The Massachusetts hockey team pulled a shootout win against UConn in its Hockey East opener at home, 3-3.
Trailing by one goal with a minute left in the game, UMass (3-2-1, 0-0-1 HEA) pulled goaltender Michael Hrabal for the extra attacker. With the man-advantage, Larry Keenan missed a puck from Lucas Mercuri on the boards, clearing the puck from the offensive zone and leaving the Minutemen with the time for one last chance to set up an offensive rush. Lucas Ölvestad took a shot from the point and Aydar Suniev found the rebound for the equalizer with 17 seconds left in the third period.
“Our group doesn’t back down when we’re down,” alternate captain Lucas Mercuri said. “Every time we’re in the third period and we’re down by a goal, we always seem to come back or figure out a way to score, and that was an awesome goal by [Suniev]…I thought we got what we deserved tonight for sure.”
Following a scoreless overtime, Mercuri ended the long contest on the Minutemen’s eighth attempt during the shootout. He took his time moving the puck up the ice and then threw a quick shot past Husky (3-2-1, 0-1-1 HEA) goaltender Tyler Muszelik to end the contest. Mercuri grabbed two assists in the game as well, leading the team on Friday.
Hrabal put up a strong performance on Friday, making up for sloppy play by the UMass defense. He made critical saves in the shootout, stopping seven of eight of the shots from UConn. Hrabal kept the team’s chances alive, laying out for a right-pad save on the Husky shot before Mercuri’s goal.
“Michael [Hrabal] was huge in the shootout. He stopped seven of eight,” head coach Greg Carvel said. “When [Hrabal is] getting a lot of action, he builds off of it. I just feel like when he’s getting more action his game gets better. Maybe that’s why he did so well in the shootout. He needs to be a factor for us every night.”
The HEA opener was played in front of a sold-out crowd at Mullins Center, the sixth in Carvel’s tenure as head coach.
“It means a lot to me and the players that people respect and want to come out and cheer us on,” Carvel said. “I’m sitting on the bench with two minutes to go being like ‘I got a full house here and these kids are playing their hearts out, they deserve better.’ So I’m glad they found a way to come back and tie and win in a shootout.”
Francesco Dell’Elce found offensive opportunities on his new pairing with Ölvestad. Down 0-1 in the first period, Dell’Elce scored the tying goal. After a battle for the puck behind UConn’s net, Mercuri sent the puck to the freshman defenseman in the lane and he tallied a goal through traffic.
Cole O’Hara, who currently leads the NCAA in points, added another goal on Friday, giving him his 10th point of the season. Only 39 seconds into the second period, Jack Musa passed to O’Hara wide open in the offensive zone and set him up for a one-timer, which he sent through the slot, over Muszelik’s right shoulder to tie the score at 2-2.
The Minutemen outshot the Huskies 33 to 23 over 65 minutes of play. The Huskies put up 17 blocks during the game, giving UMass a tough time getting the puck up to the net.
Friday’s game was played without any penalties from either team. Special teams have played a crucial role for UMass in previous games, but for the first time this season, neither team sent a player to the box.
Dans Locmelis scored the first UMass shootout goal, giving the Minutemen a critical tally in response to UConn’s Kaden Shahan finding the back of the net off the first attempt of the post-overtime tiebreaker.
The Minutemen will play on Saturday in Storrs, CT in the second game of the home-and-home series. Puck drop at Toscano Family Ice Forum is set for 7 p.m.
“I want people here to be proud of our team,” Carvel said. “I am, I’m extremely proud. But, you know, you’ve got to win for most people to realize how well a team is doing.”
Caroline Burge can reached at [email protected] and followed on X @Caroline_Burge
