AMHERST, Mass. - Behind a 30-save effort from netminder Paul Dainton and a two-goal effort from Alex Berry, the UMass hockey team upset No. 1 Boston University on Friday night with a 5-1 victory in front of 7,212 at the Mullins Center. The win was the second win ever over a No. 1 ranked team in UMass' modern era history. Massachusetts received two goals from Alex Berry while Cory Quirk added one goal and an assist. Freshman defenseman Matt Irwin scored his first collegiate goal for UMass in the win. The Minutemen (5-2-1, 3-1-1 HEA) will be back in action tomorrow night when they take on UMass-Lowell. Gametime is scheduled for 7 PM at the Mullins Center.
The last time UMass defeated the nation's No. 1 ranked team was on January 28, 1995 with a 4-2 win over No. 1 Maine.
With only six combined penalties, neither team was able to take advantage while on the power play, with UMass going 0-for-3 and the Terriers going 0-for-2. Boston University (6-2-0, 3-2-0 HEA) held the advantage in shots 31-26. UMass has now killed off 27 consecutive penalties dating back to the game at Rensselaer on October 21.
The Terriers opened up the first period strong, pressuring the UMass defense and generating scoring chances on Dainton. The Minutemen, however, made the most of their opportunities during the opening stanza, scoring twice and throwing 10 shots on goal. Massachusetts began the scoring seven minutes in when Quirk netted his second goal of the season. After receiving a pass from James Marcou, Quirk skated into the slot and lifted a backhand past Boston University netminder Grant Rollheiser (21 saves) for the goal.
The teams continued their back and forth action throughout the period, and UMass took a 2-0 lead with 8:39 to play in the stanza when Berry scored his third goal of the season off a pass from Martin Nolet.
Both teams traded chances during the second period, but it was the Minutemen who capitalized on their opportunities, taking a 3-0 lead into the locker room. The Minutemen were awarded their first power play of the evening early in the stanza, but the Terrier penalty killing unit kept the Minutemen on the perimeter and limited their chances.
After Massachusetts was assessed their first penalty of the night, the Terriers went to work in an attempt to cut into the UMass lead. But Dainton stood his ground to keep the Minutemen up by two. Boston University continued their pressure following their power play, but the UMass defense was there to keep the Terriers at bay.
The Minutemen extended their lead to three with 8:44 to play in the frame when Irwin scored his first collegiate goal. After receiving a pass from Casey Wellman, Irwin fired a shot from the point that got through traffic and past Rollheiser.
Although the Terriers got on the board with a goal from Zach Cohen, Massachusetts was able to net two goals in the third period to skate away with the 5-1 win. Scott Crowder notched his first goal of the season off a feed from Marc Concannon three minutes into the period, just one minute after the Terriers scored their first goal of the game.
Boston University tried to get back into the game during the period, but the UMass defense kept the Terriers at bay. With less than one minute to play in regulation, Berry iced the game with an empty net goal.