The Minutemen outshot and outpossessed the Terriers for long chunks of Friday's game, but still came out on the losing end of the score line.
UMass hockey coach John Micheleletto watches from the bench during a game last week.BOSTON — In the end, they had no one to blame but themselves.
Whether it was lack of awareness during a line change one minute, a bad penalty the next, or the lack of ability to convert on opponent’s mistakes, the University of Massachusetts hockey team (1-2, 0-2) can point the finger inwards at what went wrong in Friday’s 5-2 loss to No. 13 Boston University (2-1, 2-1) at Agannis Arena.
“I thought our guys were good for 90 or 95 percent of the time. That’s real good as a student, but it’s not good enough in this league,” UMass coach John Micheletto said. “We had critical mistakes at critical times, and they wound up in the back of our net.”
Picking out which mistake was the most egregious in a game where UMass outshot the Terriers 30-25, and out possessed the Terriers for large chunks, but still lost by three goals isn’t easy.
On Boston University’s first goal, captain Kevin Czepiel, who was moved up to the Minutemen’s first line from its fourth for Friday’s game, was headed off for a line change. As Czepiel approached the bench, Boston University’s Cason Hohmann came swooping right behind him with the puck, skating right by an oblivious Czepiel.
Seconds later, Hohmann dropped the puck off for Wade Megan, who made UMass goalie Steve Mastalerz look silly with a beautiful deke to give the Terriers a 1-0 edge just 51 seconds in to period number two.
Defensive Oleg Yevenko made critical error number two. Trailing 2-1 in early in the third period and already killing a penalty, Yevenko unnecessarily cross checked and knocked down the Terriers Evan Rodrigues to give the home side a five-on-three
Thirteen seconds later, Terriers forward Danny O’Regan deposited the puck past a helpless Mastalerz, who stood no chance on an textbook five-on-three pass across the ice from Matt Grzelcyk to O’Regan.
Trailing 3-1, the Minutemen got an opportunity in the middle portion of the final period to get even. The Terriers took two penalties within six seconds of each other, giving UMass 1:54 of five-on-three time.
But as the Minutemen began to move the puck, Terriers goalie Matt O’Connor lost his stick. As it lay there in front of the crease, UMass forward Michael Pereira decided it was in the way, and swept it into the corner to create space.
Except that, in the opinion of the officials, that constituted unsportsmanlike conduct, sending Pereira to the box for two minutes.
“If I had to do it over again, I would have done the same thing,” Pereira said. “I just pushed it away. It’s almost like a five on four with that stick there.“
Micheletto also disagreed with the call.
“We felt that our player had every right to move it away from his area so that he could make a play to score a goal,” he said. “You see it all the time with random sticks that get knocked out.”
The play would give UMass a brief four-on-three power play, on which Joel Hanley would score to pull the Minutemen within one at 3-2.
But the Terriers struck quickly afterward, when UMass defensman Conor Shea got caught up ice. As a four-on-four turned into a Terriers power play, Cason Hohmann streaked down the left side and wristed one off the glove of Mastalerz and in, giving the Terriers the chance to ice the final ten minutes of the game away.
Hohmann would add an empty net goal in the waning moments, but by that point it was too late.
The mistakes had sunk the Minutemen.
“We certainly have positives to take away from it,” Micheletto said. “But we need to realize that our individual decision making has got to be better if we want to win more games in this league”
UMass has a chance to redeem itself Saturday, when the Terriers visit the Mullins Center for a 7 p.m. faceoff.
Pereira said it wouldn’t take long for the team to shift its focus from Friday to Saturday.
“On the bus ride home, that’s all it takes,” he said. “Everyone in this building knew who was bringing it all night … I think we’ll plan accordingly, and we’re going to be ready for tomorrow.”
ONE LINERS
Brandon Gracel scored his second goal of the season in the second period ... The combination of Gracel, Rocco Carzo and Steven Guzzo has scored five of the six even-strength goals for the Minutemen this season ... UMass had killed 11 straight penalties before O'Regan's goal in the third period ... UMass had not trailed in regulation during a game this season until Megan's second-period tally ... Boston University's Jack Parker coached from the booth because of a back problem.