University of Massachusets Athletics
Saturday, March 20
Amherst, Mass.
7 p.m.
University of Massachusetts
16-5-4
1
vs
0
UMass Lowell
10-9-1
1
2
3
F
UMass Lowell
0
0
0
0
Massachusetts
1
0
0
1
Champions! #6/7 UMass Earns First-Ever Hockey East Tournament Title
March 20, 2021 | Hockey
AMHERST, Mass. -- For the first time in program history, the Massachusetts Minutemen are the champions of Hockey East. Backstopped by 16 saves from junior goaltender Filip Lindberg, UMass scored the only goal of the contest late in the first period from captain Jake Gaudet and weathered a flurry down the stretch to top UMass Lowell in the conference title game on Saturday night at the Mullins Center, 1-0.
With the victory, Massachusetts earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, returning to the national tournament for the third time in program history. The field will be announced during the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday at 7 p.m. on ESPNU.
"I've been here five years and it's been a steady climb to get to this point, said UMass head coach Greg Carvel. "I can't say that I ever thought we'd be Hockey East Champions, but every kid in this program has sacrificed, every coach, every staff member. We've done things the right way, we haven't taken any short cuts. Every year we got a little further in the playoffs and this year we were very fortunate to have every game on home ice, which is a huge factor. Lowell was a very tough game tonight. Obviously a very tight game. Lowell is extremely well coached and you knew it wasn't going to be an easy game tonight. Lowell fought hard. I liked the way we played and just extremely proud to be a part of this program, proud of the kids. Two years ago, we had a team that was pretty stacked and I would have guessed yeah, we've got a chance to win it all. This year, I didn't know if we had it, but the kids we brought in the program made us better. Our senior class has taken this program from last place to first and they walked off the ice in Mullins their last time ever carrying the Hockey East Trophy and I couldn't be prouder of them. I tell kids all the time 'you get what you deserve' and they deserve to be Hockey East Champions."
Lindberg and Gaudet, along with Zac Jones and Bobby Trivigno, were named to the Steve Nazro Hockey East All-Tournament Team, while Trivigno was named the Tournament MVP after posting two goals and four assists during postseason play.
Lindberg and the Massachusetts defense kept the River Hawk attack off balance for much of the night en route to just the seventh shutout in a Hockey East championship game in league history.
UMass, which was making its second-ever appearance in the Hockey East title game and first since 2004, got on the board with 4:28 remaining in the opening period when Oliver Chau created a turnover in the defensive zone to send the Minutemen up ice three-on-two in transition.
There, Gaudet and Carson Gicewicz played catch up ice before Gaudet tossed a low shot that caught the side of the net. Gaudet stuck with it, corralling the rebound from below the goal line and throwing the puck off UMass Lowell goaltender Henry Welsch (21 saves) to put the hosts up 1-0.
The teams went back and forth from there, with each squad earning a pair of power play opportunities over the final 40 minutes. The River Hawks nearly leveled the score late in the second period when Andre Lee rifled a shot that caught the pipe, but Lindberg and the Minuteman defense clamped down from there to make the kill.
UMass Lowell continued to push into the third period in search of the tying goal, but Lindberg was there to make seven third period stops, including a pair in the final two minutes of regulation after the River Hawks pulled Welsch in favor of the extra attacker before Chau came up with a huge shot block in the final seconds.
For continued coverage of UMass hockey, follow the team on Twitter (@UMassHockey), Instagram (@UMassHockey) and on Facebook at facebook.com/UMassHockey.
With the victory, Massachusetts earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, returning to the national tournament for the third time in program history. The field will be announced during the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday at 7 p.m. on ESPNU.
"I've been here five years and it's been a steady climb to get to this point, said UMass head coach Greg Carvel. "I can't say that I ever thought we'd be Hockey East Champions, but every kid in this program has sacrificed, every coach, every staff member. We've done things the right way, we haven't taken any short cuts. Every year we got a little further in the playoffs and this year we were very fortunate to have every game on home ice, which is a huge factor. Lowell was a very tough game tonight. Obviously a very tight game. Lowell is extremely well coached and you knew it wasn't going to be an easy game tonight. Lowell fought hard. I liked the way we played and just extremely proud to be a part of this program, proud of the kids. Two years ago, we had a team that was pretty stacked and I would have guessed yeah, we've got a chance to win it all. This year, I didn't know if we had it, but the kids we brought in the program made us better. Our senior class has taken this program from last place to first and they walked off the ice in Mullins their last time ever carrying the Hockey East Trophy and I couldn't be prouder of them. I tell kids all the time 'you get what you deserve' and they deserve to be Hockey East Champions."
Lindberg and Gaudet, along with Zac Jones and Bobby Trivigno, were named to the Steve Nazro Hockey East All-Tournament Team, while Trivigno was named the Tournament MVP after posting two goals and four assists during postseason play.
Lindberg and the Massachusetts defense kept the River Hawk attack off balance for much of the night en route to just the seventh shutout in a Hockey East championship game in league history.
UMass, which was making its second-ever appearance in the Hockey East title game and first since 2004, got on the board with 4:28 remaining in the opening period when Oliver Chau created a turnover in the defensive zone to send the Minutemen up ice three-on-two in transition.
There, Gaudet and Carson Gicewicz played catch up ice before Gaudet tossed a low shot that caught the side of the net. Gaudet stuck with it, corralling the rebound from below the goal line and throwing the puck off UMass Lowell goaltender Henry Welsch (21 saves) to put the hosts up 1-0.
The teams went back and forth from there, with each squad earning a pair of power play opportunities over the final 40 minutes. The River Hawks nearly leveled the score late in the second period when Andre Lee rifled a shot that caught the pipe, but Lindberg and the Minuteman defense clamped down from there to make the kill.
UMass Lowell continued to push into the third period in search of the tying goal, but Lindberg was there to make seven third period stops, including a pair in the final two minutes of regulation after the River Hawks pulled Welsch in favor of the extra attacker before Chau came up with a huge shot block in the final seconds.
For continued coverage of UMass hockey, follow the team on Twitter (@UMassHockey), Instagram (@UMassHockey) and on Facebook at facebook.com/UMassHockey.
Team Stats
UML
UMASS
Shots
16
22
PPG
0
0
SHG
0
0
Penalties
2
2
Penalty Mins
4
4
Faceoffs Won
34
31
Game Leaders
+/-
+1
Goals
1
Sh
5
A
0
+/-
+1
Goals
0
Sh
3
A
1
+/-
+1
Goals
0
Sh
2
A
1
+/-
+1
Goals
0
Sh
3
A
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ HockeyF
/ HockeyF
/ Hockey
G
/ Hockey
F
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