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University of Massachusets Athletics
Wednesday, March 17
Amherst, Mass.
7 p.m.
University of Massachusetts
15-5-4
5
vs
2
#14 Providence
11-9-5
1
2
3
F
Providence
2
0
0
2
Massachusetts
2
1
2
5
Photo by: THOM KENDALL FOR UMASS ATHLETICS
#6/7 Massachusetts Advances To Hockey East Championship Game With 5-2 Win Over #14 Providence
March 17, 2021 | Hockey
Minutemen will host title game against UMass Lowell on Sat., March 20 at 7 p.m.
AMHERST, Mass. – No. 2-seed and No. 6 nationally-ranked University of Massachusetts hockey earned its first appearance in the Hockey East Championship Game since the 2003-04 season with a 5-2 victory over fifth-seeded and 14th-ranked Providence at the Mullins Center on Wednesday evening.
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Massachusetts will host seventh-seeded UMass Lowell in the Hockey East Championship Game on Sat., March 20 at 7 p.m. live on NESN. It is the first on-campus title since 1991.
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The Minutemen improved to 15-5-4 overall and extended the team's current undefeated streak to nine games (6-0-3). The Friars dropped to 11-9-5 overall following the loss.
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"It's been a crazy year," said UMass head coach Greg Carvel. "I'm so proud of our kids. Tonight they played a great playoff game. We scored early, and to me that's not always a great thing, and Providence had a real good push back. I thought we responded well, but I thought the last two periods I thought we were dominant. I don't know what the final shots were, but I know we didn't give up much. The kids played hard, they played right, they played good playoff hockey and deserved to win. Now we've got a chance to win the whole thing on home ice. It's a very exciting time for our program. I'm just really proud of our kids. They're playing their hearts out and getting rewarded for it."
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The UMass second line forward and defensive pairing provided eight of the team's 12 points, including three goals and five assists. Bobby Trivigno paved the way with three points on a goal and two assists. Marc Del Gaizo and Zac Jones added a goal and assist each while Matthew Kessel notched a pair of helpers.
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Trivigno's final assist of the evening gave the Setauket, New York, native the 30th point of his junior season, while Jones' second assist gave him 20 points in 24 games played this campaign.
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Filip Lindberg made 20 saves in net, including eight during the pivotal third period when the Minutemen broke open a one-goal game. He improved to 6-1-4 in net with the victory.
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Massachusetts needed less than a minute to put one into the back of the net. Josh Lopina set the tone with his eighth goal of the year only 52 seconds into the contest, firing home a no-look pass from Kessel below the goal line with Trivigno earning the secondary assist on the play.
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The Friars shook off their early deficit with back-to-back goals during the first period. Brett Berard erased the deficit exactly six minutes into play with a wrap-around tally set up by Nick Poisson and Ben Mirageas before Parker Ford's power-play one-timer from Tyce Thompson and Michael Callahan gave Providence a 2-1 advantage 8:14 into the contest.
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With the team now down one midway through the first period, Jones provided a jolt of energy for the Minutemen picked a corner with traffic in front off a dish from Kessel and Trivigno at the 11:46 mark, knotting the score at 2-2.
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After Providence put 11 shots on goal in the first period, the Minutemen locked the Friars up defensively and limited the visitors to just 11 more on-target attempts over the final two frames. This total included just three in the second period as Massachusetts moved back in front for good.
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The early offense continued in the second frame as Massachusetts took its lead back just 82 seconds into the stanza. Jones pinched in at the left point and found Trivigno alone in front as he picked up his 10th tally of the season with a rocket past goaltender Jaxon Stauber.
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Senior George Mika gave the Minutemen some breathing room with an insurance tally 9:32 into the third, streaking into the offensive zone and picking up the puck from Del Gaizo and Colin Felix before potting UMass' fourth of the night.
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Del Gaizo closed out the scoring with an empty net goal at the 19:18 mark for his third goal in the past four games.
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Massachusetts outshot Providence, 27-22 while the Friars won 32 of the game's 57 faceoffs. Providence also converted the lone power play opportunity of the game for either squad. Stauber took the loss in net with 22 saves for the Friars and dropped to 11-7-5 on the year.
