NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. - No. 2 University of Massachusetts hockey scored three goals in the third period, to rally for a 4-2 come-from-behind win at Merrimack that secured the Minutemen's first-ever Hockey East regular season title. The victory moves UMass to 25-7-0 overall and 17-5-0 in Hockey East play. The Warriors fall to 7-23-3 following the loss (4-17-2 HEA).
"I've had a lot of good experiences in hockey and coached in the Stanley Cup Final, but that might have been up there right at the top," said UMass head coach Greg Carvel. "It's a group of kids that has really come together and no one expected this out of them and they carried it all year long. Even tonight, going into the third period down a goal, they've always risen. They've risen all year long. You don't get experiences like that very often and to see these kids be rewarded for what they've given for the past two years is awesome."
UMass made quick work of its first power play of the night as senior Jacob Pritchard sent a centering feed to sophomore Mitchell Chaffee in the slot and Chaffee tapped it to classmate Cale Makar for the finish 3:46 into the opening period.
Shortly after a Merrimack power play expired, the Warriors tied things up at 1-1 in the opening minute of the second period. Derek Petti finished off a feed from Sami Tavernier and Jonathan Kovacevic on a break-in at the 27-second mark.
Before the close of the stanza, Merrimack took a 2-1 lead. After Kovacevic's original shot was turned aside by sophomore Matt Murray, Ryan Cook was there to deposit the rebound into the back of the UMass net. Tavernier collected his second helper of the night, as well.
Freshman Bobby Trivigno pulled the Minutemen level once more 3:52 into the third period. Taking the puck from classmates Anthony Del Gaizo and Colin Felix, Trivigno skated into the Warriors' zone and tucked a tough-angle shot through Craig Pantano's five hole for his eighth of the year.
Just 18 seconds later, sophomore Jake Gaudet put UMass back on top, 3-2, cleaning up a rebound at the top of the crease off Makar's shot from the point. Chaffee picked up an assist on the play, his second of the night.
Then with the Minutemen on the penalty kill late, Makar cemented the win with the empty net goal from senior Brett Boeing at 17:44.
The Minutemen finished the night with a 36-20 shot advantage and went 1-for-6 on the power play, while the Warriors were 0-for-7.
Murray made 18 saves en route to a program-record 20th win of the season (20-5-0) and Pantano stopped 32 shots for Merrimack.
Makar's three-point effort marked his 10th multi-point game of the season and brought him to a team-leading 39 points on the year. He broke UMass Hall of Famer Thomas Poeck's record for assists by a defenseman in a single season with his 26th helper of the year coming against the Warriors.
The Minutemen will wrap up their home regular season slate this Saturday, March 2, taking on Maine in an 8 p.m. matchup with a postgame senior ceremony to honor seniors Brett Boeing, Kurt Keats, and Jacob Pritchard.
