Murray, Massachusetts Blank Merrimack, 4-0
Freshman goaltender Matt Murray makes 24 saves for Minutemen

Freshman goaltender Matt Murray made 24 saves for the Minutemen
Prd Time  Team Score Type Scored By Assists
1st 13:37  UMA1-0 PP GW Jake McLaughlin (2)Philip Lagunov/2, Niko Rufo/3
1st 15:52  UMA2-0 EV Eetu Torpström (1)Philip Lagunov/3, Niko Rufo/4
2nd 0:13  UMA3-0 EV Cale Makar (1) -
2nd 15:19  UMA4-0 PP Josh Couturier (1)Jake McLaughlin/2, Oliver Chau/4
Scoring 1st 2nd 3rd Final
Merrimack  0000
Massachusetts  2204
Shots on Goal 1st 2nd 3rd SOG
Merrimack  681024
Massachusetts  137121
Team Stats and Records  PP PIM SHGF
Merrimack (0-4-2)  0/5 3/6 0
Massachusetts (4-3-0)  2/2 6/12 0
Merrimack Goaltending MIN GA 1 2 3 Saves
Drew Vogler (L, 0-4-2)35:194 114015
Craig Pantano24:410 0112
Massachusetts Goaltending MIN GA 1 2 3 Saves
Matt Murray (W, 3-2-0)60:000 681024

AMHERST, Mass. - University of Massachusetts hockey opened up Hockey East play on Friday night with a 4-0 victory over Merrimack at the Mullins Center. Defensemen provided all four goals for the Minutemen (4-3-0, 1-0-0 HEA) and freshman Matt Murray totaled 24 saves en route to his first collegiate shutout. Merrimack falls to 0-4-2 and 0-1-0 in Hockey East following the loss.

"I'm really proud of my team and impressed with how well we played tonight through the first two periods and kind of won the game through the first two periods," said UMass head coach Greg Carvel. "That was a really good effort by our team, the power play found a way to score and to hold them off, to win the special teams the way we did. I thought we checked well, I thought we played with a lot of intensity, were physical, I thought we played to our identity really well tonight. All-in-all, that was a really good Hockey East game for us and no doubt tomorrow night we'll see a very energized Merrimack team."

Sophomore Jake McLaughlin opened up the scoring on UMass' first power-play of the night, 13:37 into the first period, knocking in a feed from freshman Philip Lagunov and redshirt senior Niko Rufo at the doorstep.

Moments later at the 15:52 mark, freshman Eetu Torpström made it a 2-0 margin, backhanding the puck past Drew Vogler off a pass from Lagunov and Rufo. The tally marked Torpström's first collegiate goal and point.

Just 13 ticks into the second period, freshman Cale Makar collected his first collegiate goal, intercepting a Merrimack clearing attempt and firing it home to push the Minutemen's lead to three.

Redshirt sophomore Josh Couturier capped the scoring and finished off a 2-for-2 night on the power play for UMass with his first goal as a Minuteman coming off a shot from the point at 15:59 of the second. McLaughlin and freshman Oliver Chau earned assists on the play.

UMass also went 5-for-5 on the penalty kill for a perfect special teams effort while trailing Merrimack in shots, 24-21 in the contest.

McLaughlin (1g, 1a), Lagunov (2a) and Rufo (2a) all posted mutli-point games for the Minutemen. Rufo's marked his third of the season, while Lagunov's was the first of his career.

The teams will be back in action tomorrow night, Oct. 28, at 7 p.m. when the squads will square off at Lawler Arena in North Andover, Massachusetts to complete the home-and-home weekend.