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For continued coverage of UMass hockey, follow the team on Twitter (@UMassHockey) and Instagram (@MassachusettsHockey) and on Facebook at facebook.com/UMassHockey.
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Massachusetts will host seventh-seeded UMass Lowell in the Hockey East Championship Game on Sat., March 20 at 7 p.m. live on NESN. It is the first on-campus title since 1991.
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The Minutemen improved to 15-5-4 overall and extended the team's current undefeated streak to nine games (6-0-3). The Friars dropped to 11-9-5 overall following the loss.
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"It's been a crazy year," said UMass head coach Greg Carvel. "I'm so proud of our kids. Tonight they played a great playoff game. We scored early, and to me that's not always a great thing, and Providence had a real good push back. I thought we responded well, but I thought the last two periods I thought we were dominant. I don't know what the final shots were, but I know we didn't give up much. The kids played hard, they played right, they played good playoff hockey and deserved to win. Now we've got a chance to win the whole thing on home ice. It's a very exciting time for our program. I'm just really proud of our kids. They're playing their hearts out and getting rewarded for it."
Â
The UMass second line forward and defensive pairing provided eight of the team's 12 points, including three goals and five assists. Bobby Trivigno paved the way with three points on a goal and two assists. Marc Del Gaizo and Zac Jones added a goal and assist each while Matthew Kessel notched a pair of helpers.
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Trivigno's final assist of the evening gave the Setauket, New York, native the 30th point of his junior season, while Jones' second assist gave him 20 points in 24 games played this campaign.
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Filip Lindberg made 20 saves in net, including eight during the pivotal third period when the Minutemen broke open a one-goal game. He improved to 6-1-4 in net with the victory.
Â
Massachusetts needed less than a minute to put one into the back of the net. Josh Lopina set the tone with his eighth goal of the year only 52 seconds into the contest, firing home a no-look pass from Kessel below the goal line with Trivigno earning the secondary assist on the play.
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The Friars shook off their early deficit with back-to-back goals during the first period. Brett Berard erased the deficit exactly six minutes into play with a wrap-around tally set up by Nick Poisson and Ben Mirageas before Parker Ford's power-play one-timer from Tyce Thompson and Michael Callahan gave Providence a 2-1 advantage 8:14 into the contest.
Â
With the team now down one midway through the first period, Jones provided a jolt of energy for the Minutemen picked a corner with traffic in front off a dish from Kessel and Trivigno at the 11:46 mark, knotting the score at 2-2.
Â
After Providence put 11 shots on goal in the first period, the Minutemen locked the Friars up defensively and limited the visitors to just 11 more on-target attempts over the final two frames. This total included just three in the second period as Massachusetts moved back in front for good.
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The early offense continued in the second frame as Massachusetts took its lead back just 82 seconds into the stanza. Jones pinched in at the left point and found Trivigno alone in front as he picked up his 10th tally of the season with a rocket past goaltender Jaxon Stauber.
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Senior George Mika gave the Minutemen some breathing room with an insurance tally 9:32 into the third, streaking into the offensive zone and picking up the puck from Del Gaizo and Colin Felix before potting UMass' fourth of the night.
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Del Gaizo closed out the scoring with an empty net goal at the 19:18 mark for his third goal in the past four games.
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Massachusetts outshot Providence, 27-22 while the Friars won 32 of the game's 57 faceoffs. Providence also converted the lone power play opportunity of the game for either squad. Stauber took the loss in net with 22 saves for the Friars and dropped to 11-7-5 on the year.
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For continued coverage of UMass hockey, follow the team on Twitter (@UMassHockey) and Instagram (@MassachusettsHockey) and on Facebook at facebook.com/UMassHockey.
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Team Stats
PC
UMASS
Shots
22
27
PPG
1
0
SHG
0
0
Penalties
0
1
Penalty Mins
0
2
Faceoffs Won
32
25
Game Leaders
Skaters
+/-
+3
Goals
1
Sh
3
A
2
+/-
+3
Goals
1
Sh
2
A
1
+/-
+1
Goals
1
Sh
2
A
1
Players Mentioned
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