MASSACHUSETTS UPENDS UNION, 5-2
Cory Quirk and Martin Nolet each post goal and assist for Minutemen

Cory Quirk had a goal and an assist for the Minutemen

AMHERST, Mass. - The No. 10 UMass men's hockey team defeated the Union Dutchmen 5-2 on Sunday evening thanks to goals from five different Minutemen. UMass improves to 6-3-4 overall, while Union falls to 2-5-2 overall. The Minutemen remain unbeaten at the Mullins Center this year at 3-0-3 and are undefeated in the last 12 games dating back to last season. Mike Kostka, Martin Nolet, and Cory Quirk each had multi-point games for the Minutemen. Torren Delforte and Josh Coyle netted goals for Union.

UMass goalie Dan Meyers returned to net after an early season injury forced him to miss 10 games. His last appearance was on Oct. 13 in the win at St. Lawrence. He made 25 saves in his second start of the season.

The first period was a high scoring affair as each team tallied two goals. Just 37 seconds into the game, Nolet scored his first goal of the season putting UMass up 1-0. Normally a left defenseman, Nolet made his first career appearance in the game at left wing.

Union answered to tie the game at 1-1 nearly five minutes later when Delforte beat Meyers for his third goal of the season. The score came just as a UMass penalty expired a second earlier.

Justin Braun gave UMass the lead back with 7:23 remaining in the period when he blasted a shot for his first power-play goal of the season. The team's second-leading scorer this year settled at the top of the slot where Quirk sent him a pass from behind the goal line just below the right face-off circle.

Coyle responded for Union with a power play goal of his own to tie the game at 2-2 with 1:28 left in the first. With the Minutemen down two men, Coyle scored just four seconds before the end of UMass' first penalty.

In the second period, Quirk put home a loose rebound from a Doug Kublin shot to give the Minutemen a 3-2 edge just one minute, 32 seconds into the frame. Shortly after Quirk's goal, Chase Langeraap's shot from the right face-off circle hit the near post but deflected to the far corner. The two teams battled through the remainder of the period, but neither could find the back of the net.

Langeraap found redemption in the third period when he tipped a Kostka shot redirecting it past Union goalie Corey Milan for his second goal of the season giving UMass a 4-2 advantage with 11:12 remaining. The Minutemen had a 5-on-3 advantage and Kostka rifled a shot from the top of the left face-off circle. Langeraap was posted just in front of the crease where he deflected the shot into the goal.

Just 42 seconds later, Chris Davis scored the Minutemen's fifth goal of the game when he gathered a rebound off a shot from Mike Lecomte and buried the puck past Milan for his second goal of the season.

UMass finished the game 3-for-5 on the power-play while outshooting the Dutchmen 55-27.

The Minutemen will travel north to face off against Cornell on Friday night. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.