The Massachusetts hockey team recorded a 4-2 win over Merrimack on Friday night at the Mullins Center. The victory kicks off a run of exclusively Hockey East matchups through the rest of the season.
Kenny Connors put up a two-goal night, opening and closing the scoring for the Minutemen (14-10-2, 5-7-2 HEA) with two shots off the post. The goals marks his first multi-goal game of the season.
UMass had a slow first period, struggling to generate offensive chances and losing the puck in the neutral zone.
“I wasn’t real happy with our first period,” head coach Greg Carvel said. “I thought Merrimack was [the] much better team in the first, and then we were really good in the second period. That period I think carried us through the rest of the game.”
After trailing 1-0 to the Warriors (10-14-1, 6-8-1 HEA) going into the second period, the Minutemen scored two goals a minute apart to take the lead. Connors and Lucas Mercuri were responsible for the tallies.
Starting on the right side of the offensive zone, Cole O’Hara worked the puck up towards the net, where Mercuri was waiting by the crease. O’Hara carried the puck around the back of the net and brought it out to the blue line, looking for an opportunity to find Mercuri for a tip in. O’Hara lobbed a shot at the net through traffic and Mercuri redirected the puck downwards from the left side of Warrior goaltender Nils Wallstrom. The goal increased O’Hara’s goal streak to four games and bringing the score to 2-1 in favor of the Minutemen.
“We just remained confident,” Connors said. “I think we just knew that if we got to our game, we would kind of take over. We felt a little bit sloppy in the first period, they brought a good push as well. But we just felt confident that if we got to our game, then it would kind of change to our favor.”
UMass kept its momentum going into the third frame. O’Hara set up the next goal with a shot from the right point. Wallstrom made a right blocker save but couldn’t cover up the puck. Jack Musa quickly found the rebound and beat the netminder, easily tucking the puck into the wide-open net to find the game-winning goal.
“[Mercuri] gets in there and stirs things up,” Carvel said. “Musa is really quick, and then O’Hara is really smart with the puck [and] makes really nice plays. They had a good shift.”
In the first period, the Minutemen took two consecutive minor penalties. After killing off the first man-advantage for Merrimack, the Warriors quickly came out and scored in the second two minutes. Off a pass from Michael Emerson, Zach Bookman took a shot from the right circle. Up in the crease, David Sacco was the one to tip it in, putting Merrimack on the scoreboard with a 1-0 lead.
Late into the third period, Merrimack took a five-minute major, but UMass couldn’t capitalize on the power play. Special teams had a slow performance, going 0-3 on the man advantage and allowing the Warriors a goal.
Merrimack added another point to the board as the clock was running out. Emerson took a pass across the lane from Seamus Powell, and quickly found the back of the net before goaltender Michael Hrabal could cover his right side, bringing the score to a final of 4-2.
The Minutemen returns to play on Sunday, Feb. 1 as they face off against No.6 Maine in the first of three meetups. Puck drop is set for 4 p.m. at Alfond Arena in Orono, Maine. The game can be streamed on ESPN+
“[The Blackbears] bring a lot of energy in [their] rink,” Connors said. “…Hockey East is always a rivalry and they play really hard, kind of a similar style to us. So big road points on the line here this Sunday, so we’re looking to get in there and win just like we are every weekend.”
Caroline Burge can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @Caroline_Burge