AMHERST — John Leonard beat the defense to the puck along the boards at center ice and raced in on New Hampshire goalie Mike Robinson with defenseman Brendan Van Riemsdyk on his back.
The UMass sophomore faked left, brought the puck to his right then quickly tried beating Robinson five-hole.
Robinson made the stop, but freshman Anthony Del Gaizo crashed the net and poked the rebound in near the post.
The late second-period goal stopped any momentum the Wildcats gained during the frame and sent the Minutemen to a 4-2 victory, Sunday afternoon at the Mullins Center.
“They came back in the second period with a little bit of a push-back,” Leonard said. “I think we answered well there and we were fortunate enough to get that bounce. We kept going and building off of that.”
The victory moved UMass (6-0-0 Hockey East) to 10-1-0, the best start in program history.
“I don’t think those guys care” about the start, UMass coach Greg Carvel said. “I think they are very proud of what they are doing, but they are very conscious of where we are going to be in March. These wins are great because it sets us up to be able to get to certain levels, certain games later in the year. It’s very business-like right now.”
UMass led 3-0 on the strength of three power-play goals when UNH rallied in the second with two goals.
“They came out a little harder to start that second period,” Leonard said. “I think we were kind of a little bit relaxed heading into that second, which we can’t be doing no matter what the score was in the first. We just have to be better in situations like that and come out harder.”
Ara Nazarian took advantage of a lost puck at the blue line and raced in on a breakaway, beating UMass goalie Matt Murray far side. The goal pulled the Wildcats within 3-1 at 9:45 of the second.
Then, following a Cale Makar elbowing penalty that created a 4-on-3 power play for UNH, Charlie Kelleher beat Murray to pull the Wildcats within 3-2.
“Things got a little sideways there,” Carvel said. “You get a bad hop, the puck jumps over (Ivan) Chukarov’s stick and they get the breakaway. Then they call Cale for an elbow. In a game, things are going to add up at times against you, it just took us a little while to get it back under control. Leonard is one of the guys on the team that has the ability to just single-handedly change the game, change momentum.”
UMass took a 2-0 lead in the first period.
Makar wristed a shot from the point that was redirected by Jacob Pritchard for a 1-0 lead just under seven minutes into the game.
UNH made a push to tie the game about four minutes later. A collision in the crease sent Murray to the ground as the puck made its way in front. Murray bounced to his feet and made a save on a Richard Boyd shot.
“He has a lot of confidence right now,” Carvel said.
UMass made it 2-0 with 5:23 left. As a UNH penalty was being announced, the Minutemen won the faceoff and Pritchard skated past Robinson, turned and fired. The shot was stopped, but Leonard put in the rebound five seconds into the power play.
Mitchell Chaffee pounded in the third power-play goal following a scrum in the UNH crease at 8:02 of the second.
“They just make plays,” first-year UNH coach Mike Souza said. “They have skilled guys who can make plays. They are able to keep plays alive making little plays in little areas. Talented kids can do that and they’ve got a talented team.”
Murray finished with 18 saves. Robinson had 30.
UMass hosts No. 15 Princeton at 7 p.m. Saturday.