UMass hockey: Minutemen outclass UNH at Mullins, 4-0

AMHERST — The No. 19 UMass hockey team won its first game after a two-week hiatus, defeating New Hampshire 4-0 on Friday night. After getting time off to reset and get healthy, the Minutemen made sure to get off to a hot start to the contest.

Before some fans were even in their seats, Lucas Klecka controlled the puck deep in the right corner of the offensive zone. The freshman sent a pass back up the boards to Owen Murray at the point, who crashed down through the corner and around the net.

Rounding the left post, Murray sent a pass across the crease back to Klecka, who slid in behind the defense to redirect the puck into the back of the net.

“It was a great start to the game after being off for two weeks,” Minutemen head coach Greg Carvel said. “Really happy with how we started and scored on the first shift.”

Scoring on the power play has been hard to come by for UMass as of late, with no goals on the man advantage across a 12-game stretch dating back to the Nov. 29 contest against Army.

The Minutemen got their first chance on the power play just over five minutes into the first period, with Francesco Dell’Elce handling the puck at the blue line on the left side. The sophomore slid a pass point-to-point to Vaclav Nestrasil, looking toward Larry Keenan at the right dot.

Keenan paused for a second, rifling a wrist shot toward the far side of the net, beating the Wildcats’ goaltender under the blocker. The goal came under halfway through the man advantage, giving UMass an early 2-0 lead.

“I loved the first power play, got the puck moving around quick, and scored a goal,” Carvel said. “We need shots on net. We worked a ton this week on the power play… The first power play felt really good, like we had purpose.”

The Minutemen dominated the beginning of the game on both ends, matching the pair of goals with some stellar defense. Through the first eight minutes, New Hampshire was unable to get a shot on goal.

As the period wore on just under five minutes to play, UMass continued its success on the offensive end as well. Dell’Elce sent a stretch pass up the neutral zone from his left defense spot to Cam O’Neill, bursting past the blue line.

O’Neill had Bo Cosman streaking down the right side, with just one defender in front of them. Spotting his open teammate, O’Neill served up a one-timer for Cosman to flip his hips on and smash into the netting for the Minutemen’s third goal of the period.

Cosman had missed five games prior to Friday night’s contest due to injury, slotting into the first line and getting back on the board quickly.

“I feel good,” Cosman said. “It’s good to be back. Just want to bring the boys energy… [Carvel] wanted us to get right into it, be physical, take down that task, and then kind of build into the game as it went on.”

UMass’ leading scorer, Jack Musa missed the game against the Wildcats with the flu, opening the door for Cosman to do what he could to fill the void.

With three goals on the board, the Minutemen focused hard through the rest of the game to keep New Hampshire out of the scoring column. The team did great to limit shots on net, allowing just 21 throughout all 60 minutes.

When shots did get through, Michael Hrabal was there to make plays, completing the shutout for his fifth of the season. With the win on Friday, the junior goaltender earned the 50th of his collegiate career.

“I thought [Hrabal] was really sharp,” Carvel said. “We did a good job keeping the game on the outside, but [the Wildcats] did have some nice looks. I think he’s on top of his game. He’s really seeing the puck. He looks really comfortable. He’s in a groove.”

UMass added its fourth goal of the night early in the third period, with Keenan finding his pairing Dell’Elce with open space at the left point. Already with two points on the night, Dell’Elce let a wrister fly from deep, lighting the lamp for his squad’s fourth of the contest.

The two sophomore defensemen put together an impressive performance throughout all three periods on both ends, capped off by a combined five points and eight shots on goal.

“It’s definitely nice,” Keenan said of playing alongside Dell’Elce. “Last year, I played with him the entire year, so I know his tendencies, know what he’s going to do with the puck. It was nice to play with him [again].”

Nick VanTassell played in his first game back with the Minutemen since Dec. 7 on Friday, not finding his way on the scoresheet, but getting back in the swing of things.

With the win, UMass improves to 18-11-0 on the season, and 11-8-0 in Hockey East. With another matchup with the Wildcats on the road coming up just 24 hours later, the Minutemen will look to replicate their impressive victory again.

Puck drop from Whittemore Center Arena is set for Saturday, Feb 21, at 7 p.m., marking UMass’ fifth-to-last game of the regular season.

“I’m really happy with our start, really happy with our strong defensive play and really happy we scored a power play goal,” Carvel said.