The No. 19 Massachusetts hockey team lacked offensive production in a 1-0 loss to New Hampshire on Saturday to split the series with the Wildcats (13-6-1, 7-12-1 Hockey East).
“Hate to lose,” head coach Greg Carvel said. “I don’t think we got outplayed, but [it] wasn’t our best. We looked like a tired team, didn’t have a lot of jam. I give them credit … It felt like 50 shots they blocked. They were a little more desperate than we were.”
Throughout three periods of play, the Minutemen (18-12, 11-9 HEA) could not find the back of the net. Behind them, Michael Hrabal put up a stellar performance which kept them in the game.
The junior netminder made 28 stops, putting up a 0.966 save percentage. After a shutout on Friday, the Czech native denied 49 out of 50 New Hampshire shots on the weekend.
“He’s legit; he’s had our backs all year and it sucks, especially now, because he had our back tonight and we should’ve had his,” Justin Kerr said.
Six and a half minutes into the third, Conner de Haro received the puck between the right circle and the blue line after a face off. He worked quickly, sending the puck up towards the crease, where Nick Ring waited, ready to reach out with his stick to tip the puck past Hrabal.
The six-foot-seven goalie locked down the net on the initial shot before immediately pushing off his left skate over to Ring, reacting to disrupt the shot and look for the rebound.
Just two minutes later, the Wildcats stripped Justin Kerr of the puck as he carried it through the neutral zone, and Kristaps Skrastins brought it back into his offensive zone, using his momentum to let off a shot from the left face-off dot before UMass defenders could get between his line of fire and the net.
Hrabal perfectly positioned himself in Skrastins’ path, reaching out to glove the puck down and hold New Hampshire to a one-goal game, giving the Minutemen a fighting chance as time expired.
In a game short on goals, Ryan MacPherson found the single tally of Saturday night, putting away the game for the Wildcats.
Off a shot that went wide, Ryan Philbrick picked up the loose puck along the boards, skating it behind the net before stopping short to evade UMass defenders. He backhanded it to MacPherson at the left face-off dot.
The sophomore forward sent a one-timer towards the net off the pass, banking the puck off the post in the small gap between the Hrabal and the pipe for his second goal of the season.
After closing out the first period without many chances to respond, the Minutemen had good looks to score in the second, but they couldn’t put the puck away for an equalizer.
“It wasn’t our A-game,” captain Owen Murray said. “That’s not really acceptable at this time of the year. We’re fighting for our lives every single night. [We] can’t afford to throw these ones away, and now we’ve got a big test next weekend where we’ve got to find a way to win both nights.”
On the power play, UMass struggled, only registering two shots on its two man-advantage chances. This dearth of scoring opportunities came after they scored a power play goal on Friday, its first since November.
“That’s just the human nature of hockey,” Carvel said. “We won last night, they lost. They’re going to come to the rink a little more hungry, and that’s why it’s tough to sweep in this league.”
Up next, the Minutemen head out to Storrs, Conn., for a series with UConn. The first matchup will be on Friday, Feb. 27, at the Toscano Family Ice Forum before they return home to the Mullins Center on Saturday, Feb. 28, for senior night. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. for both games, and they can be streamed on ESPN+.
