Sophomore Jack Musa netted his first career hat trick on Friday night against No. 11 UConn (14-10-3, 7-8-3 Hockey East) in a 5-4 victory for the No. 18 Massachusetts hockey team. Following a slow first half, Musa’s efforts kicked the team into gear and set them up for a key Hockey East win.
After Dans Locmelis tied up the score early in the third period, Musa was able to find a result for their continued offensive efforts.
From behind the net, O’Hara fired the puck into the boards, where it wrapped around and found Lucas Olvestad at the blueline. Olvestad took a shot on net from Muszelik’s right side. Musa, positioned in the shot’s path, redirected the puck with his stick, angling it downwards, where it found a five-hole path past Muszelik and into the back of the net. The tally gave UMass (15-11-2, 6-8-2 HEA) its first lead of the contest.
“I just kind of go where the other players aren’t and then hopefully the [defensemen] sift [them], which is what [Olvestad] did, and then I was able to get a stick on it,” Musa said.
Musa lifted the Minutemen through an offensive struggle in the first half of the game.
After a scoreless first period for UMass, Musa worked the puck across the ice and into the offensive zone while on a man advantage. There, he started a passing sequence for the Minutemen that ended with Francesco Dell’Elce sending the puck over to Nick VanTassell, who threw it at the net. Up by the crease, Lucas Mercuri found the rebound and set up Musa, who hammered it home from Muszelik’s right side with a one-timer. The power play goal opened the scoring production, giving UMass the first push it needed to keep working.
“It was tough going down 2-0 in the first, but we got right back after it early in the second with a power play goal,” Musa said “We started rolling after that.”
The quick forward’s offensive play-making skill has been evident this season. He is currently the team’s third highest goal-scorer, and apparently, he’s just getting warmed up.
“We meet with all these guys at Christmas time and talk about the second half, and he’s like ‘I gotta score 12 goals in the second half’ and I said ‘yes you do,’” head coach Greg Carvel said. “He’s been hot here.”
Halfway through the second frame, Mercuri carried the puck into the offensive zone, where he passed it off to O’Hara. Moving up through the right circle, O’Hara connected with Musa, who had driven the lane, on a pass nearly straight across the ice. There, Musa beat Muszelik on his right side, and made quick work of chipping O’Hara’s pass into the open net in front of him, making it a one-goal game at 3-2.
“The second goal, [O’Hara’s] pass was unreal,” Musa said. “[Mercuri and O’Hara] help a lot.”“He’s got amazing hand-eye coordination,” Carvel said. “I think it was his first goal, that back post from [O’Hara], you’ve got to have good hand-eye coordination to finish that off…he’s as talented a player as we have.”
Musa extended his point streak to six games, totaling eleven points on the run with five goals and six assists and tying his record. Last season, he went on a similar stretch of six consecutive games tallying a point.
The hat trick marks Musa’s most goals in a single game during his collegiate career, a personal record he set earlier this season with two tallies against AIC.
Musa and the rest of the Minutemen return to play on Feb. 14 to kick off a home-and-home series against Boston College. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. at Conte Forum.
“Once you get one, you kind of just like [play] more free and it helps a lot,” Musa said.
Caroline Burge can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @Caroline_Burge
