The Massachusetts hockey team found its strength in the second period against Brown University (4-10-2, 1-7-2 ECAC) after being tangled together on the ice Tuesday night, stick-to-stick.
The No. 15 Minutemen (9-7-3, 3-6-1 Hockey East) found their opportunities with young forwards like Tyson Dyck, who put up two points, and Scott Morrow scoring the final goal of the game on an empty netter.
Despite their quickness on the ice throughout the 60 minutes, UMass struggled against a slow first period with difficulties in maintaining stability and control over the puck in the Bears zone. Even with two power plays in the first 20 minutes, Brown’s defense proved to be a hurdle the Minutemen had to conquer as they continued to pepper the net without a score.
“Blocking pucks is a work ethic sacrifice … we have some guys that are pretty talented in that regard,” Bears coach Brenden Whittet said of his team’s first period performance.
After a scoreless first frame, UMass returned to the ice with strength and dominance.
With the momentum to break the pattern of scoreless power plays, Dyck from Cal Kiefiuk and Scott Morrow put UMass on the scoreboard, 1-0, on UMass’ first power play of the second period.
“I give our power play a lot of credit. Every game they do a good job … They get great possession and they get good looks,” head coach Greg Carvel said.
Almost two minutes after his first goal, Dyck put UMass up by two with an assist from Cole O’Hara and Michael Cameron, sliding the puck right under Brown’s goaltender, Mathieu Caron. These goals gave the Minutemen their confidence to dominate the ice against Brown, playing stronger together as a team and keeping the momentum on their side.
“It’s been a while since I scored, so it’s really nice to get on the score sheet a few times,” Dyck said.
The two goals by Dyck were not the only factors letting UMass control the ice. Carvel was pleased with the experience and improvement of the younger players on the team, especially as two of their key players, Ryan Ufko and Kenny Connors, have been absent from the ice for the past three games. Despite the defensive weapon, Ufko, missing from the lineup, the Minutemen continued to shut out Brown in their three power plays.
Luke Pavicich also helped improve the team with the Bears remaining insistent in the UMass zone in an attempt to put themselves on the scoreboard. The UMass goaltender ended his night with 33 total saves.
“Tonight, he was really steady … I thought the scoring chances they got, he seemed to be on top of everyone one of them,” Carvel said.
While Pavicich was strong at UMass’ end of the ice, the Bears pulled Caron in an attempt to put points up with under three minutes left of the game. After shots being unable to make it past the goaltender, Morrow ended the night with an empty net goal for UMass with 29 seconds left of the game. The Minutemen closed the night 3-0 as the seconds ticked down to the sound of the buzzer.
As UMass prepares to take on Boston College Saturday night at Fenway Park, a handful of its key players are expected to return to the ice including Ufko and Connors. The puck is set to drop at 6 p.m.
Sydney Ciano can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @SydneyCiano.
