UConn Men's Hockey Robbed Of A Win By Rink Lighting Malfunction
The Huskies had a clear path to victory, and then the lights went out.
Usually, lights turn off in a stadium after the game is over. But that wasn’t the case in a men’s college hockey game on Saturday.
The UConn Huskies and the UMass Minutemen were squaring off in Hockey East play, and it was about as evenly matched as you could get. In the third period, UConn took a 3-2 lead, which lasted about as long as a bathroom break. Then in overtime, both sides came out gunning to get that elusive, and permanent, lead.
UConn had the best chance in OT when defenseman Kai Janviriya picked up a rebound and started streaking down the ice. He could see a clear lane to the net and, ultimately, to victory.
But then, he couldn’t see anything at all.
Just before he got above the faceoff circle, the lights went from varying in intensity, to red and orange, to off in the span of what felt like three seconds.
I guess that’s one way to play defense as the home team. If your skaters can’t keep up, just make sure your opponents can't see.
That was the last best chance the Huskies had to get the extra point for the evening, as the Minutemen would win in a shootout. But one wonders what would have happened if there was no (intentional?) lighting malfunction.
I guess we’ll always be in the dark on that one.