The No. 16 Massachusetts hockey team fell to No. 1 Boston College 4-1 on home ice Saturday night after winning in Chestnut Hill on Friday.
Three minutes into the second period, Gabe Perreault picked the puck up in the left circle of the offensive zone. Michael Hrabal set up to face a shot from the sophomore, but Perreault sent the puck over to Andre Gasseau on Hrabal’s left side. With traffic out front, the netminder didn’t track the pass until Gasseau had already taken advantage of the wide open net in front of him, giving the Eagles (22-6-1, 14-4-1) a 2-0 lead and the eventual game-winning goal.
“I thought BC was the more desperate team, a lot of talent showed itself tonight,” head coach Greg Carvel said. “We weren’t ourselves, desperation wasn’t quite there like it was last night. I thought BC played an exceptional game.”
UMass (16-12-2, 7-9-2) struggled to generate offensive opportunities all night, but Cole O’Hara found the first and only tally for the Minutemen.
Jack Musa worked the puck into the offensive zone, driving the lane on Fowler’s right side. Just before he reached the crease, Musa sent the puck over to O’Hara in the right circle. O’Hara wasted no time sending the puck towards the net. His quick shot beat Fowler, who didn’t have enough time to find the other side of the pipes and read the puck before O’Hara lit the lamp, bringing the score to 3-1.
After giving up an early goal to UMass on Friday, BC was quick to earn a lead in the Saturday contest.
Five minutes into the first period, Powell opened the scoring for the Eagles. Michael Hagens took a shot from in front of the crease. Hrabal made a blocker save on the shot, but couldn’t hold onto the puck. Mike Posma collected the rebound and connected with Eamon Powell, who settled the puck and let off a shot from the right circle, finding the back of the net over Hrabal’s right shoulder.
With continued efforts towards the net from BC through all three periods, Hrabal stood tall in net to limit the Eagles, stopping 41 of the 44 shots he faced.
After Larry Keenan committed a slashing minor late in the second period, BC elected to have Gasseau take a penalty shot. Moving up the lane, Gasseau lifted the puck, aiming over Hrabal’s left shoulder, but the netminder stood tall in net and found a piece of the puck, denying the Eagles another tally.
“[Hrabal] was great all weekend,” Carvel said. “He was the only player in our lineup I would say played as well as they could. He kept it close… It’s a good sign for us, I think we have enough belief, we’ve won enough games against good teams–although we didn’t win tonight–that if [Hrabal] can give us those games every night, [we’ve] got a chance to win everything.”
The Minutemen struggled to find their footing throughout the game despite coming off of a victory against BC.
While the Eagles were up 2-0, Ryan Leonard picked the puck from UMass as it set up for an offensive drive and backhanded the puck to Hagens. He drove the lane and let off a shot before the Minuteman defense could get in front of him, finding an opening over Hrabal’s right shoulder for an insurance goal.
With four minutes left on the clock in the third period, UMass pulled Hrabal for the extra attacker. Leonard found an empty net goal after he backhanded the puck out of the defensive zone, capping off the game for a 4-1 BC victory.
The Minutemen will return to the ice next weekend with two matchups against New Hampshire. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 21 at Whittemore Center Arena before UMass returns to home ice the next night.
“We know we can beat really good teams and we know we’re a good team,” UMass captain Linden Alger said. “…We can beat anyone and we can play with anyone but you can’t just show up and expect to win, you have to be ready to play hard right from the beginning of the game.”
Caroline Burge can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @Caroline_Burge
