The UMass hockey team sojourned to the dark side last weekend and failed to sweep a two-game series from the Maine Black Bears in Orono. After posting a 4-2 win on Friday, the wheels came off the ice wagon on Saturday.
In the opening minute of the second period, UMass winger John Leonard failed to convert a penalty shot, setting the stage for Jake Gaudet’s five-minute major, Oliver Chau’s two-minute minor and three Maine power play goals in seven minutes.
UMass scored twice in the third period but lost 4-3. “At least we went out kicking and screaming,” said coach Greg Carvel.
When Carvel gives the nothing-to-see-here routine, it’s time to worry. Aside from perhaps their 4-0 loss at Quinnipiac on Dec. 7, this was the team’s worst game of the season.
In the words of radio analyst Brock Hines, “They got what they deserved.”
UMass is eighth out of 60 Div. 1 teams in shots on goal, but the old saying that the best defense is a good offense won’t work come crunch time. By virtue of its offensive dominance, UMass held Quinnipiac to 26 shots yet lost, UMass-Lowell to 21 shots and lost, Northeastern to 24 shots and lost.
Meanwhile every goaltender that beat UMass made at least 30 saves, including the Black Bears’ Jeremy Swayman (a Bruins’ fourth-round pick) who stopped a career-high 53 shots.
Two weeks ago, Northeastern’s Cayden Primeau made 45 saves and stoned Cale Makar twice on breakaways. Matt Murray made 22 saves but was beaten twice on breakaways.
“We outshot and outplayed them,” Carvel said of the 2-1 loss in overtime. “Goaltending was the difference. We got out-goalied.”
It wasn’t the first time, and it won’t be the last. As good as he looks on the stats page, Murray can’t be relied on to make the big save in key moments. During a 6-1 home win against the Huskies, he took a 10-minute misconduct for swearing at the ref, and Carvel won’t tolerate undisciplined behavior. Opposing coaches know how to get under Murray’s skin and all’s fair in love, war and hockey.
Murray’s a known quantity, but Fille Lindberg, who turns 20 on Thursday, is not. In Orono on Friday, Carvel put him between the pipes and the first-year freshman made 25 saves in the 4-2 win. Afterward Carvel said that the coaching staff named him the player of the game. “He was eager and hungry to play,” Carvel told Hines. “He made huge saves early, five-bell alarm saves.”
It’s no coincidence the only year UMass reached the NCAA Tournament was when Jonathan Quick was in goal. Defense wins championships, and goaltending is the last line of said defense.
According to collegehockeyinc.com, eight Hockey East teams have at least one goalie that’s an NHL draft choice on their rosters. Three of them — BU, UConn and UNH — have two picks. The three that don’t are UMass, UVM and Merrimack, and the latter two teams are cellar dwellers.
On Friday the Minutemen are at BU, and goalie Jake Oettinger was a first round pick (14th overall) of the Dallas Stars in 2017.
UMass is No. 2 in the country, and if it reaches the Frozen Four it’ll need to be Lindberg who gets them there.