Box Score
BOSTON, Mass.—Eight different Beacons scored, to lead UMass Boston men's hockey past Albertus Magnus University 9-2, in the opening game of the 55th Annual Codfish Bowl Tournament.
THE BASICS
UMass Boston 9, Albertus Magnus University 2
(UMass Boston 7-4-1)
(Albertus Magnus 0-10-2)
HOW IT HAPPENED
UMass Boston erupted for eight goals in the final two periods to earn a spot in their fourth-consecutive Codfish Bowl Championship Game. With the win, UMass Boston men's hockey head coach Peter Belisle earned his 200th career victory.
The Beacons top line of Chris Peters (Fairport, N.Y.), Daniel Nachbaur (Richland, Wash.) and Jeffrey Skinner (Houston, Texas) combined for three goals and five assists in the win. Peters (one goal and two assists) and Skinner (three assists) each led the Beacons with three points, while Nachbaur paced the team with two goals.
Derek Caruso (Port Washington, N.Y.) tacked on a goal and an assist, while Zack Bross (St. Louis, Mo.) and Ryan Rowland (Manahawkin, N.J.) each chipped in with two assists.
Nolan Redler (Winchester, Mass.), Ethan Nitkin (Miami Beach, Fla.), Jack Riley (Wrentham, Mass.), Evan Rochowiak (Livonia, Mich.) and Jake Adkins (Centennial, Colo.) also scored in the victory.
Senior goalie Bailey MacBurnie (Beverly, Mass.) made 30 saves on 32 shots to earn his third-consecutive victory.
Albertus Magnus freshmen Dino Antoniadis and Owen Allan both scored for the first-year varsity program. In net, freshman Pierce Diamond made 36 saves on 35 shots to fall to 0-10-2.
The two teams were even in the first period, with UMass Boston scoring the only goal on a power-play. Redler took a pass from Bross along the near wall and threw a tight-angled shot off the inside of Diamond's right leg and in for a 1-0 lead 4:57 into the game.
Albertus Magnus tied the game 47 seconds into the second period, when Antoniadis batted a shot in, while he was all-alone at the back post. Cameron Weitzman and Alexander Lazier each earned assist on the play.
UMass Boston answered back less than 90 seconds later. Riley skated the puck into the zone and unleashed a rocket just over Diamond's shoulder for a 2-1 lead at 2:15.
The Beacons made it 3-1 at 4:56, when Nachbaur forced a turnover in the Falcons zone and Peters and Skinner combined to find a wide-open Nachbaur for his fourth goal of the year.
Allan cut the deficit to 3-2 at 7:11, when his shot trickled through MacBurnie and was ruled to go over the line-before Allan skated into the Beacons' goalie.
The Beacons immediately responded with a Caruso unassisted goal at 8:54. After the Falcons had a power-play goal wiped out due to goalie interference, Adkins (first collegiate goal) and Nitkin scored to make it 6-2 Beacons after two periods.
Nachbaur, Peters and Rochowiak added goals in the final stanza to lift UMass Boston to the seven-goal victory.
BY THE NUMBERS
- UMass Boston led the Falcons 45-32 in shots and 37-31 in face-offs.
- Belisle is the first coach in program history to win 200 games and only the fifth coach in school history to reach the mark.
- The Beacons finished 1-1 on the power-play and held Albertus Magnus to an 0-5 mark. Over their last three games, UMass Boston is now 8-17 on the power-play and 17-17 on the penalty kill.
- 12 Beacons recorded points in the game and five players posted multiple points in the victory.
- Senior Tyler Sifferlen (North Andover, Mass.) made his season debut in the victory. Rochowiak appeared in his third game of the season, after missing nine-straight games due to an injury.
- The Beacons will be making their fourth-straight Codfish Bowl Championship Game appearance. UMass Boston has lost each of the last three finals by a single goal. The Beacons will be looking to win their first title since 2014 and sixth overall.
WHO'S NEXT
UMass Boston will take on the winner of Fitchburg State University and Wesleyan University (Conn.) on Saturday at 4 p.m. in the Codfish Bowl Championship Game. Albertus Magnus will take on the loser of that game on Saturday at 1 p.m in the Consolation Game.
