University of Massachusets Athletics
Wednesday, December 30
Durham, N.H.
3:30 PM
University of Massachusetts
6-3-1
4
at
0
New Hampshire
1-1-1
1
2
3
F
Massachusetts
0
1
3
4
New Hampshire
0
0
0
0
#9 Massachusetts Hockey Shuts Out UNH, 4-0
December 30, 2020 | Hockey
Kessel leads the way for the Minutemen in their fourth straight victory, extending goal streak to four and finishing with three points.
DURHAM, N.H. – No. 9 University of Massachusetts hockey kept rolling on Wednesday afternoon, pushing its winning streak to four with a 4-0 shutout at New Hampshire. The victory moves the Minutemen to 6-3-1, while the Wildcats fall to 1-1-1.
"That's our first road win of the year," said UMass head coach Greg Carvel. "Even though we've got a strong record, we needed to find a way to win on the road and we have not fared well at UNH since I've been at UMass. It was, to me, a convincing win. It's tough to play when you've got a two-and-a-half-hour bus ride and I thought we were a little slow out of the gate, we took three penalties in the first period. Those kills really jump-started us and then we started playing physical, started playing our brand. Then, as the game wore on, I think it's a real advantage that we're basically in game form and I know UNH had been shut down for COVID reasons and you can tell that they don't have their skating legs. It's a big advantage for us right now against certain teams that have had to get shut down and the fact that we haven't been shut down at all has been a big advantage. That was, to me, really important tonight."
After a scoreless first, which included three UNH power play opportunities, the Minutemen finally broke up the deadlock with a tally from sophomore Matthew Kessel at the 11:58 mark of the second. Junior Bobby Trivigno forced a turnover below the goal line and freshman Josh Lopina fed Kessel out of the corner for a quick strike from the right faceoff dot, extending his goal scoring streak to four straight games.
UMass then doubled its lead 4:24 into the third with redshirt senior Carson Gicewicz burying a rebound from sophomore Zac Jones and Kessel.
The Wildcats elected to pull goaltender Mike Robinson with three minutes to play in the contest and Trivigno took advantage, picking up an empty net goal at 17:04. Jones then capped the scoring with his fourth of the year from Kessel and junior Anthony Del Gaizo in the final minute.
UNH finished with a 27-23 shot advantage, though UMass won 41 of 57 (71.9%) faceoffs. The Minutemen were 0-for-4 on the power play, but went a perfect 7-for-7 on the penalty kill.
Senior goaltender Matt Murray made 27 saves to collect his 10th career shutout and 48th career win, Robinson totaled 19 saves for the Wildcats.
Kessel's three points on a goal and two assists gave him a new single-game career high. He now has five goals to lead all defensemen nationally, while sitting tied for second in points. Trivigno's goal and assist marked his third-straight multi-point game as he now holds an active four-game point streak with nine points during that span and is tied for second nationally in points with 14 on the year. Jones put up a goal and an assist for a second straight game, as well.
For continued coverage of UMass hockey, follow the team on Twitter (@UMassHockey) and Instagram (@MassachusettsHockey) and on Facebook at facebook.com/UMassHockey.
"That's our first road win of the year," said UMass head coach Greg Carvel. "Even though we've got a strong record, we needed to find a way to win on the road and we have not fared well at UNH since I've been at UMass. It was, to me, a convincing win. It's tough to play when you've got a two-and-a-half-hour bus ride and I thought we were a little slow out of the gate, we took three penalties in the first period. Those kills really jump-started us and then we started playing physical, started playing our brand. Then, as the game wore on, I think it's a real advantage that we're basically in game form and I know UNH had been shut down for COVID reasons and you can tell that they don't have their skating legs. It's a big advantage for us right now against certain teams that have had to get shut down and the fact that we haven't been shut down at all has been a big advantage. That was, to me, really important tonight."
After a scoreless first, which included three UNH power play opportunities, the Minutemen finally broke up the deadlock with a tally from sophomore Matthew Kessel at the 11:58 mark of the second. Junior Bobby Trivigno forced a turnover below the goal line and freshman Josh Lopina fed Kessel out of the corner for a quick strike from the right faceoff dot, extending his goal scoring streak to four straight games.
UMass then doubled its lead 4:24 into the third with redshirt senior Carson Gicewicz burying a rebound from sophomore Zac Jones and Kessel.
The Wildcats elected to pull goaltender Mike Robinson with three minutes to play in the contest and Trivigno took advantage, picking up an empty net goal at 17:04. Jones then capped the scoring with his fourth of the year from Kessel and junior Anthony Del Gaizo in the final minute.
UNH finished with a 27-23 shot advantage, though UMass won 41 of 57 (71.9%) faceoffs. The Minutemen were 0-for-4 on the power play, but went a perfect 7-for-7 on the penalty kill.
Senior goaltender Matt Murray made 27 saves to collect his 10th career shutout and 48th career win, Robinson totaled 19 saves for the Wildcats.
Kessel's three points on a goal and two assists gave him a new single-game career high. He now has five goals to lead all defensemen nationally, while sitting tied for second in points. Trivigno's goal and assist marked his third-straight multi-point game as he now holds an active four-game point streak with nine points during that span and is tied for second nationally in points with 14 on the year. Jones put up a goal and an assist for a second straight game, as well.
For continued coverage of UMass hockey, follow the team on Twitter (@UMassHockey) and Instagram (@MassachusettsHockey) and on Facebook at facebook.com/UMassHockey.
Team Stats
UMASS
UNH
Shots
23
27
PPG
0
0
SHG
0
0
Penalties
7
4
Penalty Mins
14
8
Faceoffs Won
41
16
Game Leaders
+/-
+3
Goals
1
Sh
3
A
2
+/-
+2
Goals
1
Sh
3
A
1
+/-
+1
Goals
1
Sh
1
A
0
Players Mentioned
F
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