University of Massachusets Athletics
Inside The Glass With Troy Power
December 11, 2014 | Hockey
This past weekend we hosted the University of Notre Dame for two important league games at the Mullins Center. This was the first time they entered our arena since joining Hockey East. Unlike traditional two game series that include a home and away matchup throughout the year, we alternate between two home or two away games every season due to the length of travel between Amherst and South Bend. While both teams were eager to gain ground in Hockey East standings, we unfortunately fell short on both Friday and Saturday nights.
On Friday night, twelve goals were exchanged between both teams as Notre Dame outlasted us by a score of 7-5, which included an empty net goal. Coming into the third period, we found ourselves up 3-2 and in control of the contest. Notre Dame came out in the third and scored four goals in a span of ten minutes that put us back on our heels. As we tried to wrestle the momentum back, we came within one before they added an empty netter in the final minute of play. Coming out and finishing games has been a problem for our team all year and moving forward is something we clearly need to improve on. It was good to see there was no quit despite going down by three goals but when we enter the final period of play, that is a position we cannot put ourselves in as we found ourselves fighting the clock to come back as time ticked away.
Moving onto Saturday, we had to put Friday's loss behind us. Our second game of the weekend was completely different than the offensive battle that occurred the night before. We struggled to sustain offense, which lead to a lack of shots and hindered our ability to wear their team down. To their credit, they were able to possess pucks down low and chip away at us offensively to win by a score of 4-0. The game was a lot more physical and was filled with scrums that led to penalties for both teams. Our frustrations at times got the best of us and, in turn, we were forced to kill off penalties for a good period of time throughout the contest. When you take too many penalties in a game often times you expend a lot of energy killing them off, which makes it harder to wrestle momentum back.
Looking into the future, we have one more game before heading into the holiday break. This week's preparation will be different due to having optional lifts and practices throughout the week because of the demands of final exams for the fall semester. Practices are guided towards skill improvement and also gives players more time to put in work by themselves both on and off the ice as well as in the classroom. Away from the rink, our team drew names out of a hat for our annual Secret Santa gift exchange, which is a great time to share laughs and "roast" one another in a fun and joking manor. Although the holidays are around the corner, our focus right now is trying to end the first half of the season on a high note. While there is a large gap between our last game and the start of our Holiday tournament in Vermont, there is no doubt that momentum carries over. With that being said, I hope to see everyone at the Mullins Center as we host Northeastern Tuesday, December 16. Happy Holidays and Go UMass!
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