Hanover, N.H. - The UMass Hockey team fell to Bemidji State 4-2 Sunday afternoon in the first game of the Dartmouth Ledyard National Bank Classic. The Minutemen received goals from Cory Quirk and Justin Braun, while Paul Dainton made 14 saves in goal for UMass (8-7-1). Matt Dalton got the start in goal for the Beavers, making 24 saves to extend Bemidji's win streak to six games. The Minutemen will be in action tomorrow afternoon in the consolation game against either Army or Dartmouth. Faceoff is scheduled for 4 PM.
UMass outshot the Beavers 26-18 during the game, but the Minutemen were 0-for-3 on the power play. Bemidji State (8-7-0) went 2-for-5 on the man advantage in their first ever meeting with UMass.
The Minutemen came out hard in the first period, scoring 56 seconds into the frame and outshooting the Beavers 10-6. Bemidji State, however, responded with two goals of its own in the opening stanza taking a 2-1 lead into the locker room. UMass got on the board after Alex Berry slotted a pass to Quirk who was able to sneak it past Dalton for the early lead. The goal was Quirk's 91st career point as a Minuteman as he closes in on becoming the seventh UMass player in program history to tally 100 career points.
When Danny Hobbs was whistled for a tripping penalty 3:30 into the period, the Beavers came back to tie the score on Brandon Marino's third goal of the season. Marino collected the puck on the blue line and beat Dainton five-hole for the score.
Bemidji State took the lead with just over five minutes to play in the frame when Matt Read netted his fifth goal of the season. Tyler Scofield centered the puck from the corner, Read was there to bang home the loose puck before a UMass defender could turn the puck away.
The teams exchanged goals during the second period, with UMass holding the edge in shots, 10-8. Five minutes into the frame, Berry was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct for hitting from behind, giving the Beavers an elongated power play opportunity. Bemidji State wasted no time in extending its lead as Travis Winter scored his third goal of the season just one minute into the man advantage. After Ian Lowe controlled the puck in the corner, he fired a pass through the slot to Winter who one-timed the puck past Dainton for the score.
Bemidji State was awarded another power play with nine minutes to play in the stanza when Braun was whistled for holding, but the UMass penalty kill limited the Beaver's scoring chances. The Minutemen brought it back to a one-goal game with 6:37 remaining in the period when Braun scored his fourth goal of the season right out of the penalty box. Braun gathered the puck and let a shot go from the top of the left faceoff dot. Dalton saved the initial shot, but Chris Davis collected the rebound and fed Braun on the doorstep for the score.
The Beavers gave themselves a two-goal cushion in the third period with Ben Kinne's third goal of the season 4:30 into the third period. Cody Bostock took a shot from the point which Kinne redirected past Dainton.
The Minutemen pulled Dainton with 1:45 to play in regulation in hopes of a late comeback, and UMass threw a flurry of shots on goal, but Dalton was there to turn away all the UMass chances.