AMHERST – No. 14 University of Massachusetts hockey scored late in the second and added three more goals in the third to help the squad open its weekend series with a 4-1 win over Vermont at the Mullins Center on Friday night.
UMass moved to 6-2-1 overall and 2-1-1 in Hockey East following the victory, while the Catamounts fell to 2-4-1 (1-3-1 HE).
“It was nice to get a regulation win in the league, a big three points,” said UMass head coach Greg Carvel. “It was nice to go into the third period with a lead, extend it, and play pretty good hockey. I thought Cole Brady was solid in the net, but the difference tonight was Mercuri’s line. Not just that they scored, but they scored because they played so well. The other three lines need to pick it up for tomorrow night.”
As it appeared that the teams would head to the locker rooms for the second intermission still in a scoreless deadlock, sophomore Michael Cameron won a neutral zone battle and set up juniors Lucas Mercuri and Ryan Lautenbach with a 2-on-1. Mercuri faked a shot and instead dished the puck to Lautenbach for the finish for his team-leading fifth goal of the season at the 17:22 mark.
Mercuri later doubled the lead for the Minutemen, collecting a pass from junior Scott Morrow and Lautenbach alone in front and sliding the puck under Vermont netminder Gabe Carriere 7:10 into the third.
Morrow then pushed the advantage to 3-0 with his third of the season at 10:08, driving home an attempt from the slot off a feed from Lautenbach below the goal line. At the same time, graduate student Samuli Niinisaari collected the secondary helper.
Cameron added an unassisted shorthanded tally 16:56 into the final frame, poking the puck past a Catamount defender to create the breakaway opportunity that led to his second goal of the year.
Vermont spoiled the shutout bid at 17:42, converting on the power play with a one-timer by Chris Theodore from Philip Törnqvist and Massimo Lombardi.
UMass out-shot the Catamounts, 27-22, on the evening, while Vermont was 1-for-2 on the power play and the Minutemen were 0-for-3.
Brady made 21 saves to collect the win for UMass, and Carriere finished with 23 stops for UVM.
Lautenbach finished the contest with three points (1g, 2a), while Mercuri, Morrow, and Cameron each contributed a goal and an assist.
The two teams will be back in action tomorrow, November 11, at 6 p.m. at the Mullins Center.
– Courtesy of UMass Athletics
