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Posts Tagged ‘UConn’

A Day At UConn Baseball

08 May

On May 6, 2012, my family and I went to the UConn baseball Stadium for a baseball clinic where I would get to work with some of the players.  The baseball team had a game later on, so I watched them practice for a while.  After we got a photo of all the people who had come for the clinic, we went on to the bleachers so the UConn coach could talk to us.  He talked about what we would be working on during the clinic, and about having a good attitude, even when you make errors or don’t play well, and about how your mistakes make you a stronger player. After the pep talk, we went over to the field behind the stadium, to do the clinic.

The drills we did in the clinic were outfielding, infielding, and pitching.  In outfielding, I didn’t miss any balls and I think the clinic might have helped with that, because sometimes I miss fly balls, or I miss-judge them.  The next drill we did was infielding.  Once again, I think the clinic helped me because I worked on charging slow rollers, which I usually have a problem with.  After that, my group did pitching drills, and we got to see how fast we each pitched.  My average speed was 45 mph.  After the clinic finished, the three pitchers that worked with us signed some balls for us.

Before the game started, I got to meet a UConn player that I had e-mailed last summer and is my favorite player, Billy Ferriter.  I got to talk with him, and he signed my ball and I got a picture with him.  After that, we stayed for some of the game, and when we left it was 0-0.  UConn was playing Cinncinati.  We saw a base hit for UConn and some good hitting, and the UConn pitcher strike out three batters in an inning.  The only play I didn’t get was when Billy Ferriter attempted to staeal a base and was called safe and then the Umpire switched the call!  In the end, UConn won it 13 innings, 6-4, due to a walk-off homer.  I wish I had seen the entire game, but I had a great time at the clinic, and learned a lot, and I think it helped with my baseball skills.  It was also fun meeting some players.  I had a great time!

 
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Posted in Baseball, Sports

 

UConn Baseball versus Rutgers

20 Apr

On April 20, 2012, my dad and I went to a baseball game between UConn and Rutgers, in game two of a doubleheader.  Uconn had given up a 7-1 lead in game one, but squeezed out a 9-8 victory.  We got to the game in the top of the 1st inning, and when we got there it was already 2-0 Rutgers.  However, after Billy Ferriter led off with a single, the Huskies got some more hits and tied the game with two RBI singles.  The tie didn’t last too long as a Rutgers’s player hit a two-run homer to make it 4-2, and Rutgers scored another in the inning.  Things only got worse when Rutgers scored two more in the 6th inning to make it a 7-2 lead.  During the next inning, UConn started to rally.

After a lead-off single, a pinch-hitter, Stanley Paul hit an RBI double for UConn to start the rally.  The next batter singled to send home Paul, and later L.J. Mazzili, the son of an old Yankee player, hit a double to send in another run.  He then stole third, and later scored on a fly out by Ferriter, to leave UConn down by only one when the inning was over.  The very next inning, a Husky player led off with a double, but two outs were made after.   Stanley Paul hit a double allowing another runner to score, to tie the game up!

However, the situation changed when Rutgers scored a run in the last inning, making it 8-7.  The Huskies came into the inning knowing they had to score and that’s what they did.  With men on the corners, a Husky player hit the ball to the pitcher, but the ball bounced from his glove, and the throw wasn’t in time so UConn tied the game again! The game went to the 10th inning, and Rutgers didn’t score.  UConn came up and with just one out; there were men on first and second.  Then UConn’s player, Martin hit a single threw the right side, and Paul beat the throw at home to give UConn the walk-off win and a doubleheader sweep!  I was glad they won, and it was fun to see a walk-off win because they are dramatic and team that wins ends up in a pig pile!  I really enjoyed my first UConn baseball game!

 
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Danu Concert

17 Mar

On St. Patricks Day, 2012, my family and I went to Jorgenson Theater on the UConn campus to see an Irish band called Danu.  There were five band members, and the instruments that were played were an accordion, guitar, fiddle, flute, and some sort of really cool drum.  The girl member mostly sang, even though she played the flute.  During the first half of the show, the band played songs that they had designated for the show.  The songs with vocals were sung mostly in Galic, the Irish language.  In between songs, a band member would tell about the song and usually tell a joke.  Toward the end of the first half of the show, between one of the songs, the musicians said that depending on where you were in Ireland, the crowd would have different whoops or cheers to encourage the musicians.  They then asked what our call was to encourage the UConn teams.  For about one or two seconds, there was an awkward silence, and then I heard a voice shout “UConn!”, and the crowd responded “Huskies!”, like it had been practiced many times!  The voice ended up being my dad!  He got to do it a couple more times because the musicians thought it was a really cool call and got a kick out of it!

