Well. 8 UMass hockey loses to Boston University in 4-3 overtime

AMHERST – The UMass hockey team battled for a two-goal deficit but lost to Boston University overtime on Saturday night at the Mullins Center.

The Terriers (4-7-1, 3-4-1 Hockey East) secured a 2-0 lead in the second set with Wilmer Skoog’s power goal. BU had stopped Minutemen’s attack at that point in the game.

UMass scored three without an answer, but Case McCarthy’s extra time goal sealed all chances for Minutemen to secure a return victory against the Hockey East competitor.

“We’re not happy with the way we started the game, BU won the first set,” Minutemen coach Greg Carvel said. “Sorry for the overtime, we too easily gave up control of the puck there in the area and gave them too much space.”

Valuable scoring opportunities didn’t come easy for 8th place UMass (6-3-1, 4-1-1) in the first set as the Terriers beat Minutemen 12-7.

Eric Faith has acted as substitute for injured first-line central team Josh Lopina for the past two weekends, having played in Friday’s race against the terrier in the starting column, winning 24 out of 28. He was injured at the beginning of the first episode, which forced him. Carver make line adjustments.

Defender Slava Demin was UMass’s extra skater, so Carvel had to move one of his blue liners forward. Ty Farmer was originally paired with Colin Felix for the night, but was moved to the third row, while Matt Baker was grouped with Captain Bobby Trivignon and Garrett Wait in the first row.

The farmer “did a decent job,” Carvel said. “Ty skates well, an intelligent player, so I knew he could meet, and I think he did a good job as a defender.”

This is the second night in a row that the defender has moved forward. Aaron Bohlinger filled second-line striker Cal Kiefiuk, who was also injured.

“We are now missing three of our top four strikers, which is difficult,” Carvel said. “I thought the team regrouped and competed hard in the last two episodes.”

Soon after Skoog’s goal, the Minutes began to find an offensive rhythm. Ryan Lautenbach found Matthew Kessel at the top of the left circle to bring UMass back into the race. Near the end of the episode, terrier striker Jamie Armstrong was called to a stumbling block that created a Bobby Trivigno power game goal and tied the match 2-2.

Physicality was introduced in the second episode of Minutemen, most notably Trivigno and freshman defender Scott Morrow. Trivigno was given a chance to change things around. Morrow gave a similar bounce to Jay O’Brien later in the episode, who was also unable to get up on his feet right after the hit. Both hits were reviewed but no penalties were imposed.

Physical play “was a big focus,” Trivigno said. “When they move around the whole zone and we play (defense), it’s important to get inside your husband, grab him and do anything. … We always play that way, and I don’t think we played it in the first, second, and third, we definitely played harder and more physically.

UMass was beaten with less than 16 minutes left in the final round when Bobby stole the puck from Fensore to start the break. Ryan Ufko picked up the puck and continued to score and scored Minutemen 3-2. Fensore were given a gift!

“I hope it would have been the winner of the game,” Carvel said of Ufko’s finish. “It’s quite a goal to do in this type of game.”

In the absence of Faith, a series of lineup changes led to real winger Ryan Sullivan finishing in the third row. Like Faith’s performance on Friday night, Sullivan was UMass’s most powerful player in matches and won 8/10.

“I challenged Ryan this morning to do more than just keep his head on the water and do positive things for us with the puck,” Carvel said. – He has experience from the center, and I thought he raised his game tonight. I thought he was holding the discs. (Sullivan) played better, and we need it.

UFO and Assistant Captain Matthew Kessel have established themselves as Minutemen’s best defensive pair. Both scored on Saturday night, but Kessel’s second-round penalty led to BU’s second goal of the night. Ufko received the first batch of harassment penalty.

Ufko and Kessel’s goals “are really positive, but they need to play more responsibly in defense,” Carvel said. “They’re our best defensive pair, so they have to be plus players throughout the game.”

The home and home series with New Hampshire is UMass’s next match. The Wildcats shared their weekend series with Vermont on Friday and Saturday.