Box Score
BOSTON, Mass. – The offense came alive for UMass Boston Men's Ice Hockey against New England College at home Friday night inside the Edward T. Barry Ice Rink. After scoring just three goals in two games last weekend, the Beacons netted three goals in the second period alone as part of their 5-2 victory over New England College, earning their first win of the 2022-23 season and first in conference play.

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 5, New England College 2

UMass Boston (1-2-0, 1-0-0 NEHC)

New England College (0-2-0, 0-1-0 NEHC)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

Less than a minute into the game, Grady Friedman gave the Beacons the lead after freshman forward Mike Manzo Friedman with a pass behind the back of the net. Friedman circled around graduate goalie Spencer Kozlowski in net, firing just past the red line and under the crossbar to give the Beacons an early 1-0 advantage.

UMass Boston held New England College without a shot on goal for the opening five-plus minutes before junior forward Anthony Cinato fired on senior goalie Sam Best, making his third start of the season for UMass Boston, who turned away the opportunity. After the opening 20 minutes, the Beacons held a 21-6 advantage in shots on goal, but only led 1-0.

Junior forward Owen Bourdow would pad the UMass Boston lead in the second period, when he controlled the puck on the right side of the defensive zone. Skipping a pass to sophomore forward Kolye Bankauskas on the right side of the ice, Bankaukas found Bourdow opposite side of him for the open net opportunity to make it 2-0.

Four minutes later, the Beacons would strike again as two quick passes from sophomore forward Alex Duncan and senior defender Ryan Bogan deflected off a New England College stick in the offensive zone. The redirected puck found the stick of junior forward Corey Clifton whose blue line shot made its way by Kozlowski.

Tallying the third and final goal of the second period, junior forward Gino Carabelli netted a bouncing puck from Bogan and Bankauskas through the legs of Kozlowski giving the Beacons a four-goal advantage.

New England College would steal one back in the final five minutes of the second junior forward Anthony Cinato danced around the Beacon defense with both teams down a man, scoring his first goal of the season to cut the UMass Boston lead down to three, 4-1.
 
Looking to make a comeback in the third period, the Pilgrims cut the Beacon lead down to two, 4-2, with 14 minutes remaining in regulation. Off an offensive face-off win, junior forward Linus Udd Hellgren ricocheted a shot off Best's pad which found the stick of freshman forward Manny Cabral who buried the shot and keep New England College alive in the contest.

Over the final 14 minutes, the UMass Boston defense and Sam Best would hang tough against an onslaught of offensive opportunities by the Pilgrims. Sophomore forward Ty Mathews netted the fifth goal of the game for the Beacons assisted by junior forward Evan Googins as UMass Boston earned their first conference win with the 5-2 victory.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Sam Best had his top performance of the young season, making 25 saves in net for the Beacons on 27 shot opportunities
• In his first start of the season, Spencer Kozlowski made 43 saves for the Pilgrims out of a possible 48 shot attempts he faced
• UMass Boston outshot New England College 81-43 and 48-26 in shots on goal
• 10 UMass Boston players finished with at least one point while Kolye Bankauskas and Ryan Bogan, and Alex Duncan each finished with two
• The Beacons extend their winning streak versus New England College to three consecutive games and four of their last five contests dating back to the 2019-20 season

 
WHO'S NEXT
The Beacons continue conference play at home inside Edward T. Barry Ice Rink on Saturday afternoon as they welcome Norwich University for a 4:00 PM puck drop. Last season, UMass Boston went 0-1-1 against the Cadets, tying 3-3 on the road before losing a 2-1 decision at home.