followed Cavanaugh down I-84 that picked up the game's first goal. Richardson emerged from the left circle and beat Demko on a wrister to the far side at the 11:32 mark to an explosion of cheers from the partisan crowd and the strains of "Brass Bonanza."
"Yeah, they're my old team," Richardson said. "But I play for my new team now. We bleed blue."
Gerling, who came up empty on three shots, was later left raising his hands to his head and covering his helmet after Demko robbed him from the right side with 46 seconds left in the opening period.
Nichols drew calls from the crowd for the first time when he did the splits to deny a blind backhander from Alex Tuch which seemed destined for the net on BC's first advantage of the contest when Ryan Tyson was called for hooking 80 seconds in. Nichols again found a spate of applause just before the five-minute mark when Destry Straight broke in alone just out of the penalty box, stumbled in the slot and pushed a shot aiming for the five-hole to no avail.
Demko took his turn on the Huskies' subsequent power play around the midpoint of regulation with Straight off for holding, making back-to-back stops on Shawn Pauly and David Drake in close and four in all to keep the visitors down only one.
"Thatcher continues to be one of the dominant goaltenders in the nation, again played very well tonight," York added of his starter, whose goals-against average stood at 1.85 following the contest.
Nichols had one more solid stop in his arsenal late in the second, with Quinn Smith right on top of his crease waiting for an Ian McCoshen rebound. The Huskies' netminder finished with 16 saves over the middle 20 minutes.
Game Notes The win was UConn's fourth over a ranked team in program history and the home team also subdued its highest-ranked opponent ever.
Boston College's national-best streak of 103 straight games with at least one goal came to a halt. The Massachusetts Minutemen were the last school to blank the five-time national champions on Jan. 12, 2012.
The Eagles boasted a 44-26 advantage on faceoffs, with Adam Gilmour winning 13-of-20 attempts and Fitzgerald posting 12 wins in 21 tries. Pauly and Ojantakanen each won nine draws, with the former losing 10 and the latter coming up short on 12 attempts.
Among the dignitaries who graced center ice before puck drop was Connecticut native, Hall-of-Fame New York Rangers defenseman and BC alumnus Brian Leetch along with Hockey East Commissioner Joe Bertagna.
Todd Krygier was also on hand to be hailed as a UConn legend. The 49-year-old Massachusetts native played for the Huskies from 1984-88 and spent parts of nine seasons suiting up for the Whalers and Capitals.
Demko was honored with the Third Star after making 21 saves in defeat. while Richardson netted Second Star honors and Nichols was rewarded with the First Star after posting his third career shutout.
Connecticut made additional Hockey East history, packing its home venue with the largest single-game crowd for a home opener in conference history. Notre Dame held the record since last season, drawing 4,573 to Compton Family Ice Arena when welcoming Merrimack.
BC has scored just three goals in its last three games, after striking for 16 tallies in the previous three contests.
Thoughts and Observations As they had done in the last several years, a noticeable chunk of Boston College's offensive thrust was generated after gaining possession of the puck deep in their own zone. The outlet pass from Demko/trailing defenseman to a forward in the neutral zone and a head-man pass to a waiting forward just outside the attacking blue line worked to moderate success.
Given that neither Kevin Hayes, Bill Arnold nor Johnny Gaudreau were available links in the chain on that progression, it is surprising that York still included that formula in their offensive arsenal. Straight's chance out of the box was the clearest chance the Eagles had all game, but he crossed himself up and helped out Nichols.
York remained "stuck" on 500 wins with Boston College, still one behind the legendary "Snooks" Kelley for tops on the Heights.
The XL Center (arena formerly known as the Hartford Civic Center) does not strike anyone as an NHL-level venue. If the National Hockey League is ever to return here, a new stadium has to be constructed to 21st Century specifications. That doesn't mean the edifice on Asylum Street doesn't have its charm. It is a place which has a definite lived-in feel, and once you get past the blackout curtains covering the middle sections around center ice on both sides, it is more than adequate to house a legitimate Division I program because the noise echoes in a manner that made the old big-league arenas special in their ability to intimidate the opposition.
Even though the AHL's Wolfpack/Whale have called it home for 18 years, the eye is immediately drawn to the rafters, where the numbers of Hartford Whalers franchise greats hang, waiting for their stories to be told.
Nonetheless, it's hard to fathom that this is the place where countless thousands of fans poured through the turnstiles to cheer on the Whalers during their 18-year NHL tenure and that the Philadelphia Flyers under Mike Keenan, Paul Holmgren and Bill Dineen failed to win on eight separate occasions (0-7-1) from October of 1986 through April of 1992. The Orange and Black did send off the Whale by going unbeaten in their last five here (4-0-1).
One link to the Orange and Black appeared in the form of Kjell Samuelsson, perhaps doing some advance scouting for the Phantoms. Lehigh Valley boasts just one player from Hockey East -- forward and UNH product Kevin Goumas -- on its roster at present.