The Massachusetts men’s club hockey team got off to a hot start with a captivating 8-4 win over Sacred Heart at the Mullins Center, before falling to Maine, 4-3 on Saturday.

The Minutemen demolished the Pioneers with eight goals in the first game. The big offensive showing came in UMass’ home and season-opener.

The offense for the Minutemen still showed up and played well against Maine, but a few key weaknesses have been determined from the opening games that kept UMass from escaping the Alfond Arena with their second victory of the season.

“One main issue that our team is having is making sure we do the little things right,” UMass coach Mike Atkinson said. “Overall we play hard and we play well but it is the little things that are going to be important. Getting the puck deep, blocking shots and limiting the turnovers are going to be key for future games.”

From the first few games, Atkinson said his team has realized that it has gotten off to a good start, but to play to its full potential and be an elite team it needs to focus on correcting all of its mistakes.

Despite a few minor weaknesses the team has a positive outlook on the season. Atkinson said that the team hopes to be nationally competitive this season and has its eyes on the prize, which includes playing in the national tournament held at the end of the season in California.

According to Atkinson no clear leader has emerged at this point in the season. Instead, Atkinson stated that leadership comes from throughout the team.

 “Leadership is coming from all angles on our team,” Atkinson said. “Players have stepped up and taken on responsibility that they normally would not have.”

Thus far through the season, Atkinson has found it great to see his group of players come together and do all they can to make this season a success.

“So far all of our players have showed positives and negatives,” Atkinson said. “As a team it is our job to limit the negative and focus on the positives.”

The Minutemen will be led by captain and senior defenseman Matt Coughlin, along with assistant captains Christian McCracken and Daniel Arnao.

Last year, UMass finished in first place in the American West division of the Northeast Collegiate Hockey Association with nine wins and two losses. Overall last season, the Minutemen finished with 21 wins, six losses and 3 overtime losses.

UMass will next play against Westfield State at the Mullins Center on Friday and expects to improve on its prior weaknesses to improve on their record.

Robert Hanlon can be reached by email at [email protected].