AMHERST, Mass. - No. 3/2 University of Massachusetts hockey put up four goals in the first 15 minutes of Game 2 of the Hockey East Quarterfinals to roll to a 6-0 victory over New Hampshire on Saturday night at the Mullins Center. With the win, the Minutemen (28-8-0) advance to the Hockey East Semifinals at the TD Garden for the first time since 2007, while the Wildcats end their season at 12-15-9.
"I was really happy with the way we played last night," said UMass head coach Greg Carvel. "I thought we just continued it tonight, the difference being that we were able to get to their goalie quickly tonight. We didn't really give up a lot; we had solid goaltending tonight. We've had a lot of milestones this year; it's always great to win your last game on home ice, but it's really rewarding to be able to take your team to your league championship weekend. I've done it before as a coach and it's a really special time. I'm really excited for this group to be able to experience this. When we lost last year at Northeastern in the quarterfinals, as soon as that game was over the kids decided that next year we were making it (to TD Garden). They've had that goal all year long. We'll go into Boston with a plan to win the whole thing. We won't just be happy to be there. But this weekend to me was a real statement weekend."
UMass converted on its first power play of the night just 4:36 into the contest as sophomore Cale Makar blasted home a one-timer off a tic-tac-toe feed from freshman Marc Del Gaizo and senior Jacob Pritchard.
Pritchard then cleaned up a rebound from a Ty Farmer shot at 7:27 for the Minutemen's second of the frame. Brett Boeing made it a 3-0 margin 12:45 into the period, picking up the puck from junior Niko Hildenbrand in the defensive zone and driving in on UNH netminder Mike Robinson for the score.
UMass' fourth goal of the stanza came at 14:37 when Trivigno redirected a Makar shot past Robinson for his third goal of the weekend and fourth in the past three games. Sophomore John Leonard picked up an assist, as well.
Freshman Colin Felix continued the scoring 4:52 into the second period with his first career tally from junior Jake McLaughlin and Pritchard. Boeing then added his second of the night at 8:33 off a feed from Leonard and Makar.
Pritchard and Makar both finished the contest with three points apiece on a goal and two assists, Pritchard's second three-point game of the weekend. Makar's multi-point effort was his 11th of the season and brought his season total to a team-high 46 points.
Boeing's two-goal tied a single-game career best and Leonard's two assists marked his 17th career multi-point game. Trivigno logged a goal and an assist to finish the two-game series against the Wildcats with five points (3g, 2a).
UMass out-shot UNH 25-18 and went 1-for-3 on the power play, while holding the Wildcats to a 0-for-3 night with the man advantage. Freshman Filip Lindberg made 18 saves en route to his second career shutout and improved to 8-2-0 on the season for the Minutemen.
