The Massachusetts men’s club hockey team fell to Florida Gulf Coast 5-2 on Saturday for its second loss of the weekend. UMass (6-6) got outplayed by the Eagles (8-3) in every phase of the game, unable to muster much of a comeback after a three-goal first period for Florida Gulf Coast.
The Eagles broke the game open in the final ten seconds of the first period, scoring two goals to take a 3-0 lead. With 9.3 seconds remaining in the first, a loose puck squeaked out in front of Minutemen goalie Ryan Dailida. UMass couldn’t clear the puck and Florida Gulf Coast poked it in during the net-front scrum. Off the ensuing center ice face-off, the Eagles quickly gained the offensive zone. Colin Anna received a pass in front of the goal and tapped the puck in with one second left on the clock.
“[Florida Gulf Coast]’s always a tough team and [it was] definitely not our best effort tonight,” head coach Sean Prendergast said. “We really need to pick it up in all three zones and just be better.”
The Minutemen showed signs of life early in the second period. Six minutes into the period, UMass was on the penalty kill after being called for charging. The Eagles swung the puck to their defenseman on the blue line but Minuteman Brett Niland picked his pocket, sending himself on a shorthanded breakaway. Shielding the puck from a Florida Gulf Coast player, Niland made a strong drive on net, shoveling the puck past Mason Decaire to make it a 3-1 game.
UMass gained even more momentum after killing off a penalty, but the Eagles snuffed it out quickly. With seven minutes left in the period, Florida Gulf Coast had the Minutemen pinned in their own zone. The puck came out to the blue line to Aiden McCarthy and the defenseman took his space, whipping a shot through traffic that slotted in over UMass goalie Ryan Dailida’s blocker for a 4-1 lead.
“We just need to play with intensity,” Prendergast said. “We’re a good team, we can skate with anyone, we can skate with them. We just need to bring it [with] all four lines every night. It’s really frustrating to see because we’re a better team than the end result.”
Despite allowing five goals, Dailida made 36 saves and kept the Minutemen within striking distance for much of the game. Halfway through the third period, the Eagles stripped a UMass defenseman at the blue line and had a breakaway opportunity. Dailida turned away the first shot, but the rebound sprung onto another Florida Gulf Coast stick. The goalie made another sprawling save, extending his pad to shut the door on the second chance opportunity.
“Ryan Dailida has been incredible for us all year,” Prendergast said. “He’s kept us in so many games and the score is not indicative to how he’s played.”
The Eagles got off to a fast start, scoring just five minutes into the first period. The puck found Florida Gulf Coast’s Michael Mucci alone between the dots with time and space. He threw a shot on net, and after taking a weird bounce, it got past Dailida to give the Eagles the early lead.
The Minutemen’s second goal of the game came in the opening seconds of the third period. UMass pushed into the offensive zone off the opening draw. The puck was shot wide, but a bounce off the end boards landed right on Christian Rosa’s stick. The forward banked the puck off the back of Decaire and in, making it a 5-2 game.
The Minutemen look to bounce back against New Hampshire on Sunday, Nov. 10. Puck drop is set for 1:30 p.m. at the Mullins Center Community Rink.
James Rust can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @James__Rust.
