University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
Merrimack
Hockey Defeats Merrimack, 3-0 in Hockey East Opener
October 27, 2000 | Hockey
Oct. 27, 2000
AMHERST, Mass. -- The University of Massachusetts scored two quick goals halfway through the first period and Markus Helanen (Vantaa, Finland) stopped all 31 shots he faced en route to a 3-0 Hockey East win over Merrimack tonight at the Mullins Center.
UMass struck early in the game when freshman Thomas P?ck (Klagenfurt, Austria) converted off a give-and-go with senior R.J. Gates (Plainville, Conn.) to give the Minutemen a 1-0 lead. Freshman Scott Horvath (West Redding, Conn.) also assisted on the goal.
The Minutemen took a two-goal lead when senior captain Jeff Turner (Saginaw, Mich.) fired a shot into the top righthand corner from the slot with 9:13 remaining in the period. Junior Martin Miljko (Etobicoke, Ontario) and sophomore Tim Turner (Saginaw, Mich.) both recorded assists on the goal.
UMass extended its lead to 3-0 at the 14:02 mark of the second period with a power play goal. Jeff Turner fired a shot on net from the point that was redirected by sophomore Brad Nizwantowski (Peabody, Mass.). Horvath collected the redirection out front and fired the puck into the net.
The win improves the Minutemen to 1-2-1 on the season and 1-0-0 in Hockey East, while Merrimack is now 2-2-1 overall and 0-1-0 in Hockey East. The win marks the first time UMass has opened the Hockey East portion of its schedule with a win since the 1995-96 season when it won the first two games in league play.
The shutout was Helanen's third of his career and first in Hockey East league play.
The Minutemen return to action Sunday, Oct. 29, when they travel to No. 2 Boston College for a Hockey East league contest. Game time is 7:00 p.m.
Box Score
Merrimack 0 - 0 - 0 -- 0 (2-2-1, 0-1-0 HE)
UMass 2 - 1 - 0 -- 3 (1-2-1, 1-0-0 HE)
SCORING - FIRST PERIOD - UM, Thomas P?ck 3 (R.J. Gates, Scott Horvath) 9:11, UM, Jeff Turner 1 (Martin Miljko, Tim Turner) 10:47. SECOND PERIOD - UM, Scott Horvath 2 (Jeff Turner, Brad Nizwantowski) PPG 14:02. THIRD PERIOD - None.
SHOTS - MC, 31 (10-12-9), UM, 27 (10-6-11). SAVES - MC, Tom Welby 24 (8-5-11), UM, Markus Helanen 31 (10-12-9). PENALTIES - MC, 7 for 14 min., UM, 9 for 18 min. POWER PLAYS - MC, 0 for 5, UM, 1 for 3. ATTENDANCE - 2,661.