          During the intermission, we found out that my cousins Christine and Catherine, and Christine’s boyfriend J.C. were there.  They didn’t know that it was my dad that began the Husky call.  It was also nice because my dad and I got to talk to J.C. during the break.  During the second half, the band sang their favorite Irish songs and they were all very fun.  After one of the songs, all the musicians ecept the drummer left the stage.  Then, the drummer did the longest drum roll and solo that I had ever seen.  The solo was the most amazing part of the show!  After this, the band came back on, playing a few more songs before leaving the stage.  Danu came back on stage because they received a standing ovation.  After the show, the band came out in the lobby to sign autographs.  We each got all the musicians autographs.  It was a great show and it was a nice ending to St. Patrick’s Day!

 
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Posted in Event, Music, Theater

 

A Tough Loss at UConn

07 Feb

On Tuesday, February 7, 2012, my Dad and I went to a UConn Hockey game, to see them play the Army Black Knights.  UConn got on the board early with a 5-on-3 goal from Miles Winters, his 3rd in as many games, to give UConn a 1-0 lead.  The puck was passed to Winters who shot the puck off the shoulder of the goaltender and into the top of the net.  Minutes later, UConn accidently passed the puck to an Army player who shot it past Bartus to tie the game.  UConn had a great chance when Ryan Tyson balanced the puck on his shoulder and almost threw it into the net, but missed, and it stayed 1-1.  During the first intermission, I saw Pat Macauley, a former UConn player who had scored the first ever penalty shot goal in Toyota UConn Hockey Classic play.  It was nice to see a former UConn player at a game.        The second period was scoreless, but UConn had some great chances to score.  The best chance of the period was when a UConn a player shot the puck which was saved by the goalie but he fell, so the net was wide open, but UConn players failed to reach the rebound in time.  In the third period, Army got the lead less than half way through the third, scoring on a puck that bounced to an Army player in front of the net who put it off the crossbar and in, and UConn was down 2-1.  However, UConn  tied it up when a puck bounced in front of the to the goalie, who failed to cover it up, and UConn jammed it under the leg of the goalie and over the red line to tie the game up at 2-2.  It was Jordan Sims 8th goal of the season and 2nd in 4 games.  Sadly, the tie lasted less than a minute when Army through a shot through UConn’s goalie, Bartus’s legs and bounced over the line to give Army the 3-2 lead. UConn had some great chances to tie it, but failed, and Army scored on an empty net as UConn lost 4-2.  It was disappointing to see UConn lose, but as usual, fun to see them play.

 
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Posted in Event, Hockey, Sports

 

A Televised game for UConn Hockey!

29 Jan

On January 28th, my Dad, my sister and I watched UConn’s first televised game since 2010.  They were playing the Holy Cross Crusaders, and it was their 100th meeting with the team.  Half way through the first period UConn got a 1-0 lead on the Power Play.  From the faceoff Cole Schneider took the puck back to the red line, passing it to Sean Ambroise in front of the net, whose shot was blocked but the rebound came right to Billy Latta’s stick who put the puck in the net, to give UConn a power-play goal 4 seconds into the power-play!  For the rest of the period, the shots were even, but Holy Cross controlled most of the play.  Even so UConn had a 1-0 lead at the end of the first period.

UConn expanded that lead with a goal half-way through the second period with a goal from Miles Winters.  Ryan Tyson charged up the ice with the puck with a Holy Cross defender right in front of him.  He had no one to pass to, so he stopped and passed to Miles Winters behind him who fired a beautiful shot into the back of the net past the goalie, giving UConn a 2-0 lead!  Once again the shots were even but, Holy Cross controlled most of the play.  However, UConn had 2-0 lead going into the final period.

