No. 14 UMass men’s hockey unable to complete weekend sweep against Vermont

AMHERST – After defeating the University of Vermont Friday night by a score of 4-1, the No. 14 University of Massachusetts hockey team looked to pick up its second two-game sweep of the season on Saturday at the Mullins Center.

The Minutemen started on the right track, scoring two first-period goals, but fell after letting in six unanswered goals spanning two periods en route to an eventual 6-2 home loss.

“That was a flip-flop of last night’s game. I thought we came out and had a good first period, got up 2-0; I liked the way we were playing,” UMass coach Greg Carvel said. “Then we take an undisciplined penalty in the offensive zone and give them life… Give them credit; they played the way they should. We needed some saves in the second period, and once they got a really big lead, they did a good job.”

UMass got the scoring started when Aydar Suniev picked up the rebound of an Owen Murray shot behind the net, wristed the puck past UVM goaltender Gabe Carriere, and put it into the gaping net, giving the hosts a 1-0 lead with 5:21 left in the first period.

“(Suniev) made the play to Murray and got it back on the end wall,” Carvel said of Suniev’s positioning on the goal. “He’s one of the guys playing the game as hard as he can. He’s learning as he goes and a very talented player.”

The Minutemen got their second tally on the Catamounts when Dans Locmelis picked up a loose puck in front of Carriere’s net and backhanded it past the Vermont netminder, giving UMass a 2-0 lead.

However, that was it for the UMass offense on Saturday night.

Aaron Bohlinger and Nick VanTassell suffered injuries at different points in the game. While the extent of Bohlinger’s damage is unclear, VanTassell’s injury appeared to be an upper-body injury.

“We dressed 17 tonight so we could handle Bohlinger’s injury,” Carvel said. “VanTassel’s was later in the game.”

Carvel said the injuries were “not too bad” and “they should be fine.”

After scoring one before the end of the first period to make it 2-1, UVM led the way offensively on five goals from just two players. Two goals came off the stick of Jeremie Bucheler and three off the bat of Jens Richards, with the third being one he deposited into an empty net in the final minute and a half of play, putting the final nail in UMass’ coffin.

After Bucheler scored his second goal, Carvel decided he had seen enough from Hrabal and pulled him from the game in favor of Cole Brady, who got the start the night before.

Carvel said he wasn’t sure what kind of an impact Brady made, given his limited time on the ice and how far out of reach the game was when he came in.

“Michael Hrabal would say he should have all three of those goals,” Carvel said of the collapse in net by Hrabal. “One of them was an odd-man rush; that’s on us, (the rest) are saves that Michael usually makes.”

When asked if he knew who would start in net in their next game, Carvel answered simply.

“You’ll have to ask the goalie coach,” Carvel said.

Next, the Minutemen travel to Providence, Rhode Island, on Thursday for a home-and-home series. They will first take on Providence College at Schneider Arena and then return home on Saturday to finish up the two-game set – puck drop is scheduled for 4 p.m.