The Massachusetts hockey team earned a 4-0 shutout against No. 11 Boston University on Saturday, its first victory against the Terriers since Nov. 16, 2019.
“It feels good,” alternate captain Lucas Mercuri said. “We just treated it like another game and we got zones, played simple, got pucks to the net. They’re a good team but it seemed like we had the upper hand tonight. We played really hard.”
After a slow start to the season, the Minutemen (8-6-2, 2-4-2 Hockey East) are building momentum, coming off a 3-1 win against Army West Point.
Ryan Lautenbach opened the scoring for UMass. Forcing BU (8-6-1, 4-3-1 HEA) to backcheck, Michael Cameron carried the puck up the ice, beating his defender and letting off a shot against Terrier goaltender Mathieu Caron, who made a left pad save. The puck bounced straight to the stick of Lautenbach at the bottom of the left circle, and he did not hesitate to send it right back to the net, beating Caron on his left side and giving the Minutemen an early lead.
“When [Lautenbach] is playing a straightforward, speed, intense, physical game, he brings us a lot,” head coach Carvel said. “And that’s what he did tonight. I liked it.”
All three players on Lautenbach’s line scored on Saturday.
UMass scored three power play goals through a total of just over 13 minutes on the man-advantage. BU took eight penalties throughout 60 minutes of play, two of which were five-minute majors.
Kenny Connors tallied his first goal of the season, the Minutemen’s third power play goal of the night. Halfway through the third period, Aydar Suniev passed the puck from the left circle to Connors, who took the puck just above the center of the blue line and aimed a shot through heavy traffic and over Caron’s right shoulder, giving UMass its fourth and final goal of the night.
Mercuri assisted on all of the Minutemen’s first three goals, two of which came from players who weren’t on his line. This marks his first three-point game of the season.
“[Mercuri] is a great leader,” Carvel said. “He plays with an attitude, he plays big, he plays with integrity, he plays the way that we need him to play to be a leader. I love his attitude.”
With five minutes left in the second period, Terrier Brandon Svoboda received a major cross-checking penalty and put UMass on a power play to close out the frame. The Minutemen’s effective passing game allowed them to notch two goals on the power play.
Francesco Dell’Elce pulled a quick stickhandling move at the blue line, moving the puck past a BU defenseman and sending the puck over to Daniel Jenčko at the left circle. Jenčko took the one-timer and nailed the puck over Caron’s right shoulder for UMass’ first power play goal on the major penalty.
Daniel Jenčko and Michael Cameron each recorded a point Saturday night. They are newly back on the lineup after spending time out due to injuries.
Michael Hrabal made 32 saves in net, marking the Minutemen’s first shutout this season and their first shutout against the Terriers in program history.
Two minutes after Jenčko’s goal, Mercuri snapped a pass up to Dell’Elce as he skated towards the net. Dell’Elce sent the puck up into the crease at the last second, finding a waiting Lucas Olvestad, who beat Caron on his right side before he could get his skate to the post. Olvestad earned a second goal for UMass on the cross-checking major and increased the lead to 3-0.
“I played with two speedy guys, so [I] was just trying to get the puck to them,” Mercuri said. “It seemed like we were finding pockets and getting pucks to the net so that was great. Just good all-around by my teammates burying the puck.”
The matchup had a total of five goals that were called off for goalie interference, three for the Minutemen and two for BU.
The Terriers travel to Amherst on Wednesday for a second matchup. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. in Mullins Center.
“Very proud of our guys,” Carvel said. “[We] came in here with a game plan [and] they executed it really well. That’s a solid win.”
Caroline Burge can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @Caroline_Burge
