By Chris Judd, News Staff
The Northeastern men’s hockey team couldn’t keep up with the University of Massachusetts team’s speed in a 3-0 loss on Friday.
The Minutemen pressured the Huskies throughout the game. Northeastern got two early power play opportunities but could not generate offense out of them. The Minutemen pressured the Huskies early and often and were constantly looking for the shorthanded goal opportunity.
“UMass was a much better team than we were,” said Northeastern coach Jim Madigan. “They played faster, we didn’t respond. They wanted it more, we didn’t play with a sense of urgency.”
Northeastern had their first good scoring chance with five minutes left in the first period when freshman Dalen Hedges raced down the left side of the ice with sophomore Kevin Roy. Hedges dropped a pass back to Roy, who passed it back up to Hedges. He went to the net and found Witt, but Steve Mastalerz made the save.
The Minutemen scored an early goal in the second period. Freshman Marc Hetnik scored his first career goal when he shot from just above the red line and beat junior goalie Clay Witt in the top right corner of the net 90 seconds into the second period.
The Minutemen nearly scored again 60 seconds later. After a blocked shot in their defensive end, they had a 3 on 1 opportunity. However, the shot went high.
With five minutes left in the period, a University of Massachusetts player shot the puck from the blue line with traffic in front. Witt found it and deflected it with his right skate before covering it to keep it a one score game.
The Huskies got a power play opportunity with three minutes left in the period. The Minutemen were the ones to take advantage of it with a shorthanded goal. Adam Phillips took the puck behind the net and passed to Conor Sheary in front, who the Huskies lost in coverage. He fired a shot past Witt to give the Minutemen a 2-0 lead going into the third period.
The Huskies had a quick start in the third period, registering five shots in the first four minutes. Freshman Zach Aston-Reese fires a shot from the right post 30 seconds in. Two minutes later, Mastalerz mishandles a shot and leaves a rebound in front of the net. A streaking Roy can’t put the puck in the net.
The Huskies lost their momentum when they picked up a power play opportunity. Branden Gracel forced a turnover and took the puck around the crease. Witt sprawled and covered both posts to save the goal.
“They don’t just pressure the point, they pressure every point,” said Madigan. “When you have the ice, so whether you have the half wall, whether you have it down low, whether it be the points of the blue line. They just come at you. You have to have some poise, you have to have a little composure and at some point, if you’re moving around well and you have some patience, you’re going to find yourself, the way that PK works, find yourself with a good scoring opportunity. We didn’t do that.”
With 10 minutes left in the game, senior Braden Pimm left a drop pass entering the offensive zone. No one was there, and the Minutemen had a two man breakaway. Michael Pereira took the shot, but Witt made the save.
The Huskies pulled Witt with 2:30 left in the game. They couldn’t sustain pressure with the sixth man on the ice.
The Minutemen scored an empty net goal with 30 seconds left when Gracel dove at the red line to knock a loose puck into the empty net.