The third period started off quickly with Jordan Sims firing the puck of the post, and it looked like a goal because it went in front of the net.  The puck rebounded to the blueline and jumped over Tom Janoz’s stick and a Crusader rushed up on the breakaway and hit the crossbar, which was a relief (a big one)!  After that, Cole Schneider had a breakaway a few minutes later and the goalie fell down dragging the puck with him into the net, but for some reason the referees called the goal off (I still don’t understand why it wasn’t a goal).  With less than three minutes left in the game, Holy Cross shot a puck off a stick and it went into the net, so I was very worried because Holy Cross could now come back.  However, to my relief, the referees waved the goal off because it went off a high stick!  With less than one minute left, UConn got a penalty and Holy Cross pulled their goalie and they got a 6-on-4.  However, Cole Schneider started on a breakaway, and he fired it through the legs of a defender, to score and seal a 3-0 UConn victory (as my Dad and I leaped up from our seats victoriously)!

During the game, UConn’s goalie Garret Bartus, broke the UConn division one all-time saves record and the all-time single-season shutout record with his fourth.  UConn swept the season series with Holy Cross with 4-2, 3-1, and 3-0 victories.  I was so happy UConn won and it was an awesome game!!!

 
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Posted in Hockey, Sports

 

A Fun Night At UConn Hockey!

07 Jan

On January 6, 2012, my Dad, his friends Angelo and Mr. Wearne, and my friend Alex and I went to see UConn play Niagara, in the first time ever that they played this team at home.  Alex and I sat down by the glass next to the penalty box and they were great seats.

UConn scored early in the first period with a with a huge slapshot from the blueline that went into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead.  Alex and I were very happy after the first goal because we wanted a goal.  In the second period UConn showed why they are ranked No. 3 in the nation for scoring on the power play.  First, a UConn player passed the puck to Schneider who fired the puck into the wide open side of the net.  The goalie slid over in front of where the puck had went in so I didn’t know if they had scored but the red light went on and then the buzzer sounded.  A few minutes later, UConn got another power play and this time Schneider shot the puck along the ice, past the goalie and it hit the inside of the post and went in for a 3-0 lead.  That goal made us all very happy.

I was hoping Bartus could get another shutout, but late in the third, Niagara scored two goals in four minutes and with one minute and twenty- seven seconds left, UConn’s lead was only 3-2!  However, Schneider scored an empty net goal with 0.6 seconds left in the game, to give UConn a 4-2 win and himself his second career hat trick (three goals in a game) both coming against Niagara!  UConn won the next night, 2-0, to sweep Niagara, and Bartus got his 3rd shutout of the season!  We all had a great night and were happy UConn won!

 
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A Shutout Win at UConn!

30 Dec

On December 29, 2011, my Mom, Dad, sister, Rachel and I went to see UConn play Army in the first round of the Toyota UConn Hockey Classic.  It was my sister’s first game and she was very excited. I was excited also because my Mom hadn’t come in a while.

UConn got on the board early with a big slapshot that bounced off the Army goaltender’s pad and into the top of the net to give UConn the 1-0 lead.  UConn’s  goalie, Garret Bartus, had a few great  saves in the first and second period to keep Army off the scoreboard.  Despite the early goal, UConn didn’t gain any ground in the second period, but Army didn’t either.

In the final period, UConn put a bigger gap between the two teams with a late goal, and Bartus made some more good saves and UConn held on for a 2-0 win.  Bartus got his second career shutout which have both come against Army this season.  Uconn advanced to the championship of the Toyota UConn Hockey classic to play No. 17 UMass Lowell, which I went to, the next night.  They lost in overtime after incredibly coming back from a 3-0 deficit.  We were all very happy that UConn pulled off the win!

 
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A Win for Uconn on Senior Night

28 Feb

On Friday night February 25th, my dad and I went to see the last home game this season for Uconn Men’s Hockey.  We just barely made it in time because it had rained earlier, so the roads had ice on them.  When we arrived they were announcing the seniors.  There was barely any action at all in the first period because refereeing the game were the pickiest referees that I have ever seen.  At the end of the first period, there were already 7 penalties!   For one of the penalties, a Uconn player got kicked out of the game.  I felt bad because he was senior and it was his last home game.

