NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Unable to overcome an early deficit, the UMass hockey team dropped its final game before the holiday break, 4-2 at #15 Yale on Tuesday night at Ingalls Rink. The setback leaves the Minutemen at 5-9-2 overall, while the nationally-ranked Bulldogs improve to 7-3-2 on the season.
Senior co-captain Rocco Carzo netted his team-leading eighth goal of the year, while redshirt-sophomore Steven Guzzo tallied his third.
Just 3:24 into the first period, Yale took a 1-0 lead. With the Bulldogs on the rush, Nicholas Weberg collected a feed from Clinton Bourbonais and Kenny Agostino and put it in the top right corner past UMass netminder Kevin Boyle.
Almost immediately after killing off a 5-on-3 chance by the Minutemen, Yale converted a man-advantage of its own to go up, 2-0. Tommy Fallen's slapper from the top of the slot found its way through traffic 9:21 into the second with Antoine Langaniere and Agostino earning assists on the play.
UMass took one of the goals back late in the second to head into the final intermission trailing, 2-1. Senior co-captain Kevin Czepiel won the puck along the boards in the defensive zone and sent an outlet pass to Guzzo. Guzzo stickhandled through several Bulldogs and slid a shot underneath goaltender Jeff Malcom at 17:52.
Then in the third after the Minutemen killed off a five-minute major, which included two minutes of 5-on-3, Yale increased its lead to 4-1 with a pair of goals just 21 seconds apart. Andrew Miller and Stu Wilson added the tallies for the Bulldogs at 6:08 and 6:29, respectively.
UMass registered the final goal of the night on the power play with the extra attacker on 17:35 into the third. Amidst a scramble in front, Carzo cleaned up the rebound of a Michael Pereria shot.
The Minutemen finished with a 29-26 edge in shots and won 27 of 53 faceoffs. UMass was 1-for-7 on the power play, while Yale converted one of its eight chances. Boyle had 22 saves, while Malcom registered 27 stops for the Bulldogs.
The Minutemen will be off for exams and the holiday break before returning to action on Dec. 30 at Dartmouth's Ledyard National Bank Classic. UMass opens up the tournament with a 3 p.m. game again Bemidji State in Hanover, N.H.