BOSTON — At some point, Matt Murray’s wall was going to tumble down.
The junior goalie was one of the few players keeping UMass in the game early in the second period as the march to the penalty box began for the Minutemen. He made five saves on a 5-on-3 penalty kill, including two world-class stops on the Northeastern two-man advantage, and continued to look up to the task. Yet as the Huskies continued to pin UMass into the zone and put the pressure on Murray, it was seeming more likely that they would finally solve the netminder.
Almost midway through the second period, the Huskies finally converted as Matt Demelis roofed a loose puck on Northeastern’s third crack at it and skated away with a 3-1 victory Tuesday night at Matthews Arena.
Both teams looked out of sorts in the first period of a rare Tuesday night clash between Hockey East rivals so early in the season. UMass dominated in the faceoff dot winning 13 of 19 draws, but that possession only translated into a 9-4 advantage in shots, none of which really tested Northeastern goalie Craig Pantano.
UMass (1-1-0, 0-1-0 Hockey East) began the second period shorthanded with Jake Gaudet in the penalty box for an elbowing minor late in the first, but killed it off with ease. Shortly thereafter, the game-changing sequence occurred with Jack Suter and Zac Jones sent to the penalty box within eight seconds of each other to put the Minutemen down two men. Although Northeastern didn’t score on the power plays, the momentum swung firmly in the Huskies’ favor as the play would continue to be concentrated in and around Murray.
Most of Northeastern’s 13 second-period shots came in that opening nine-minute sequence as they pinned the Minutemen’s top two lines in their own zone. The Huskies (3-0-0, 1-0-0 HEA) continued to force UMass’ best scorers to utilize energy defending while its weaker forwards tried to start some offensive rushes to no avail. Eventually, Northeastern was able to trap UMass’ top line in its defensive third for an extended period and Demelis took advantage of a third-chance rebound around Murray.
Less than three minutes later, Jordan Harris broke free behind the UMass defense after a Minutemen power play and Philip Lagunov slashed him as he went to shoot on Murray. The referees awarded a penalty shot to Harris, who calmly waited out Murray and flipped a shot against the grain over Murray’s right pad to double the lead.
UMass started the third period with the same inauspicious beginning as Mitchell Chaffee was called for holding, but yet again the Minutemen were able to kill off the penalty. Then the tide started to turn toward the Minutemen as Northeastern was called for two minors at the same time, giving UMass an extended 5-on-3 of its own. The Minutemen squandered that chance as Craig Pantano made two key stops after crisp passing from the top power-play unit, but shortly thereafter Matthew Kessel sent a rocket past Pantano that the Merrimack graduate transfer didn’t see.
The Minutemen had two more chances on the man advantage to potentially tie the game, but the power play fizzled out when it mattered most. Especially frustrating for UMass was failing to score on the five-minute major given to Brendan van Riemsdyk with 3:03 left in the game. Van Riemsdyk was whistled for spearing Chaffee, but the Minutemen sent just three shots toward Pantano, two of which were blocked and never made it to the goalie.
The power play was a major disappointment for both teams as neither team was able to convert with the man advantage. UMass killed off all seven penalties it took in the game and Northeastern killed all four of its minors and the major at the end of the game.