The No. 16 Massachusetts hockey team beat No. 5 Maine 5-1 in its penultimate game of the regular season, in one of two matches that will prove crucial to its pairwise standing.
A productive first period ended with the Minutemen (19-12-4, 10-9-4 Hockey East) scoring three unanswered goals. This marked their third three-tally performance in the first frame of the season.
“We’ve been working the entire year to try and play a full 60 and the start’s the most important part,” Joey Musa said. “Coming out strong really got us going and I think it helped us have that momentum going into the second and even when they were pushing we had that little bit of a cushion there. [It] really helped.”
Kenny Connors put up the second mark, the eventual game-winning goal.
After some passing work around the offensive zone, looking for an open shot, Aydar Suniev found Connors at the bottom of the right circle from the red line. Connors wasted no time settling the puck and lifting the puck up towards Albin Boija, targeting the opening under the netminder’s right arm for a second UMass lamp-lighter in the first 10 minutes of play.
Cole O’Hara and Jack Musa were responsible for the first and third goals, respectively.
Special teams showed out on Friday, with both the power play and penalty killing units earning tallies. They denied the Black Bears (21-7-5, 13-5-5 HEA) conversions on all four Minutemen penalties.
“I think our penalty kill has been really strong this year too,” head coach Greg Carvel said. “The assistant coaches responsible for that, they do a really good job preparing our guys…so that was a big part of the game because we didn’t get very many power plays…so again I thought special teams was a big factor.”
O’Hara scored the first UMass shorthanded goal of the season after he blocked Frank Djurasevic’s shot and picked up the loose puck. The mark came from O’Hara’s second undermanned opportunity of the game.
Goaltender Michael Hrabal played a key role in the victory, stopping 38 of 39 shots from Maine for a .974 save percentage. He consistently locked down the rebounds of the Black Bears’ shots, denying any potential second opportunities.
During a two-minute frame of four-on-four play, Maine’s Brandon Holt skated up the offensive zone, beating the Minuteman backcheck for a one-on-one with Hrabal. Holt took the puck to the left side of the crease, then backhanded it, attempting to chip it past the Czechia native. Hrabal tracked the movement and stood tall in net, making the stop and denying the Black Bears their best scoring chance in the first frame.
Graduate student Musa scored his first goal of the season to open the second frame.
After winning the faceoff for UMass, Musa skated up to the boards. Positioned to Boija’s right side and facing the blue line, Musa took a pass from Owen Muray. He sent a sharp backhand shot to his left, lifting it into the top corner of the net for a 4-0 Minuteman lead. The crowd and bench erupted for the Dartmouth transfer’s first tally with UMass, coming in the day before he will be honored at senior night.
“It’s relieving, it’s awesome,” Musa said. “I’ve been kind of just [sticking] with it this year, focusing on my habits and everything and tonight it was a big relief and it finally paid off, all the work that I’ve been putting in.”
The Minutemen will return to play on Saturday night as the face off against Maine for their senior night in the second game of the final series. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Mullins Center and the match can be streamed on ESPN+.
“I think we’re a confident group right now,” O’Hara said. “We haven’t swept a top team in the country in a while. It’s kind of what we’re all looking forward to. Just forget about the game tonight and look at the task tomorrow.”
Caroline Burge can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @Caroline_Burge
