University of Massachusets Athletics
Friday, March 20
Boston, Mass.
4 p.m.
University of Massachusetts
22-13-1
0
vs
2
Merrimack
20-15-2
1st period1
2nd period2
3rd period3
FinalF
Merrimack
0
0
2
2
Massachusetts
0
0
0
0
No. 15 Massachusetts Falls To Merrimack In Hockey East Semifinals, 2-0
March 20, 2026 | Hockey
BOSTON – No. 15 University of Massachusetts hockey went into the third period in a scoreless deadlock with Merrimack, but the Warriors managed to net a pair in the final frame to defeat UMass, 2-0 in the Hockey East Semifinal round at TD Garden on Friday. The Minutemen finish 2025-26 with a record of 22-13-1, while the Warriors move on to the championship at 20-15-2.
"It was a good hockey game, said UMass head coach Greg Carvel. "Congratulations to Merrimack. I really respect how they play the game, and they're good team who plays hard. We're just talking, in the second half we lost four games the second half, and three of them were 1-0, and that was very similar to a couple other losses we had. I thought that we had enough chances to score, their goaltender played really well. We flub one puck on the blue line and it leads to that breakaway, so it's tough way to lose. But again, watching Merrimack play Providence, I have a lot of respect for the way they play the game and wish them luck. But I liked our game. I thought we had enough chances. Our best players had pucks on their sticks to score goals. We just couldn't find a way to get one passed their goalie who played particularly well."
Chances were at a premium in the first period., which saw Merrimack finish with a 7-4 shot advantage. Freshman Jack Galanek found himself alone in front of the Warriors crease, but pushed the puck just wide in the closing seconds of the frame.
with just over six minutes to play in the second, UMass had a flurry of chances but Merrimack netminder was there to make three stops in succession after Senior Lucas Ölvestad's initial shot was blocked by Justin Gill.
Another Minutemen scoring chance was thwarted in the final minute of play in the period to keep things scoreless going into the third.
The Warriors broke the deadlock with Ty Daneault springing Ryan O'Connell on a partial breakaway that he drove to the net and finished with a quick wrister three minutes into the frame.
Francesco Dell'Elce made a bid for the tying goal at the 8:49 mark of the third period from the high slot, but Lundgren came up with the stop as he finished the night with 24 saves.
Merrimack added insurance 18:21 into the final frame with an empty netter from Caden Cranston, set up by Parker Lalonde and Austin Oravetz.
Hrabal ended the contest with 27 saves for UMass as the Warriors finished the evening with a 29-24 shot advantage. Merrimack went 0-for-3 on the power play and the Minutemen were 0-for-2.
"It was a good hockey game, said UMass head coach Greg Carvel. "Congratulations to Merrimack. I really respect how they play the game, and they're good team who plays hard. We're just talking, in the second half we lost four games the second half, and three of them were 1-0, and that was very similar to a couple other losses we had. I thought that we had enough chances to score, their goaltender played really well. We flub one puck on the blue line and it leads to that breakaway, so it's tough way to lose. But again, watching Merrimack play Providence, I have a lot of respect for the way they play the game and wish them luck. But I liked our game. I thought we had enough chances. Our best players had pucks on their sticks to score goals. We just couldn't find a way to get one passed their goalie who played particularly well."
Chances were at a premium in the first period., which saw Merrimack finish with a 7-4 shot advantage. Freshman Jack Galanek found himself alone in front of the Warriors crease, but pushed the puck just wide in the closing seconds of the frame.
with just over six minutes to play in the second, UMass had a flurry of chances but Merrimack netminder was there to make three stops in succession after Senior Lucas Ölvestad's initial shot was blocked by Justin Gill.
Another Minutemen scoring chance was thwarted in the final minute of play in the period to keep things scoreless going into the third.
The Warriors broke the deadlock with Ty Daneault springing Ryan O'Connell on a partial breakaway that he drove to the net and finished with a quick wrister three minutes into the frame.
Francesco Dell'Elce made a bid for the tying goal at the 8:49 mark of the third period from the high slot, but Lundgren came up with the stop as he finished the night with 24 saves.
Merrimack added insurance 18:21 into the final frame with an empty netter from Caden Cranston, set up by Parker Lalonde and Austin Oravetz.
Hrabal ended the contest with 27 saves for UMass as the Warriors finished the evening with a 29-24 shot advantage. Merrimack went 0-for-3 on the power play and the Minutemen were 0-for-2.
Team Stats
MER
MAS
Shots
29
24
PPG
0
0
SHG
0
0
Penalties
2
3
Penalty Mins
4
6
Faceoffs Won
43
30
Game Leaders
+/-
0
Goals
0
Sh
4
A
0
+/-
-1
Goals
0
Sh
4
A
0
+/-
-1
Goals
0
Sh
3
A
0
+/-
-1
Goals
0
Sh
3
A
0
Players Mentioned
D
/ Hockey
F
/ HockeyNewMass Minute; Onto TD Garden
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