Hockey can be a strange thing.  After saying the team was lucky to get the win on Friday given how poorly they played, UMass was considerably better last night but ended up falling to New Hampshire 4-2.  The difference between the two nights?  UNH looked much, much better last night and despite a better effort from UMass were still the better team on the ice.

UNH was led by Bobby Butler who scored two goals but the play of the game was made by Peter LeBlanc whose nice deke move froze Dainton and scored what ended up being the game-winner.  That one came less than a minute after UMass was able to tie the game at 2-2 with an Ortiz goal and took away some of the momentum they were building.  Brian Foster looked like a completely different player than he did the night before and ended up with 33 saves.

Things clicked better offensively than on Friday night but the team seemed slowed a little due to some soft ice.  Defensively UMass still looked sluggish and a couple of the goals could’ve been avoided if the Minutemen had just been quicker to clear the puck out from in front of Dainton.

The team will certainly have to execute better in the next few weeks as they head on the road for games against Yale, Turkey Tuesday with UVM, and Quinnipiac.

Fear The Triangle Player of the Game – Will Ortiz
Ortiz’s goal was a skilled, hard shot that was able to tie the game and allow the Minutemen to get back into the game.  Will played hard for most of the game and is certainly putting together a memorable senior season so far.

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The Republican says luckily UMass only has to face Bobby Butler for one more regular season game in his career.

Here’s the recap from USCHO.

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Elsewhere last night Boston College scored a touchdown against Vermont earning a 7-1 win.  Those teams will meet again this afternoon.  BU was able to win but it still wasn’t early as they outlasted Merrimack 6-4.  Northeastern was able to get the split with Maine while Lowell completed their sweep of Alabama-Huntsville down south.