The second period however, turned the tide for Uconn.  Early in the period, a Uconn player made a shot on goal, which the goalie blocked but it rebounded to the side.  Jordan Sims caught the rebound and shot it into the net to give Uconn a 1-0 lead.  At first, my dad and I were disappointed because we thought it didn’t go in, but realized it did when the buzzer sounded.  With a strong defense for the rest of the period, Uconn held the lead going into the final period.

The final period was a battle, but it was Uconn who came out on top.  The period started off with a goal form senior captain Andrew Olson, who slipped the puck in the side of the net when the goalie wasn’t looking to give Uconn the 2-0 lead.  AIC scored with 51 seconds remaining in the game but Uconn still won 2-1.  Despite the close ending, I had a great time!

 
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A Big Win For Uconn!

21 Feb

On Saturday Night, February 19, my dad, me, and five of our friends went to get pizza then we went to a Uconn Hockey game.  We had pizza at Red Rock and then just talked until it was time to head to the rink.  It wasn’t cold inside and I only needed my coat.  When the game got started, the action started quickly as Uconn scored in the first three minutes, but Bentley tied the game less than a minute later.  A few minutes later the score was 2-2.  Uconn took the lead when a shot was made on the Bentley net and was saved, but it went up into the air.  Jordan Sims knocked it up higher and the Bentley goalie caught it, but dropped it in the net.  We were worried that they wouldn’t count it, but a couple minutes later, the score changed to Uconn 3, Bentley 2.

During the first intermission, my friend Alex  got to go on the ice.  Him and his contestant were neck and neck until Alex had trouble putting on the gloves.  The second period started off great for Uconn as they scored a goal early in the period.  Since they scored, the faceoff was played at center ice.  It was won by Uconn’s Jeff Saphiea, who handed it over to Corey Jendras, who passed it to a Uconn player who scored to give Uconn back-back goals and a 5-2 lead!  Bentley would score before the period ended, but Uconn still had the lead.

The third period was uneventful, until Bentley scored with 15 seconds remaining in the game.  But Uconn scored with 1 second remaining in the game, with a goal from Jordan Sims, to make the final score 6-4 in favor of Uconn.  We all had a lot of fun that night, but with Uconn winning, the night was even better.

 
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An Outdoor Game for Connecticut Hockey

14 Feb

On Sunday, February 13, a freezing cold day with a very gusty wind, my family and I went to a historical outdoor hockey game between the Connecticut Huskies and the Sacred Heart Pioneers.  Only the following helped me survive the cold weather through the game: a seat warmer, a blanket, and hot chocolate.  The first period was rough as Sacred Heart started playing a very rough game, because they wanted revenge because Uconn won on Friday 4-2.  Sacred Heart even tried to take out Uconn’s goalie Garret Bartus.    In the first period Sacred Heart outshot Uconn.  Despite getting outshot in the first period, Uconn went into the first intermission with a 1-0 edge.  Justin Hernandez picked the puck up on the boards and passed it over to Captain Andrew Olson, who then shot it through the goalie’s legs from center ice.

In the second period, the Uconn Huskies paid the pioneers back for playing dirty.  By the end of the first ten minutes of the second period, Sacred Heart had only one shot on net.  But Sacred Heart came back to score a power-play goal on Uconn to tie the game at 1-1.  Despite the tying goal, Uconn came back less than a minute later and scored.  After Sacred Heart had scored, the faceoff was played at center ice.  Uconn won the faceoff and made a shot.  Then the faceoff was played in front of the Sacred Heart goalie, where it was won by Cole Schneider who shot the puck between the goalie and the post to give Uconn a 2-1 lead.

In the third period Sacred Heart played hard, trying to tie the game up, but the stellar goaltending of Garret Bartus allowed Sacred Heart no goals in the period.  About half-way through the period though Uconn did score.  Cole Schneider received a pass and shot it through the goalie’s legs to give Uconn the 3-1 win.  With the win Uconn’s record is now 10-16-4.  Between Uconn winning, the Sacred Heart and Uconn bands being there, along with the Sacred Heart and Whalers Mascots, we all had a great time, besides our toes freezing!

 
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Posted in Hockey, Sports

 
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