University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
St. Francis Xavier (exhib.)
Massachusetts Falls to St. Francis Xavier, 3-2
October 04, 2002 | Hockey
Oct. 4, 2002
AMHERST, Mass. - The University of Massachusetts ice hockey team began the season with a 3-2 exhibition loss to St. Francis Xavier (Canada) on Friday night.
St. Francis Xavier opened the scoring with two first-period goals, just over two minutes apart. Todd Norman lit the lamp first at the 9:58 mark of the opening 20 minutes and teammate Mike Smith added a goal at the 12:30 mark for a 2-0 lead.
After a shaky first period, the Minutemen came out strong in the second period, narrowing the lead to 2-1 on freshman Stephen Werner's (Chevy Chase, Md.) power-play goal. Werner won a battle for a loose puck in front of the net and poked it past the St. Francis Xavier goalie. The goal was assisted by Thomas P?ck (Klagenfurt, Austria) and Tim Turner (Saginaw, Mich.).
St. Francis Xavier still led 3-1, when freshman forward Michael Mullen (Pittsburgh, Pa.) let loose a slapshot just inside the blue line that beat St. Francis goalie David Haun top shelf to narrow the margin to 3-2. The goal was assisted by freshman Peter Alden (West Tisbury, Mass.) and sophomore Dustin Demianiuk (Franklin, Mass.). However, the Minutemen could not score the equalizer after pulling goalie Gabe Winer (Stoughton, Mass.) with just over a minute to play.
The Minutemen will open the regular season against Boston College on Sunday, Oct. 13, at 5:00 p.m. at the Mullins Center.
