University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
New Hampshire *
Minutemen Drop 5-1 Decision To No. 2 New Hampshire
January 19, 2007 | Hockey
Jan. 19, 2007
DURHAM, N.H. - UMass (10-8-3, 7-6-1 Hockey East) pulled within one in the second period on a goal by Chris Capraro, but that was as close as it would come on Friday night as No. 2 New Hampshire (18-3-1, 13-1-1 HEA) topped the Minutemen 5-1. The final game of the season series with the Wildcats will be played Saturday night at the Mullins Center with game time scheduled for 7 p.m. Fans that can't make it to the game can watch live and listen live for free via UMassAthletics.com.
The Wildcats were afforded a short power play opportunity midway through the first period and capitalized at the 11:52 mark with Trevor Smith's 15th of the season. With Chris Davis in the box for slashing--negating an earlier UMass man advantage--the UNH sophomore skated in one-on-one, deking and beating Jon Quick on the stick side to give New Hampshire the 1-0 lead. That lead was quickly extended to a two-goal cushion with Peter LeBlanc's first collegiate tally under two minutes later. With 6:41 remaining in the stanza, LeBlanc and Brett Hemingway skated in two-on-one, the initial shot rebounding out to LeBlanc and deflecting in.
The Minutemen brought it back to within one in the second with the power play goal by Capraro, his fifth of the season and second with the man advantage. Mike Kostka passed the puck to Mark Matheson at the blueline, who took the shot on Kevin Regan. The puck came out to Capraro, who collected it near the top of the crease and made good on his shot at 8:13.
New Hampshire's Bobby Butler made it a 3-1 game at 15:20 of the middle stanza, fooling Quick with a toe drag before the shot for his fifth of the year. Matt Fornataro capped the scoring in the second, capitalizing with a backhand shot that squeezed in between the pipe and Quick's short side for the 4-1 lead.
Brad Flaishans scored an unassisted goal at 2:45, bringing the puck in from the neutral zone, circling behind the UMass net and back up to the blueline, wristing a shot that beat Quick high.
Freshman Dan Meyers was in net for the final 11:58, seeing his first action since the December 30 game vs. Alabama-Huntsville. He made a total of three saves in the remainder of the contest. Quick ended the night with 22 saves.
Final shots were 30-28 overall in favor of the home team. Both teams were successful on the power play, with UMass going 1-for-5, UNH 1-for-2.
