The Massachusetts men’s club hockey team capped off its UMass Showcase with a 4-0 shutout win over Northeastern on Sunday. The Minutemen (11-5) went 2-1 in the three games they played during the showcase.
The power play was active throughout the game for UMass, with the scoring starting in the first period. Forward Sean Prendergast continued his hot streak and finished off a rebound in front from a point shot.
The Minutemen added on another powerplay goal in the second period. Captain John McGrath lit the lamp off a beautiful pass from Scott Shorrock, teammate and fellow captain, who skated the puck all the way up the ice coast-to-coast.
“Scott Shorrock was able to circle the zone and dragged four guys with him,” McGrath said. “He dropped it back to me and I had a pretty open lane. All credit to Scott, great play.”
Freshman goaltender Ryan Dailida finished the game with a shutout in the win. He turned away any scoring chances Northeastern earned throughout the 60 minutes. Two minutes of the third period were spent 5-on-3 for the Minutemen but Dailida held strong to keep his shutout intact.
“I think each period I was just able to lock in a little bit more,” Dailida said. “Help from the [defense] really helped. I was just able to snuff out shots from the point and cover up everything in front.”
UMass would tack on two more goals before the end of the contest. Forward William Trischitta found the back of the net in the second period. The goal came off a 3-on-2 rush for the Minutemen with Trischitta firing a wrist shot past the Huskies goaltender.
Shorrock found his second assist of the game in the third period. A quick zone entry led to him finding linemate Mitchell Rickert out front of the net during a 4-on-4. Rickert buried the chance from the slot and put the game away.
The Huskies (5-4) were called for six different penalties, with the Minutemen finishing the game 2-6 on the man advantage. UMass was guilty of seven penalties of its own but was strong on the penalty kill, keeping the puck out of the net on each occasion.
The defense for the Minutemen was aggressive all day long, not allowing Northeastern to easily enter the zone. Most of the Huskies’ shots came deep from the point looking for screens and rebounds out front.
It was a physical contest throughout with some hard, open ice hits for both teams. Some chirping happened after whistles with each squad feeling the intensity. Attacking down low and playing the body was important in creating turnovers. Getting the puck in deep was a recurring theme on both sides as well.
The total amount of penalties was indicative of how physical the game was. There were offsetting penalties on multiple occasions with players on either side getting into scrums. Each team had breakaway chances turned aside, and the frustration was evident.
The Minutemen will look to build off their last two wins when they take on Penn State at home on Saturday, Nov. 19 at 6 p.m.
Mike Maynard can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter
@mike_maynard_.
