Brian Tedder, Collegian Staff

PJ Stanley, Collegian Staff

NORTH ANDOVER – Eight minutes and 57 seconds into the third period of Saturday’s matchup between the Massachusetts hockey team and Merrimack, UMass coach Don Cahoon had seen enough.

With the scored tied, 2-2 and his team’s postseason chances slipping away, he called a timeout. His team hovered over their bench as Cahoon paced back and forth shouting instructions.

“I told them, ‘we have to get back to playing UMass hockey; too many things are going through your minds,'” Cahoon said. “‘We know everybody here is ready to compete. Now we just have to focus on playing. Let’s get back to UMass hockey. Let’s get back to our fore-check. Let’s get back to our breakout.'”

Four minutes later, the Minutemen got the message. James Marcou wrapped the puck around the boards to Alex Berry behind the net. Berry battled with Merrimack defenseman Joe Loprieno before sending the puck into the slot. Junior center Cory Quirk, collected the puck, wheeled and fired a slap shot past MC goaltender Andrew Braithwaite.

Jordan Virtue added another exactly 30 seconds later, clinching the 4-2 win and the eighth and final playoff spot in the Hockey East Tournament. UMass will take on top-seeded New Hampshire next weekend in Durham, N.H., in a best-of-three quarterfinal series.

“We had to play until the seven-minute mark of the third period of the 34th game, so yeah,” Cahoon said when asked if he felt a sense of relief. “I think every body is passionate about playing. We love to play. And you can’t play for what is most important if you don’t get into the playoffs.”

Entering the weekend, the Minutemen were two points ahead of Maine for the last spot in the conference tournament. The Black Bears swept a weekend series from UMass Lowell, forcing UMass to do the same against Merrimack.

The top line pairing of center Cory Quirk and wingers Alex Berry and James Marcou led the way of UMass offensively, recording nine points – three goals, six assists – in the two games against Merrimack. Since Cahoon paired the trio together before last weekend’s series with Boston University, the Minutemen have found the offensive rhythm that had them at the top of Hockey East in the first half of the season.

Senior captain Mike Kostka scored a power-play goal at 11:09 of the first period. But MC winger Francois Ouimet fired a slap shot from the high right face-off circle past freshman goaltender Paul Dainton to even the score.

The teams alternated possession until the final minute when the Warriors turned the puck over in the neutral zone. Marcou pounced on the loose puck and headed up the ice, trailed by Berry. The two players separated as they crossed the blue line, Berry headed left while Marcou went right, taking the defenseman with him.

Braithwaite committed to Marcou, anticipating the shot before the shifty winger slid the puck over to Berry. The pass was slightly off target as it hit Berry in the skates. He quickly recovered, however, and flipped the puck into the net.

A goal from MC’s Joe Cucci at 11:58 of the second period tied the score for the second time. Until Quirk and Virtue’s goals in the third, the teams spent most of the game mired in battle for possession.

MC managed most of the scoring chances in the second period and most of the third. Until Cahoon’s timeout, the Minutemen had trouble controlling the puck and maintaining possession in the Warrior zone.

UMass experienced similar struggles in the second period of Friday night’s game. After Berry gave UMass the 1-0 with a nifty stick-handling play in the first period, P.J. Fenton and Chris Davis extended UMass’s lead. The Warriors outshot UMass 20-13 in the final two periods.

In each game of the weekend, Dainton made 13 saves in the third period to preserve the victory for UMass.

Game notes

Kostka leads Hockey East in goals by a defenseman with nine