University of Massachusets Athletics
Thursday, March 5
Amherst, Mass.
7 p.m.
University of Massachusetts
20-12-1, 13-9-1
2
vs
1
#13 Boston College
19-13-1, 13-10-0
1
2
3
F
Boston College
0
0
1
1
Massachusetts
0
1
1
2
#17 Massachusetts Hockey Guts Out 2-1 Win Over #13 Boston College
March 05, 2026 | Hockey
AMHERST, Mass. – No. 17 Massachusetts hockey overcame a slow start, gutting out a 2-1 win over No. 13 Boston College on Thursday night in front of a crowd of 7,002 at the Mullins Center. With the victory, the Minutemen have clinched home ice in the upcoming Hockey East playoffs and improve to 20-12-1 overall and 12-9-1 in league action, while the Eagles fall to 19-13-1, 13-9-0 in league play. Massachusetts has reached the 20-win benchmark for the ninth time in program history, the seventh under head coach Greg Carvel.
"Wasn't particularly pretty tonight, but we found a way again, said Carvel. "Michael Hrabal was very good, again. I didn't like the first period. We gave up a lot of odd-man rushes and didn't want to shoot the puck. We didn't have many shots halfway through the game and took three penalties in the third period, which is tough to do against a high-skilled team. I give the kids a ton of credit, we played gutsy game. BC scores and we come right back. Owen Murray is really shining as a captain and as a senior. I'd say the same for Lucas, Ölvestad, same for Cam O'Neill. I think those three guys tonight really showed their heart and soul and what it means to play for our program. I'm very proud of our group. It's our 20th win. It's tough. That's a real standard in this level to win 20 games in a season—that's our standard as a team and it's tough to do. I'm proud of the guys. I'm very happy with this group. Again, it was far from our best game, but to beat good teams and not have our best game is a good sign for me."
On what was just the third shot of the contest for UMass, O'Neill put the Minutemen on the board 4:02 into the second period. Freshman Coleson Hanrahan won a battle for the puck at the offensive blue line and tapped it to junior Owen Mehlenbacher. Mehlenbacher entered the zone and set up O'Neill for a quick wrister from the top of the right faceoff circle.
At the 7:04 mark of the third period, BC leveled the score at 1-1, converting on a power play opportunity. Dean Letourneau sent an outlet pass ahead to James Hagens who skated into the slot and fired at the UMass net. Hrabal appeared to have made the save, but Hagens found the loose puck behind the Minutemen netminder's pads and tapped it home.
Just 53 seconds later, however, UMass was back on top. Freshman Lukas Klecka collected a loose puck of a blocked shot by Murray and sent Murray ahead on an odd man rush with sophomore Daniel Jencko. Opting to shoot instead of pass, Murray fired home his fourth of the season over the shoulder of Louka Cloutier.
Boston College out-shot the Minutemen 35-17 on the night and went 1-for-4 on the power play, while UMass was 0-for-4. Hrabal finished with 34 saves and Cloutier stopped 15 shots for the Eagles.
The Minutemen will close out the regular season at New Hampshire this Saturday, March 7, at 7 p.m.
"Wasn't particularly pretty tonight, but we found a way again, said Carvel. "Michael Hrabal was very good, again. I didn't like the first period. We gave up a lot of odd-man rushes and didn't want to shoot the puck. We didn't have many shots halfway through the game and took three penalties in the third period, which is tough to do against a high-skilled team. I give the kids a ton of credit, we played gutsy game. BC scores and we come right back. Owen Murray is really shining as a captain and as a senior. I'd say the same for Lucas, Ölvestad, same for Cam O'Neill. I think those three guys tonight really showed their heart and soul and what it means to play for our program. I'm very proud of our group. It's our 20th win. It's tough. That's a real standard in this level to win 20 games in a season—that's our standard as a team and it's tough to do. I'm proud of the guys. I'm very happy with this group. Again, it was far from our best game, but to beat good teams and not have our best game is a good sign for me."
On what was just the third shot of the contest for UMass, O'Neill put the Minutemen on the board 4:02 into the second period. Freshman Coleson Hanrahan won a battle for the puck at the offensive blue line and tapped it to junior Owen Mehlenbacher. Mehlenbacher entered the zone and set up O'Neill for a quick wrister from the top of the right faceoff circle.
At the 7:04 mark of the third period, BC leveled the score at 1-1, converting on a power play opportunity. Dean Letourneau sent an outlet pass ahead to James Hagens who skated into the slot and fired at the UMass net. Hrabal appeared to have made the save, but Hagens found the loose puck behind the Minutemen netminder's pads and tapped it home.
Just 53 seconds later, however, UMass was back on top. Freshman Lukas Klecka collected a loose puck of a blocked shot by Murray and sent Murray ahead on an odd man rush with sophomore Daniel Jencko. Opting to shoot instead of pass, Murray fired home his fourth of the season over the shoulder of Louka Cloutier.
Boston College out-shot the Minutemen 35-17 on the night and went 1-for-4 on the power play, while UMass was 0-for-4. Hrabal finished with 34 saves and Cloutier stopped 15 shots for the Eagles.
The Minutemen will close out the regular season at New Hampshire this Saturday, March 7, at 7 p.m.
Team Stats
BCE
UMA
Shots
35
17
PPG
1
0
SHG
0
0
Penalties
5
5
Penalty Mins
10
10
Faceoffs Won
27
26
Game Leaders
+/-
2
Goals
1
Sh
5
A
0
+/-
1
Goals
1
Sh
1
A
0
+/-
1
Goals
0
Sh
1
A
1
+/-
1
Goals
0
Sh
0
A
1
Players Mentioned
D
/ Hockey
G
/ Hockey
F
/ HockeyD
/ HockeyF
/ HockeyUMass IH | Broadcast Highlights vs Boston College | 03.05.26
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UMass IH | Coach Greg Carvel Post Game Press Conference vs UConn | 02.28.26
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