AMHERST, Mass. - A pair of power-play goals helped lift Massachusetts hockey to a 3-1 victory over Army West Point at the Mullins Center on Friday afternoon. With the win the Minutemen move to 7-6-2 on the year, while the Black Knights fall to 5-9-0.
"I really liked our game tonight, said UMass head coach Greg Carvel. "The kids played a solid 60 minutes. We talked about playing the game with integrity and this group is doing a real good job playing the game the right way. Again, 42 shots I thought we could have earned another goal or two, but we played well defensively. It was a solid 60 minutes."
With the first period winding down, freshman Francesco Dell'Elce put UMass on the board, firing a shot from the high slot through traffic off a feed from sophomores Dans Locmelis and Jack Musa at the 18:06 mark.
The Minutemen doubled their lead 15:07 into the second period with the man advantage. Musa won a battle for the puck down low and sent it up the wall to sophomore Aydar Suniev. Suniev then sent a cross-ice pass to junior Cole O'Hara who was alone in front to pick a corner for his seventh tally of the season.
UMass added another power-play goal in the final minute of play in the second. Freshman Daniel Jencko flicked home a one-timer from the right faceoff dot with junior Lucas Ölvestad and Dell'Elce earning the helpers at 19:36.
Army spoiled the shutout bid with a power-play goal if its own 10:18 into the third period. Nils Froselius centered the puck for Barron Woodring who tucked it underneath netminder Michael Hrabal with a backwards between the legs shot.
The Minutemen outshot the Black Knights 42-25 on the day and went 2-for-4 with the man advantage and 2-for-3 on the penalty kill.
Hrabal totaled 24 saves for UMass and Evan Szary had 39 stops for Army.
The Minutemen will be back in action next Saturday, December 7, when the squad will travel to Boston University for a 6 p.m. matchup against the Terriers.
