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.
Fear The Triangle - UMass Hockey Blog 
Adam
/ November 16, 2009The minutemen definitely looked better Saturday night. I think their biggest issue was UNH’s pressure. I have not seen another team yet this season put a harder forecheck on them, right from the start. It was frustrating to watch. They rarely got collected enough to make that first tape to tape pass out of the zone to get a rush going.
On Ortiz, there was one play in the first half of the game where he got crunched along the defensive zone boards. I don;t know if anyone else caught that, but he gingerly skated off the ice, holding his wrist. I was suprised to see him back out so soon. I guess nothing substantial happened, but I was scared for him when it happened. He is certainly a tough guy.
Lastly, this has been bugging me. Does anyone know anything about UMass’ third jerseys. I have seen it on Sam the Minuteman, two fans in the crowd and thats it. Are they ever going to wear them or sell them. They were in a poll on USCHO about the best new jerseys, however, a thorough internet search came back with nothing. Oh well.
Love the blog!
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rocks22
/ November 16, 2009Some would call what UNH executed as pressure, but others would call it a neutral zone trap. Which is very ironic considering that when UMass used the trap to try to slow down skilled Wildcat forwards no one would complain about it more than UNH fans and claim that the Minutemen were destroying the game of hockey. Now that the shoe is on the other foot I’m sure they’re perfectly fine with it.
The black third jerseys you’ve seen around are from back when Nike was supplying the school with jerseys and equipment. Since Addidas took over a couple years back they’ve yet to unveil a new third. I loved the look of the black ones, especially when they came out with ones that had less dazzle shine to them. The problem was it seemed like UMass’ record when they wore them was pretty dismal. Therefore I wasn’t too disappointed to see them go.
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Adam
/ November 16, 2009Well, Thank you very much! Another headache releived! Though I still find it strange that Sam the Minuteman wears a retired jersey every game. Just a thought.
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rocks22
/ November 16, 2009It could be that it’s the only jersey he can find that fits his bulky frame. And for some stupid reason Addidas has yet to come out with replica jerseys since they got the contract over two years ago.
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Ryan
/ November 17, 2009that black jersey has been my jersey of choice so far, as everyone knows.
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