The mountains of Holyoke Range surround the Mullins Center, but on Saturday night, goaltender Michael Hrabal stood tallest in Amherst, stopping a career-high 50 of the 53 shots the No. 19 Massachusetts hockey team faced against No. 13 UConn.
“He does exceptionally well in the spotlight,” head coach Greg Carvel said. “Tonight, you could just see it. He rises to the occasion. When he does the right things and pays the right price, all the things that we need him to do … he puts himself in a great spot and he has just this uncanny ability to not be phased, which is pretty unique and it’s going to serve him well.”
Early in the second period, Alexandre Blais made a shot attempt that was a tall order for the 6-foot-7 goalie to stop. Hrabal successfully pulled off an improbable save that took video review to confirm, his first of 25 total stops in the frame.
Off a face off, Hrabal moved towards the post to his right following a shot from Kaden Shahan that went wide. Hrabal turned further to watch as the puck deflected off the back wall and landed on the stick of Blais, who was skating in on the wide-open net to Hrabal’s left. The freshman forward dropped to one knee, ripping a one-timer without any obstacles in his well-aimed shot’s path.
In the fraction of a second between the puck’s bounce off the boards and Blais putting the puck back on net, Hrabal twisted a full 180 degrees towards the post, diving forward with his stick and just barely knocking the puck away before it fully crossed the line, denying the Huskies (17-10-5, 11-8-3 Hockey East) an equalizer.
“It’s part of the game, I’m there to stop the puck,” Hrabal said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s 10 or 50 shots, it’s trying to help the team win a game. It doesn’t matter how we win, a win is the most important [thing] right now.”
Following 65 minutes of ironclad goaltending, the junior netminder stopped six of seven shots he faced in the shootout, giving Minutemen (19-12-1, 12-9-1 HEA) skaters the security they needed to put away a game-winning goal.
“[Hrabal gives us] so much [reassurance],” Jack Musa said. “I mean, you can always count on him and he’s going to make every save and it just lets you play a little more freely, so it’s awesome to have him back there.”
Hrabal put up a standout performance, but this wasn’t an outlier in how he’s operated in net for UMass since January. The Czech native has posted a 0.957 save percentage since the turn of the year. His shut-down performances in net have lifted the Minutemen past their opponents in 10 of their last 13 games.
“He doesn’t get rattled by circumstance,” Carvel said. “Sometimes, as a younger goalie, he would lose his work ethic or his focus and now he’s matured to that point where I don’t worry about that anymore.”
Just under halfway through the third period, both teams were relentlessly searching for a go-ahead goal, and Hrabal kept UMass in contention.
Joey Muldowney took a shot through traffic, and Hrabal positioned himself to block the puck, but he couldn’t corral the immediate rebound. Ryan Tattle picked up the puck on Hrabal’s doorstep, trying to wrap his stick around the junior netminder. Hrabal threw his body across the crease, keeping the game at a tie.
“It’s the end of the season. I’m trying to make a mark here,” Hrabal said. “That’s why we’re here, just trying to win games and go as far as possible.”
The Minutemen head into their final weekend of the regular season with a matchup against Boston College at the Mullins Center. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. and ESPN+ will stream the game.
Caroline Burge can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @Caroline_Burge.
