Against Army West Point on Friday afternoon, the Massachusetts hockey team’s power play units stepped out to extend its lead and keep the Black Knights (5-9, 5-6 Atlantic Hockey America) behind in a 3-1 win.

After a nearly scoreless second period with under five minutes to go, the Minutemen (7-6-2, 1-4-2 Hockey East) sank in two goals to put them up 3-0.

“I thought both units were doing a really good job,” head coach Greg Carvel said. “Move[d] the puck quickly.”

On his unit, junior forward Cole O’Hara tallied his seventh goal of the season. Less than 20 seconds into UMass’ third power play, O’Hara stayed solid inside the circle on goaltender Evan Szary’s right side.

Sophomore Aydar Suniev battled with the Black Knights against the boards to keep the puck in the offensive zone. Suniev sent the puck across without any interference from Army, leaving O’Hara without a defender and a chance to handle the puck and get a solid shot on net. The puck sliced by Szary’s right shoulder, tapping the post and finding its way to sound a Minuteman goal. Jack Musa tallied the second assist on the goal.

“I thought we put ourselves in a position where we got exposed a couple of times,” Army head coach Brian Riley said. “Their skillset [is what] really came to life when they had the man-up.”

Daniel Jenčko made the most of his return to the ice after recovering from a wrist injury early in the season.

With 24 seconds left of the period and the Minutemen looking to capitalize on another power play nearly two minutes after their third, the freshman forward found the back of the net opposite of O’Hara.

Collecting the puck just in front of the blue line, Francesco Dell’Elce sent the puck over to Lucas Lucas Ölvestad. Planted at the point to Szary’s left, Jenčko waited for the junior defenseman to swipe the puck across the ice. Jenčko took a swing at the puck once it reached his stick and watched it ring around the net. The buzzer sounded UMass’ third goal, tripling its lead over the Black Knights.

“[Jenčko’s] a great threat to have on a power play,” Dell’Elce said. “It’s great to have him back. Obviously he scored today, so hopefully we can continue working on getting some reps with him and continuing to have some success.”

The power play success did not spark from the get-go, though. On their first power play in the first period, the Minutemen struggled to find consistency between the two top units.

Jenčko, Dell’Elce and Olvestad alongside the assistant captains, Lucas Mercuri and Ryan Lautenbach continued to get pushed away from Army’s offensive zone. Rerouting time and time again, forcing them to play between the blue lines until their next shift, frustration began boiling in the Minutemen as the first period stayed scoreless until Dell’Elce put the first goal on the board with under two minutes left.

Shifting gears and heading into the second period with a 1-0 morale boost, both O’Hara’s and Jenčko’s units took more control over the puck and set up good offensive chances that just shied away from the back of the net.

From the circle on Svary’s right, O’Hara tried to double UMass’ lead early in the second period. However, the puck tapped the posts and could not break past Szary for a goal.

When the second unit hit the ice, it found a better groove as Dell’Elce, Jenčko and Olvestad tried to set up a good rhythm passing between them. With Mercuri and Lautenbach waiting in the center of the chaos to find a last second tap or a rebound opportunity, the five easily worked the puck around each other though came off of the two minutes scoreless.

“I told both units to have more of a shooter’s mentality,” Carvel said. “Just go out there and shoot the puck instead of passing it around.”

The Minutemen head to Boston on Dec. 7 to take on the No. 13 Boston University Terriers. Puck drop at Agganis Arena is set for 6 p.m. and the game can be streamed on ESPN+.

“Both those guys, [O’Hara and Jenčko], had very good shots,” Carvel said. “Those were great shots to beat the goaltender.”

Sydney Ciano can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter/X @SydneyCiano.