The Massachusetts hockey team not only won its first game this week, but also notched its second.
UMass (2-6-3) won its second game in a row on Saturday, downing Quinnipiac, 5-2, at the Mullins Center in non-conference action.
Freshman Adam Phillips scored his third goal in two games, leading a defensive unit which tallied four of the Minutemen’s five goals.
The Maroon and White got out to a quick start, something they have not been accustomed to this season. UMass has been outscored 13-4 in the first period of games this season, but netted two goals in the first and two in the second Saturday, giving it a 4-0 lead.
Minutemen coach Don Cahoon was pleased with his team’s effort at the onset of the game and its ability to maintain it throughout the game.
“I thought our guys came out of the box with an agenda, and it was a good, team win for sure,” Cahoon said. “There’s been a learning curve here, and you just can’t play in spurts. We wanted to sustain our level of performance, and I think we did a pretty good job of that tonight.”
Senior defenseman Doug Kublin put UMass on the board first, streaking down the ice and flicking a shot past Bobcat goaltender Eric Hartzell just over six minutes into the opening frame. He received a pass from senior Danny Hobbs that found its way to Kublin in front of the net, slipping underneath a Quinnipiac (7-6-1) defenseman lying out across the ice.
Phillips blasted a shot from the blue line which found its way to net on a setup by Conor Sheary with four minutes, 25 seconds to play in the first period.
Four minutes into the second period, Phillips extended the lead out to 3-0 on a power play goal taken again from just inside the blue line. This time, the score was set up by Joel Hanley and the shot deflected off the stick of Bobcat defenseman Yuri Bouharevich.
Cahoon cited Phillips’ stature as a big factor in his ability to convert on long shot attempts.
“At 6-foot-6, he’s really got that long arc of a swing and can really tee off on [the puck],” Cahoon said.
Phillips scored his first goal of the season last Tuesday in a win against Vermont. He now has five points this season, including two assists.
The Minutemen continued out to a 5-1 lead after two periods. Hobbs connected on his first goal of the season as Hanley got his second assist of the game. Freshman Conor Allen’s first collegiate goal capped the scoring for UMass with seven minutes to play in the period.
The Minutemen were outshot 27-to-25 in the game, but came away with more faceoff wins (32-of-55). UMass went 2-for-9 on the power play in a game in which freshman dominated the scoring.
Minutemen freshmen tallied 10 of 13 points on Saturday after accounting for seven of 10 points in the game against Vermont on Tuesday.
Dan Gigliotti can be reached at [email protected].
