Hockey Drops OT Heartbreaker at No. 10 Providence, 2-1

THE BASICS:
RESULT: No. 10 Providence 2, Massachusetts 1 (OT)
LOCATION: Schneider Arena (Providence, R.I.)
RECORDS: Massachusetts (5-27-2, 2-19-1 HEA); Providence (20-9-5, 12-7-3 HEA)

THE LEAD: University of Massachusetts hockey took No. 10 Providence to overtime, tied 1-1, but the Friars found the back of the net 2:16 into the extra period to edge the Minutemen, 2-1 in the regular season finale on Saturday night at Schneider Arena.

FIRST PERIOD:
Providence opened the scoring 4:46 into the first period. Kasper Bjorkqvist and Spenser Young set up Garrett Gamez on the rush for the tally. The Friars doubled up the Minutemen in shots in the period, 18-9, but UMass' penalty kill held strong, keeping the Friars to 0-for-3 in the frame.

SECOND PERIOD:
Midway through the second, the Minutemen picked up the equalizer. Freshman Niko Hildenbrand turned and fired the puck at the net and senior Ray Pigozzi managed to lunge forward and poke home the rebound at the 11:48 mark. Senior Steven Iacobellis picked up an assist on the play, as well.

THIRD PERIOD:
UMass narrowly missed taking a 2-1 lead with 15:09 to go in the third, but freshman Shane Bear's shot from the right faceoff circle hit the cross bar. The Minutemen killed off three penalties in the scoreless frame, including one with less than four minutes to play in the period.

OVERTIME:
After a flurry of opportunities in the UMass end, Providence netted the game-winner at the 2:16 mark when Garrett Gamez redirected in a shot by Jake Walman.

FROM COACH CARVEL:
"I felt like we spotted them a goal at the start, as opposed to three goals last night, and then we started to play. I thought the rest of the game was pretty even. Special teams were a big factor. When we get into a special teams game, it's not what we want. We want to play 5-on-5. We think 5-on-5 we're a pretty good team, especially in a small barn like this where you can be physical and you can get on top of things quickly and hope you get a bounce like we did on Pigozzi's goal."

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

The Friars out-shot UMass, 42-20 in the contest, while the Minutemen held Providence to a 0-for-8 night on the power play. UMass was 0-for-4 with the man advantage.
Iacobellis went 20 for 32 (62.5%) over the dots on the night, but Providence finished with a slight edge in faceoffs, winning 36 of 70 (51.4%).
Pigozzi's goal was his second point of the weekend, his seventh tally of the season and 24^th of his career. He is now tied for 27^th all-time in UMass history with 81 career points.
Iacobellis' assist was his second of the weekend and 56^th of his career, tying him for 21^st all-time in program history for career helpers.
Hildenbrand's assist marked his fifth of the year and ninth point.
Freshman Ryan Wischow finished the night with 40 saves, his third game of the season with 40 or more stops, and was named the game's No. 2 star.

UP NEXT: The Minutemen will return to Providence next weekend to face the Friars in a best-of-three series in the first round of the Hockey East playoffs.

For continued coverage of UMass hockey, follow the team on Twitter (@UMassHockey) and Instagram (@MassachusettsHockey) and on Facebook at facebook.com/UMassHockey.

Scoreboard

Players Mentioned

Shane Bear

Niko Hildenbrand

Steven Iacobellis

Ray Pigozzi

Ryan Wischow