Saturday, March 10, 2007
MASSACHUSETTS ADVANCES WITH 5-2 WIN OVER MAINE
Senior Chris Capraro has goal and two assists for Minutemen
Box Score

AMHERST, Mass. - Senior forward Chris Capraro totaled three points (1g, 2a) and sophomore goalie Jon Quick stopped 35 shots to lead the No. 14 ranked Massachusetts men's hockey team to a 5-2 win over No. 15 Maine in Game Two of the Hockey East quarterfinals on Friday night in front of 8,062 fans at the Mullins Center.

The Minutemen advance to the TD Banknorth Garden for the Hockey East semifinals for the third time in school history. No. 4 seed Massachusetts will take on No. 1 seed New Hampshire on Friday, March 16 in Boston. UMass owned a 2-1 regular- season record against the Wildcats and they have a 1-1 all-time record vs. UNH in the Hockey East semifinals.

Massachusetts now owns a 20-11-5 overall record heading into the next round of the playoffs and the Black Bears drop to 21-14-2 with the defeat. The 20 wins for UMass is a team record since joining the Hockey East Association in 1993. Massachusetts is the fifth Hockey East team this season to post 20 wins.

The Minutemen scored two in the first and two in the second to take the 4-1 lead into second intermission. Capraro opened the game scoring at 8:21 on his ninth goal of the season, setup by junior Matt Burto and junior defenseman Mike Kostka. Kostka finished the game with two assists on the night and Burto tied a career-high with two points. Sophomore forward Cory Quirk gave the Minutemen at 2-0 lead nearly seven minutes later at 15:27 to tie Mark Matheson for the team lead in goals with 13 apiece. Freshman blueliner Justin Braun and Capraro earned assists on the Quirk tally.

In the second period, Burto and Matt Anderson gave UMass a 4-1 lead with goals at 4:45 and 12:54 respectively. Junior assistant captain P.J. Fenton added an empty net goal with 1:19 remaining.

Quick made 14 saves in the final period and 12 saves in the opening period, while Maine netminder Dave Wilson allowed four goals and stopped 23 shots in the losing cause. Quick ups his record to 18-10-5 on the season in his 33rd start of the season.

The Black Bears outshot the Minutemen 37 to 28 for the game, including a 15-7 advantage in the final period, while UMass had the edge in the second at 16-9. Stay tuned to UMassAthletics.com for ticket information.