Freshmen Shine For UMass Hockey In 5-2 Win Over Dalhousie
AMHERST, Mass. - Four goals from freshmen propelled the UMass hockey team to a 5-2 exhibition win over Dalhousie on Saturday night at the Mullins Center.
Courtesy of UMASS Athletics
AMHERST, Mass. - Four goals from freshmen propelled the UMass hockey team to a 5-2 exhibition win over Dalhousie on Saturday night at the Mullins Center. All five tallies by the Minutemen came from underclassmen, including a pair from freshman Dennis Kravchenko.
Dictating play from the outset, UMass pocketed three in the first period, out-shooting the Tigers 23-1 in the stanza. Freshman Jake Horton put the Minutemen on the board 9:09 into the contest, burying a shot from the top of the slot with the assist going to classmate Riley McDougall.
UMass added its second of the night just over three minutes later. Off an outlet pass from redshirt sophomore Frank Vatrano, redshirt senior Troy Power connected with Kravchenko on a 2-on-1 that Kravchenko finished with a tap-in, glove side, at 12:26.
The Minutemen expanded the margin to 3-0 at 15:24 as Vatrano drove home a feed from Ben Gallacher at the point on the power play.
Dalhousie increased the offensive pressure in the second as freshman Henry Dill was forced to make a stellar glove save on his first shot of the period. Dill totaled eight saves in his 20 minutes in net, but the Tigers' Steven Johnston did manage to close the gap to 3-1 with his goal at 7:17.
However UMass regained its three-goal cushion early in the third. Kravchenko notched his second of the contest from freshman Keith Burchett on the power play 3:46 into the period.
Freshman Dominic Trento scored the fifth and final goal for the Minutemen at the 9:04 mark, redirecting a shot from senior Oleg Yevenko at the back post. Junior Shane Walsh earned an assist on the play, as well.
Dalhousie's Andrew Langan added a late power-play goal from Steven Johnson 19:02 into the third to cap off the scoring.
UMass' three netminders split time in the contest, playing one period apiece. In addition to Dill's eight stops, senior Steve Mastalerz had one save in the first, and sophomore Alex Wakaluk turned aside 10 shots in the third. Wendall Vye finished with 50 saves for the Tigers.
The Minutemen ended the night with a 55-21 shot advantage and went 2-for-10 on the power play to Dalhousie's 1-for-5. UMass won 31 of 61 faceoffs on the evening.
Game Highlights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Q4scs2XFWw