WALTHAM — The Massachusetts hockey team opened its season with a 5-4 win over Bentley University. Aydar Suniev’s hat trick alongside the rest of a powerful group of sophomores gave UMass (1-0) a scoring cushion.
“It took us about a half a period to get our legs going and I liked our game from there,” head coach Greg Carvel said.
Suniev opened scoring Saturday night after UMass struggled to find control over the puck and time in Bentley’s territory, the Minutemen finally found a groove testing goaltender Connor Hasley.
Stabilizing the puck from around the boards, Cole O’Hara passed to Owen Murray whose shot from just above the left circle bounced off Hasley’s glove. Off the rebound, Suniev angled himself around the Bentley defender and tapped the puck past Hasley’s right side.
Suniev put the Minutemen up 1-0 nearly six minutes in, this set him up for a successful, three-goal night.
Continuing from his freshman success as well, Jack Musa put UMass up 3-1 in the second period following Suniev’s second goal.
Opening the second period, the sophomore sprinted down the ice testing Hasley. Flinging the puck up, it just missed the back of the net hitting the bar. Redeeming himself later in the period, he swooped in front of the net and followed through to collect his own rebound off Hasley’s pads. Leaving himself with a wide opening as Hasley stepped forward slightly out of the net to block the first shot, Musa added to the Minuteman lead.
Forward Daniel Jencko made a statement for the freshman class, finding the back of the net in the second period.
Assistant captain Ryan Lautenbach raced down the ice to chase the loose puck, entering Bentley territory and looking for his fellow assistant Lucas Mercuri. After Mercuri settled the puck and took a shot from in front of the net, both Hasley and the Bentley defender in front fell flat to the ice and gave Jencko a free opening to secure his first collegiate goal.
“It was really good,” Suniev said about the freshman. “[Jencko] got his first goal and that was big for him.”
Defensemen Finn Loftus and Larry Keenan also stood out Saturday night. Both freshmen tallied an assist on Suniev’s opening goal and Musa’s shot respectively. Alongside Francesco Dell’Elce and a solid group of returning forwards, Keenan found himself in key opportunities to take his shot at and put pressure on Hasley to build Minuteman momentum.
“So Jencko scores and then we had three freshmen deep, I thought they played fine,” Carvel said. “They’re going to face better players… but it was a very good first showing for all freshmen and our transfers.”
Despite giving up a late six-on-four goal with seconds left of regulation on Lautenbach’s charging penalty, the UMass penalty kill held Bentley off on four power plays. Creating traffic between the Falcons and goaltender Michael Hrabal, they found themselves racing down the ice to recollect the puck and struggling to catch Hrabal off guard in net to capitalize on five-on-four situations.
Standing out defensively, Lucas Olvestad found himself at the back end of the ice more so than seeking out scoring chances. He was a key component of the penalty kill, throwing his body to ice the puck and keep the Falcons against the boards.
“[Olvestad] to me, it looks like he’ll be our number one defenseman,” Carvel said.
The Mullins Center welcomes the Minutemen back on Sunday, Oct. 6 as they take on RPI in an exhibition game with puck drop set for 3 p.m.
“It’s a quick turnaround,” Carvel said. “These guys just need to get reps, I think that’s most important.”
Sydney Ciano can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter/X @SydneyCiano.
