University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
New Hampshire
Hockey Upsets No. 7 UNH, 2-1 in OT
March 02, 2001 | Hockey
March 2, 2001
DURHAM, N.H. -- Sophomore Brad Nizwantowski (Peabody, Mass.) scored his sixth goal of the year 2:04 into OT to lift the University of Massachusetts hockey team to a 2-1 upset of seventh-ranked New Hampshire, tonight before 6,501 fans at the Whittemore Center.
UNH scored first when Matt Swain beat Minutemen junior goalie Mike Johnson (Excelsior, Minn.) at 3:53 of the first period. That was the only scoring of a period that featured 11 penalties.
After a scoreless second period, the Minutemen tied the game in the third when sophomore Jimmy Callahan (Lexington, Mass.) intercepted a pass and beat UNH netminder Ty Conklin with a blocker side shot just over his right shoulder. The unassisted goal was Callahan's third of the year.
Johnson continued his strong play by making some crucial saves down the stretch and sent the game into overtime.
Two minutes into the extra frame, senior Jay Shaw (Cranston, R.I.) made a perfect pass to set up Nizwantowski's game-winner. Freshman Nick Kuiper (Beaconsfield, Quebec) also assisted on the play and picked up first collegiate point.
UMass will need at least a tie with New Hampshire tomorrow night to earn the eighth and final playoff spot in the Hockey East Tournament. After Merrimack's win over Boston University tonight, the Warriors remain one point ahead of the Minutemen. UMass owns the tiebreaker over Merrimack. The Warriors season is complete.
UMass is now 8-21-4 overall and 7-14-2 in Hockey East, while the Wildcats stand at 19-10-6 overall and 10-8-5 in Hockey East.
The two teams will close out their regular season's tomorrow night at the Mullins Center at 8:00 p.m.
SCORING - FIRST PERIOD - UNH, Matt Swain 12 (Garrett Stafford, Darren Haydar) 3:53. SECOND PERIOD - None. THIRD PERIOD- UM, Jimmy Callahan 3 (unassisted) 11:55. OT - UM, Brad Nizwantowski 6 (Jay Shaw, Nick Kuiper) 2:04. SHOTS - UM, 28 (4-10-13-1), UNH, 29 (12-7-9-1). SAVES - UNH, Ty Conklin 26 (4-10-12-0), UM, Mike Johnson 28 (11-7-9-1). PENALTIES - UNH, 8 for 16 min., UM, 10 for 20 min. POWER PLAYS - UNH, 0 for 6 , UM, 0 for 4 . ATTENDANCE - 6,501.
