The Northeastern men’s hockey team (7-10-3, 2-7-3 HE) was handed a disappointing 5-0 loss by the University of Massachusetts Amherst Minutemen (10-9-2, 3-6-2 HE) Jan. 10 at a packed Matthews Arena but were able to come back the next night with a shutout in Minutemen territory. Despite coming off a massive 5-1 victory over Quinnipiac University the week prior, the Huskies immediately lost their momentum at home by giving up easy goals defensively. “They played big boy hockey, and we didn’t,” head coach Jerry Keefe said after the game.
It didn’t take long for UMass to strike. In the fifth minute, freshman right wing Daniel Jenčko took a shot in front of the goal. Sophomore goaltender Cameron Whitehead made the save, but the puck rebounded right back into Jenčko’s reach, allowing him to shove it in and put the Minutemen up 0-1 early in the first.
UMass had their first power play opportunity after freshman right wing James Fisher was called for tripping in the sixth minute. However, it wasn’t just sloppy passes and missed connections that kept the Minutemen from converting; it was the outstanding work of Whitehead, having key saves that showed why he is the Hockey East’s leader in total saves.
In the 12th minute, Northeastern got their first chance at some 5-on-4 play after freshman defender Finn Loftus was sent to the box for interference. But the Huskies couldn’t string anything productive together. Their only shot came from junior defender Joaquim Lemay, which junior forward Cole O’Hara blocked.
With less than a minute left in the first 20, Northeastern had a great look at the goal after a lucky bounce off freshman forward Joe Connor’s swing placed the puck right in front of the Minutemen’s goal. Graduate defenseman Jake Boltmann was there to finish the effort, but UMass junior defenseman Kennedy O’Connor got in Boltmann’s way and kept the Huskies off the board. UMass nearly doubled Northeastern’s shots during the first period, 13 to seven.
UMass wasted little time finding the net going into the second period — in fact, they found it in 46 seconds. Sophomore forward Jack Musa made a pass to O’Hara, who was skating up the ice and towards the Husky goal. With Husky defenders focused on the possibility of Musa taking a swing, they were not set up for O’Hara, who made a quick shot at the net. Whitehead dropped too early, and the puck slid right over him and into the net. The Minutemen increased their lead 0-2.
In the final seconds of the 14th minute, junior defender Owen Murray slid and stopped too fast and too close to Whitehead, causing a spray of ice to paint Whitehead’s face. This sent Murray to the box for unsportsmanlike conduct, handing the Huskies another power play chance, which they desperately needed. But just like the first, Northeastern failed to capitalize on the opportunity. Captain and junior center Jack Williams scraped together two shots, and sophomore forward Dylan Hryckowian had one of his own, but nothing could find the inside of the net.
After a huge brawl near the Minutemen’s net in the 17th minute, Lemay was called for slashing, giving UMass a chance to close out the second period with a power play. A minute in, the Huskies stole the puck, and junior forward Nick Rhéaume skated up the ice toward sophomore goaltender Michael Hrabal. One-on-one, Rhéaume swung, but his shot was poorly aimed, easily giving Hrabal his 23rd save of the game.
Hrabal was returning to the ice fresh off a third place bronze finish in the 2025 world junior championships for Czechia, where he also was chosen as one of Team Czechia’s top-three players of the Tournament. Hrabal’s save percentage is also the fourth highest in Hockey East.
The second period closed out, and while the Huskies were able to keep the Minutemen from converting on the power play, they were still in a 0-2 hole.
UMass entered the third period just how they came into the past two: hot. In the second minute, after stealing the puck from Northeastern’s attack zone, senior forward Lucas Mercuri skated down the ice. Mercuri passed to sophomore forward Aydar Suniev on his left, who bounced it back to Mercuri near the goal. Mercuri was able to tuck the puck in for a score and widen the lead 0-3.
In the sixth minute, Suniev was called for hooking. Connor and junior defender Vinny Borgesi took swings but, again, could not convert. A little over a minute after the Husky power play ended, another began when Mercuri received two minutes, also for hooking. But like the rest of the night, it was not going Northeastern’s way. The Huskies failed to capitalize on the power play and had eight minutes left in the final period to scrap something together.
With just over three minutes remaining, Keefe pulled Whitehead to give the Huskies an extra skater. The puck slipped out of Northeastern’s attack zone, and Suniev shot it straight into the empty net, putting the Minutemen up four.
At this point, UMass was on an unstoppable roll, and the Huskies looked outright defeated. Just 11 seconds after Suniev’s goal, the Minutemen struck again. All crowded around the net, sophomore center Dans Locmelis scooped the puck up and shot it to Musa on the right of Whitehead, who was back in the net. Musa was able to act quickly and sweep the puck in. It was 5-0 and it was clear Whitehead was doing all he could, but the Husky defense was lacking.
“[We had a] great crowd tonight. Did nothing to take advantage of it,” Keefe said after the loss. “We [have] to be more physical. We’re going to be more intense, and we need a way better start tomorrow night.”
Time trickled down, and Northeastern fans slowly left Matthews defeated.
The Huskies faced UMass again Jan. 11 in Amherst. But this time around, they bounced back.
Borgesi put Northeastern on the board with a pass from Hryckowian in the 11th minute of the first period. Keeping their momentum into the next 20, Boltmann scored one of his own with another assist from Hryckowian. In the final two minutes of the game, up 2-0, Hryckowian tacked on an unassisted goal to take the Minutemen down 3-0. All the while, Whitehead recorded an incredible 35 saves to shut out UMass.
The team goes on the road to the University of Vermont (8-10-3, 3-6-2 HE) Jan. 17. The puck is set to drop for 7 p.m.
