MASSACHUSETTS BLANKS RENSSELAER, 6-0
Dan Meyers earns shutout with 25 saves; Chris Davis scores two goals

Dan Meyers posted the shutout with 25 saves

TROY, N.Y. - Two goals from senior forward Chris Davis and 25 saves and his first career shutout from Dan Meyers propelled the UMass men's hockey team to a 6-0 victory over Rensselaer on Tuesday evening at Houston Field House. Sophomore defenseman Doug Kublin, freshman forward Danny Hobbs and and freshman center Casey Wellman each netted their first collegiate goals in the win.

The Minutemen (2-1-0) took an early lead with two first period goals, and outshot the Engineers 35-25 for the game.

The Mass Attack will take two days off before heading the Durham, N.H. to faceoff against #4 New Hampshire on Friday night (7 PM) at the Whittemore Center. This will be the first game in Hockey East action for UMass.

The Minutemen were 1-for-4 on the powerplay and were a perfect 3-for-3 on the penalty kill. Tuesday also marked the return of Chase Langeraap (two assists) and John Wessbecker (one assist), who each missed a majority of second half of last season.

UMass outchanced the Engineers throughout the first period, but the physicality and shot blocking of RPI kept the Minutemen at bay during most of the frame. Massachusetts, however, was able to come away with two goals in the final four minutes of play to carry the advantage into the locker room.

After Rensselaer killed off its first penalty of the night midway through the period, the Minutemen began dictating the play and generated several scoring chances outshooting RPI 20-8 in the frame. Davis had several good scoring opportunities during the opening stanza, and finally cashed in with 3:45 to play in the period. Davis took a pass from Wessbecker and snuck a shot past Rensselaer goaltender Mathias Lange.

Two minutes later, Doug Kublin netted his first collegiate goal when he blasted a shot from the point and beat Lange glove side. After a loose puck squirted out to the blue line, Kublin one-timed the puck through traffic and past the Engineer goaltender. Cory Quirk and James Marcou assisted on the goal.

The Minutemen took a commanding 3-0 lead with 3:46 to play when Hobbs notched his first collegiate goal. After sophomore forward Michael Lecomte (one goal, one assist) dumped the puck into the neutral zone, junior wing Will Ortiz gathered the puck and skated into the Rensselaer zone. Ortiz then passed to a streaking Hobbs who buried the puck past Lange for the score.

Although the Engineers had a few more chances in the third period, the Minutemen added three more insurance goals in the final frame. Davis netted his second goal of the night when he slid the puck through Lange six minutes into the period. After Langeraap threw the puck down the ice to Davis, he skated into the zone with Wellman on the right. Wellman set a screen on the net and Davis was able to sneak the puck past Lange.

The Minutemen continued to apply pressure on the RPI defenders, and Wellman became the third member of the team to net his first collegiate goal. After two Engineer defensemen played catch with the puck in their defensive zone, Wellman intercepted a pass and skated in alone on Lange. Wellman snapped a shot that hit the left post and found its way into the goal. The Minutemen added another goal with four minutes to play when Lecomte tipped a Bevis shot through traffic and past Lange while on the power play.