The No. 11 UMass hockey team swept Alaska Anchorage over the weekend, including scoring a Division I program record 11 goals on Friday night. The Minutemen enter the semester break at 11-4-1.
Game One
UMass got the goal scoring started early. Just 2:37 into the game, sophomore forward Michael Cameron took a stretch pass from junior forward Ryan Lautenbach and fired a shot under Alaska Anchorage goaltender Jared Whale’s blocker.
Less than three minutes later, freshman forward Aydar Suniev ripped a shot off the crossbar and in off of a beautiful pass from junior defenseman Ryan Ufko.
Ufko kept the onslaught going, as he scored a one-timer slapshot on the powerplay. The goal caused the Seawolves to make a goaltending change, pulling Whale and inserting freshman goaltender Greg Orosz into the game.
Whale exited the game with just one save on four shots.
UMass potted two more goals before the period ended. Freshman forwards Cam O’Neill and Dans Locmelis got the goals which extended the Minutemen’s lead to 5-0.
Despite two goals from Alaska Anchorage in the middle frame, Suniev’s second goal of the game, as well as a goal from junior forward Taylor Makar, kept the Minutemen lead at five going into the third.
“I really liked our first and third period, the second period I wasn’t happy with,” head coach Greg Carvel said. “We took our foot off the gas.”
In the third, UMass scored four times, with goals coming from Locmelis and Makar, as well as powerplay tallies from freshman forward Jack Musa and junior defenseman Scott Morrow.
With eight minutes to go and the Minutemen leading by eight, Carvel decided to pull senior goaltender Cole Brady and let freshman goaltender Jackson Irving see his first collegiate action. Irving finished the game saving all six of the shots he faced.
“It was great to see Jackson Irving get a chance,” said Carvel. “He’s a great kid, good young goalie.”
Brady finished the game with 16 saves on 18 shots, while the Seawolves’ Orosz finished with 14 saves on 22 shots.
Fifteen different Minutemen recorded points on Friday night, including a five point night from Suniev, a career-high for the freshman and as well as a program freshman record in points.
Game Two
In game two of the weekend series with the Seawolves on Saturday night, UMass rode two late third period goals to a 3-2 victory.
Alaska Anchorage opened the scoring 6:25 into the first period, as senior forward Matt Kinash fired a one-timer past Hrabal to give the Seawolves the 1-0 lead.
Less than three minutes later, the Minutemen answered with a goal from junior forward Lucas Mercuri, set up by Morrow and Lautenbach.
UMass remained in a 1-1 tie with the Seawolves until 17:06 into the third period when Suniev drove towards the net and was able to tuck the puck past Whale, giving the Minutemen the lead. The goal was assisted by Musa and Morrow.
Just 55 seconds later, Makar sent a rebound home past Whale off a shot from sophomore forward Kenny Connors. Sophomore forward Cole O’Hara earned the secondary assist on the play, as the Minutemen jumped to a 3-1 advantage.
The Seawolves were able to cut the Minutemen’s lead to one when senior forward Ben Almquist scored with the goalie pulled. The Minutemen and freshmen goaltender Michael Hrabal held off the Seawolves for the final minute, as the game ended in a 3-2 Minutemen victory.
Hrabal finished with 19 saves on 21 shots, while the Whale finished with 32 saves on 35 shots.
“Obviously a much different game than Friday night,” said Carvel. “We had two really good goals there to pull away, but I give Alaska a lot of credit for coming back tonight after [Friday] night’s game.”
Suniev’s big weekend
Suniev was named the Hockey East Rookie of the Week. He led the Minutemen with a team-high six points over the weekend. The young forward leads the Minutemen with seven goals going into the semester break.
This is Suniev’s first weekly award, and the fifth time a Minuteman has been honored this season.
Heading into the break
The Minutemen are idle until Friday, Dec. 28 where they will begin the Adirondack Winter Invitational in Lake Placid, N.Y. against No. 18 Cornell.
Despite the break, two Minutemen will compete for a chance to continue playing hockey, hoping to represent their countries in the 2024 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship.
Hrabal was named to Czechia’s preliminary roster, while Dans Locmelis was named to Latvia’s. The two will compete in their respective country’s pre-tournament training camps in hopes to earn a spot on the roster for the tournament.
Locmelis, a Boston Bruins draft pick from the 2022 NHL draft, has represented Latvia twice in the tournament in 2022 and 2023, registering four goals and an assist for five points in 11 games over the two tournaments. He has five points in his first 12 games for UMass.
