MANKATO, Minn. - University of Massachusetts freshman goaltender Michael Hrabal stopped all 32 shots he faced and the defense in front of him blocked 28 shots to help the Minutemen complete the weekend sweep of No. 19/20 Minnesota State with a 1-0 victory at Mayo Clinic HSEC on Saturday night. With the win, UMass moves to 4-1-0 on the year, while the Mavericks fall to 2-2-0.
"It wasn't pretty in any way," said UMass head coach Greg Carvel. "I didn't think we possessed the puck much tonight and took a lot of penalties. Our goaltender was the difference, special teams were the difference. Our penalty kill was outstanding, the power play scored a goal. Just like the last three games, we've been the better team on special teams, but it's a long trip, it's a long way to come out here. We looked like a tired team, but they fought through adversity and they found a way and Michael Hrabal was excellent."
The Massachusetts penalty kill was tested early and often, first finding themselves shorthanded for nearly four consecutive minutes as graduate student Lucas Vanroboys was whistled for slashing just two seconds after the squad killed off a too many men penalty in the opening period.
The lone goal of the contest came 11:22 into the second period as freshman Aydar Suniev converted on the power play for his second of the weekend. Junior Lucas Mercuri won an offensive zone draw back to senior Aaron Bohlinger at the blueline and he sent the puck to Suniev at the opposite point for a one-timer that found the back of the Minnesota State net.
UMass then found itself shorthanded for five minutes after graduate student Liam Gorman was whistled for contact to the head at the 12:58 mark. The Minutemen not only successfully completed the extended kill but held the Mavericks to just one shot on goal on the power play to help preserve the 1-0 margin heading into the third.
Minnesota State was on the power play for 5 minutes, 31 seconds of the third period, but still the Massachusetts defense held strong, finishing the night 8-for-8 on the PK and surrendering just nine total shots on goal over those eight opportunities.
The Mavericks finished the contest with a 32-15 shot advantage and the Minutemen went 1-for-4 on the power play on the evening. Graduate student Samuli Niinisaari paced the UMass defense with seven blocked shots, while Bohlinger registered four.
Massachusetts will be back in action next Friday, October 27, when the squad will travel to No. 6 Boston University for its Hockey East opener, which is set for a 7 p.m. start at Agganis Arena.
