The Massachusetts hockey team posted a dominant 8-0 victory over Robert Morris University in its second and final game of the Desert Hockey Classic.
“I thought our game was really solid…I thought we played the way you’re supposed to play for 60 minutes,” head coach Greg Carvel said. “A lot of goals feels good and [we had] good energy. I was really happy with the full 60 minutes.”
Aydar Suniev stood out in the matchup, recording a four-point night with two power play goals and two assists. His ability to generate offensive chances laid the bricks for the season-high eight goals on Saturday.
Suniev opened the scoring for the Minutemen (9-8-2, 2-5-2 Hockey East) in the first period with a power play goal. Starting at the opposite end of the ice, goaltender Jackson Irving tapped the puck to Suniev.
Going from zone to zone, Suniev worked the puck up the ice and through RMU (8-9-2, 5-5-1 Atlantic Hockey America) defenders. He skated through the lane before passing the puck over to Jack Musa at the left circle, who immediately sent it back to Suniev at the crease, beating Croix Kochendorfer on his right side.
Special teams were solid, killing off all three UMass penalties and capitalizing on two out of four power plays, nearly double their average conversion rate this season.
The second goal on the man-advantage came from Suniev in the second period. After a struggle for possession, Dans Locmelis found a loose puck in the corner and quickly flipped a backhanded pass to where Suniev was waiting out in front of the net. He forced a quick shot between Kochendorfer’s right pad and the post to extend the Minutemen’s lead to 5-0.
Sophomore goaltender Irving earned his first career shutout in his first win, stopping all 22 shots from the Colonials, standing strong in net. Irving also picked up the second assist on Suniev’s first goal.
UMass found three rapid tallies in under a minute off three consecutive shots, extending its lead to 4-0 in a dominant display.
Michael Cameron opened the scoring succession after he intercepted a no-look pass from RMU. Cameron wasted no time quickly letting off a shot from the lane and scoring top shelf. Defensemen Francesco Dell’Elce and Owen Murray notched the next two momentum-fueled goals.
The scoring didn’t slow down in the third period. Ryan Lautenbach scored two consecutive goals in the beginning of the frame, three minutes apart, for his first multi-goal game of the season.
His first tally was the result of Suniev moving the puck all the way up the ice, working through defenders. At the last second, he sent the puck across the crease to Lautenbach, who easily buried it into the open net before Kochendorfer could react.
Lautenbach found his second goal in a similar manner. This time it concluded an offensive effort that spanned nearly a minute. Lucas Ölvestad was the one who moved the puck up the lane and over to Lautenbach, who was set up perfectly to launch the puck past Kochendorfer’s undefended left side.
Alongside Suniev and Lautenbach, Daniel Jenčko, Ölvestad, Musa and Locmelis all recorded multi-point nights, with two assists apiece.
Cole O’Hara closed the scoring for the game. Musa and Locmelis brought the puck from behind the net up to O’Hara, positioned out in front of the blue paint, in an easy passing route. O’Hara swiftly put the puck in the back of the net, capping off the night.
Freshman Jenčko returned to the Minutemen from playing for Slovakia in the World Juniors after the team was eliminated on Thursday in the semifinals.
UMass will return to Massachusetts in a home-and-home series against Northeastern beginning on Friday, Jan. 10. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. at Matthews Arena.
“We learned lessons [Friday] night…I thought we responded well today,” Carvel said. “[We] took some things away from last night’s game and [I’m] really happy with the way we played today.”
Caroline Burge can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @Caroline_Burge
