As the overtime buzzer sounded at Saturday night’s home game against Maine, the Massachusetts hockey team gathered in a circular embrace as the Mullins Center roared around them. UMass (6-21-6, 5-16-6 HEA) clinched the final playoff spot in the Hockey East Tournament with a 4-4 draw, a spot that – just moments earlier – seemed to be slipping away.
After falling behind, 3-0, in the first period, and trailing, 3-1, with one period to go, the Minutemen fought back to give themselves the point they needed to stave off Providence and continue their season.
Facing a deficit of two goals entering the third period, and with Providence leading Merrimack, 5-3, after two periods, UMass coach Don Cahoon made a decision.
“We made a decision that we were going to go in and talk to the guys and let them know right up front what was going on,” said Cahoon. “We didn’t use the word, ‘desperation,’ but you could tell that they played with desperation in the third period.”
Cahoon equated the first intermission feeling to surviving inside a foxhole. Trailing, 3-0, he knew communication was critical.
“All of us sit in [the locker room] after [the] first period that we had tonight and you start staring and wondering,” Cahoon said. “You need each other. We talk about foxholes all the time. The only way to stay sane in a foxhole is to talk. If you’re in there and you isolate yourself, you’re scared out of your wits. You feel alone and overwhelmed. But if you keep talking to each other and keep working together, you can survive the foxhole experience.”
The Minutemen stormed back, scoring four consecutive goals. Adam Phillips scored with two minutes and four seconds remaining to give UMass a 4-3 lead. Rocco Carzo and Danny Hobbs teamed to get a cross from the left corner of the rink to the oncoming freshman.
Maine came right back to tie the game just 19 seconds later, and the remainder of the game moved to UMass trying to fend off an onslaught of Black Bear attacks.
Senior captain Paul Dainton made multiple huge saves in the third period, drawing praise from the crowd of 3,376 with each one. He finished the game with 32 saves, 14 coming in the third and overtime combined.
“We had an immense effort from Dainton in critical situations,” Cahoon said. “He’s the captain and he really is a special kid. I think everybody’s starting to realize that. He’s got a great future.”
Carzo started the rally with his first goal of the season near the end of the second period to cut the score to 3-1.
Hobbs added the second UMass goal five minutes and 44 seconds into the third. The announcer could not finish crediting the goal before Michael Pereira tied the contest at three just 18 seconds later.
Friday’s game also featured a big third period push, as the Minutemen nearly erased another three-goal deficit, but eventually fell to the Black Bears, 4-3. Maine held a 1-0 lead after two periods before six total goals were tallied in the third.
The same trio of Phillips, Hobbs and Pereira all scored in the final period, with UMass rallying around a 17-5 shot advantage.
Like Saturday’s game, the Black Bears controlled the first two periods, outshooting the Minutemen 35-17.
Facing a 4-1 deficit, UMass scored a couple of “piggyback goals” in the 12th minute of the third, separated by just seven seconds apiece.
With the Maine goalie clearly rattled, the Minutemen took shots as far away as the neutral zone to try to complete the comeback.
UMass will now play Boston College, the No. 1 team in the conference, next weekend.
“We have got our work cut out for us, let us not forget that,” Cahoon said.
Pete Vasquez can be reached at [email protected].
