Leonard Scores Twice As Massachusetts Defeats Merrimack, 5-2
Freshman forward John Leonard scores two goals for Minutemen

Freshman forward John Leonard scored two goals for the Minutemen
Prd Time  Team Score Type Scored By Assists
1st 12:15  UMA1-0 EV John Leonard (9)Niko Rufo/6, Austin Albrecht/3
1st 15:50  UMA2-0 PP Niko Rufo (8)Philip Lagunov/7, Josh Couturier/9
2nd 19:30  MER1-2 EV Ludvig Larsson (10)Jace Hennig/14
3rd 0:26  UMA3-1 EV GW John Leonard (10) -
3rd 1:13  UMA4-1 EV Jake Horton (1)Brett Boeing/6
3rd 8:11  MER2-4 EV Ludvig Larsson (11) -
3rd 9:36  UMA5-2 PP Jake McLaughlin (3)Josh Couturier/10, Austin Plevy/5
Scoring 1st 2nd 3rd Final
Merrimack  0112
Massachusetts  2035
Shots on Goal 1st 2nd 3rd SOG
Merrimack  9131133
Massachusetts  613625
Team Stats and Records  PP PIM SHGF
Merrimack (8-17-4)  0/1 5/10 0
Massachusetts (12-16-1)  2/5 1/2 0
Merrimack Goaltending MIN GA 1 2 3 Saves
Drew Vogler (L, 1-7-2)60:005 413320
Massachusetts Goaltending MIN GA 1 2 3 Saves
Matt Murray (W, 5-10-1)59:532 9121031
Empty Net0:070     

AMHERST, Mass. - University of Massachusetts used a 2-0 start to propel the squad to a 5-2 victory over Merrimack at the Mullins Center on Tuesday evening. With the win, the Minutemen (12-16-1, 6-12-1) take the season series against the Warriors (8-17-4, 5-13-2 HEA) and match the program's highest wins total since the 2012-13 season.

"I thought it was a really solid 60 minutes by our guys tonight," said UMass head coach Greg Carvel. "I know we were out-shot but, the chances, I thought, were heavily in our favor. We had a lot of grade-A scoring chances that their goalie made some big saves. For us to score five goals was much needed and I thought we did enough to even score more than that tonight. It was good to see the power play score two goals and good to see us be disciplined and stay out of the penalty box."

At the 12:15 mark of a scoreless first period, freshman John Leonard put UMass on the board, picking up a puck from redshirt senior Niko Rufo and freshman Austin Albrecht and dancing his way into the slot before beating Drew Vogler for his ninth of the season.

The Minutemen then pushed the lead to 2-0 on their first power play opportunity of the night. Freshman Phillip Lagunov found Rufo streaking towards the net for a redirection tally 15:10 into the opening frame. Redshirt sophomore Josh Couturier earned an assist on the play, as well.

With just 30 seconds to play in the second period, the Warriors halved their deficit. Jace Henning set up a Ludvig Larsson strike from the top of the right faceoff circle.

However, UMass promptly regained the two-goal cushion with Leonard adding his second of the night 26 seconds into the third.

Then at the 1:13 mark, junior Brett Boeing fed senior Jake Horton at the point of an offensive zone draw and Horton drove the puck home for his first tally of the season.

Larsson took a rebound up the ice to score Merrimack's second of the game on a 2-on-1 at 8:11, but the Minutemen responded with a power-play goal 1:25 later. Sophomore Jake McLaughlin connected for a blistering one-timer set up by Couturier and junior Austin Plevy.

The Warriors finished the night with a 33-25 edge in shots and were 0-for-1 on the power play, while UMass was 2-for-5 with the man advantage.

Freshman Matt Murray totaled 31 saves in net for the Minutemen and Vogler had 20 stops for Merrimack.

Three Minutemen had multi-point nights, led by Leonard's two-goal effort, his second multi-goal game of the year. Rufo notched a goal and an assist for his fifth career multi-point game and Couturier had two helpers for his third career multi-point game.

UMass will return to action at Boston University on Friday night, Feb. 9, at 7:30 p.m.