AMHERST — The UMass hockey team battled back from a two-goal deficit, but lost to Boston University 4-3 in overtime Saturday night at the Mullins Center.
The Terriers (4-7-1, 3-4-1 Hockey East) secured a 2-0 lead halfway into the second period with a power play goal from Wilmer Skoog. The Minutemen’s offense had been shut down by BU through that point in the game.
UMass scored three unanswered, but an overtime goal from Case McCarthy sealed any chances of the Minutemen securing a comeback win against a Hockey East rival.
“Not happy with the way we started the game, BU won the first period,” Minutemen coach Greg Carvel said. “Unfortunate overtime, we gave up possession of the puck too easily in the zone there and gave them too much space.”
Valuable scoring opportunities did not come easy for No. 8 UMass (6-3-1, 4-1-1) in the first period, as the Terriers outshot the Minutemen 12-7.
Eric Faith has been the replacement for the injured first line center Josh Lopina the past two weekends and had made an impact in Friday’s contest against the Terriers in the faceoff column, winning 24 of his 28. He was injured early in the first period, forcing Carvel to make line adjustments.
Defenseman Slava Demin was UMass’ extra skater, so Carvel had to move one of his blue liners to a forward slot. Ty Farmer was originally paired with Colin Felix for the night, but he was shifted to the third line while Matt Baker was grouped with captain Bobby Trivigno and Garrett Wait on the first line.
Farmer “did a decent job,” Carvel said. “Ty skates well, smart player, so I knew he could fill in, and I thought he did a good job for a defenseman.”
This is the second straight night a defenseman has moved into a forward spot. Aaron Bohlinger filled in for second line forward Cal Kiefiuk, who was also injured.
We are now “missing now three of our top four forwards, which is difficult,” Carvel said. “I thought the team regrouped and competed hard the last two periods.”
Soon after Skoog scored, the Minutemen started to find an offensive rhythm. Ryan Lautenbach found Matthew Kessel at the top of the left circle to bring UMass back into contention. Near the end of the period, Terrier forward Jamie Armstrong was called for a tripping penalty which set up a Bobby Trivigno power play goal, tying the contest 2-2.
Physicality was showcased by the Minutemen in the second period, most significantly by Trivigno and freshman defender Scott Morrow. Trivigno stopped play after Domenick Fensore remained on the ground after taking a hit on the boards from the senior captain. Morrow delivered a similar bump to Jay O’Brien later in the period, who also was unable to immediately get to his feet following the hit. Both hits were reviewed but no penalties were given.
Physical play “was a big emphasis,” Trivigno said. “When they’re moving around the whole zone and we’re playing (defense), it’s crucial to get into your guy, pin him, do whatever. … That’s how we always play, and I don’t think we played that in the first, we definitely played harder and more physical in the second and third.”
UMass was shorthanded with less than 16 minutes left in the final period when Bobby stole the puck from Fensore to start a break away. Ryan Ufko recovered the puck to continue the breakaway and scored to give the Minutemen the 3-2. Fensore was called for a holding penalty on the play to give the Minutemen a power play after the goal.
“Hoped that would’ve been the game-winner,” Carvel said of Ufko’s goal. “That’s quite a goal to score in this type of game.”
In absence of Faith, the series of lineup changes led to right winger Ryan Sullivan taking faceoffs for the third line. Akin to Faith’s performance Friday night, Sullivan was UMass’ most effective player in terms of faceoffs, securing 8-of-10 wins.
“I challenged Ryan this morning to do more than just keep your head above water, start doing positive things for us with the puck,” Carvel said. “He has some experience at center, and I thought he raised his game tonight. I thought he held onto pucks. (Sullivan) played better, and we need that.”
Ufko and assistant captain Matthew Kessel have established themselves as the top defensive pairing for the Minutemen. Both scored a goal Saturday night, but Kessel’s second period penalty led to BU’s second goal of the night. Ufko was called for an interference penalty in the first period.
The goals from Ufko and Kessel “are real positives, but they need to play more responsible defensively,” Carvel said. “They’re our top pair of defense, so they need to be plus players throughout the game.”
A home and home series with New Hampshire is the next matchup for UMass. The Wildcats split their weekend series with Vermont on Friday and Saturday.
"8" - Google News
November 14, 2021 at 02:12PM
https://ift.tt/3qC8VLW
No. 8 UMass hockey loses to Boston University 4-3 in overtime - MassLive.com
"8" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2z1PBPz
https://ift.tt/3c1rzCJ
No comments:
Post a Comment