Box Score
BOSTON, Mass. – A pair of goals and an assist by senior Nathan Milam (Westland, Mich.) propelled No. 6/7 men's ice hockey to their ninth straight victory as they defeated the University of New England by the final of 3-1 Friday evening in the Beacons Ice Arena.
Milam tied the game at 1-1 in the 15th minute of the first period, before scoring the game-winner at the 9:00 mark in the third period. The senior forward then assisted on the final goal of the night, when Stephen Buco (North Providence, R.I.) knocked in an empty-netter in the closing seconds of the final frame to secure the victory.
With the win, UMass improved to 9-0-0, 5-0-0 in the ECAC East. University of New England fell to 3-7-0, 2-4-0 in the conference.
Buco also had a three-point evening as the senior dropped in the empty-netter, while also assisting on both of Milam's goals.
On the night, the Beacons offense peppered UNE netminder Mason Riley with a combined 64 shots. The 61 saves marked a career-best for the Riley, and also stands as the new single-game record in Nor-Easters program history.
Junior Zach Andrews (Coral Springs, Fla.) notched his seventh win of the year after making 20 stops in the conference win. The Beacons power-play, despite going 0-for-5 had plenty of chances as they totaled 12 man-up chances.
The lone goal from UNE came in the first two minutes of the opening period, when Christian Rossetti was able to sneak the puck past two defensemen, who were block Andrews' view. The goal gave the Nor'Easters the early momentum, as they controlled the play for most of the first two frames.
It was not until the start of the third that the Beacons found their rhythm. However, Riley held strong stopping nearly every chance that came his way. The third period by far his busiest as the Beacons put 23 shots on goal. In the second UMass totaled 22, while in the first they finished with 16.
Also picking up points in Friday's victory was Andrew Crawford (Medford, Mass.), Brett Mason (Rowley, Mass.), and finally Tyler Bishop (Ramsey, N.J.).
The Beacons return to action tomorrow when they host the University of Southern Maine at 3 p.m.
