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University of Massachusets Athletics
Friday, October 27
Amherst, Mass.
7 P.M.
University of Massachusetts
4-3-0, 1-0-0HEA
4
vs
0
Merrimack
0-4-2, 0-1-0HEA
1
2
3
F
Merrimack
0
0
0
0
Massachusetts
2
2
0
4
Massachusetts Blanks Merrimack In Hockey East Opener, 4-0
October 27, 2017 | Hockey
Murray posts first collegiate shutout, Torpstrom and Makar net first collegiate goals in the win for the Minutemen.
AMHERST, Mass. – University of Massachusetts hockey opened up Hockey East play on Friday night with a 4-0 victory over Merrimack at the Mullins Center. Defensemen provided all four goals for the Minutemen (4-3-0, 1-0-0 HEA) and freshman Matt Murray totaled 24 saves en route to his first collegiate shutout. Merrimack falls to 0-4-2 and 0-1-0 in Hockey East following the loss.
"I'm really proud of my team and impressed with how well we played tonight through the first two periods and kind of won the game through the first two periods," said UMass head coach Greg Carvel. "That was a really good effort by our team, the power play found a way to score and to hold them off, to win the special teams the way we did. I thought we checked well, I thought we played with a lot of intensity, were physical, I thought we played to our identity really well tonight. All-in-all, that was a really good Hockey East game for us and no doubt tomorrow night we'll see a very energized Merrimack team."
Sophomore Jake McLaughlin opened up the scoring on UMass' first power-play of the night, 13:37 into the first period, knocking in a feed from freshman Philip Lagunov and redshirt senior Niko Rufo at the doorstep.
Moments later at the 15:52 mark, freshman Eetu Torpström made it a 2-0 margin, backhanding the puck past Drew Vogler off a pass from Lagunov and Rufo. The tally marked Torpström's first collegiate goal and point.
Just 13 ticks into the second period, freshman Cale Makar collected his first collegiate goal, intercepting a Merrimack clearing attempt and firing it home to push the Minutemen's lead to three.
Redshirt sophomore Josh Couturier capped the scoring and finished off a 2-for-2 night on the power play for UMass with his first goal as a Minuteman coming off a shot from the point at 15:59 of the second. McLaughlin and freshman Oliver Chau earned assists on the play.
UMass also went 5-for-5 on the penalty kill for a perfect special teams effort while trailing Merrimack in shots, 24-21 in the contest.
The teams will be back in action tomorrow night, Oct. 28, at 7 p.m. when the squads will square off at Lawler Arena in North Andover, Massachusetts to complete the home-and-home weekend.
For continued coverage of UMass hockey, follow the team on Twitter (@UMassHockey) and Instagram (@MassachusettsHockey) and on Facebook at facebook.com/UMassHockey.
"I'm really proud of my team and impressed with how well we played tonight through the first two periods and kind of won the game through the first two periods," said UMass head coach Greg Carvel. "That was a really good effort by our team, the power play found a way to score and to hold them off, to win the special teams the way we did. I thought we checked well, I thought we played with a lot of intensity, were physical, I thought we played to our identity really well tonight. All-in-all, that was a really good Hockey East game for us and no doubt tomorrow night we'll see a very energized Merrimack team."
Sophomore Jake McLaughlin opened up the scoring on UMass' first power-play of the night, 13:37 into the first period, knocking in a feed from freshman Philip Lagunov and redshirt senior Niko Rufo at the doorstep.
Moments later at the 15:52 mark, freshman Eetu Torpström made it a 2-0 margin, backhanding the puck past Drew Vogler off a pass from Lagunov and Rufo. The tally marked Torpström's first collegiate goal and point.
Just 13 ticks into the second period, freshman Cale Makar collected his first collegiate goal, intercepting a Merrimack clearing attempt and firing it home to push the Minutemen's lead to three.
Redshirt sophomore Josh Couturier capped the scoring and finished off a 2-for-2 night on the power play for UMass with his first goal as a Minuteman coming off a shot from the point at 15:59 of the second. McLaughlin and freshman Oliver Chau earned assists on the play.
UMass also went 5-for-5 on the penalty kill for a perfect special teams effort while trailing Merrimack in shots, 24-21 in the contest.
The teams will be back in action tomorrow night, Oct. 28, at 7 p.m. when the squads will square off at Lawler Arena in North Andover, Massachusetts to complete the home-and-home weekend.
For continued coverage of UMass hockey, follow the team on Twitter (@UMassHockey) and Instagram (@MassachusettsHockey) and on Facebook at facebook.com/UMassHockey.
Team Stats
MER
UMASS
Shots
24
21
PPG
0
2
SHG
0
0
Penalties
3
6
Penalty Mins
6
12
Faceoffs Won
33
32
Game Leaders
+/-
+1
Goals
1
Sh
2
A
1
+/-
+2
Goals
0
Sh
1
A
2
+/-
+1
Goals
1
Sh
6
A
0
Players Mentioned
F
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