ATTLEBORO, Mass. – In a weekend where every point counted for UMass Boston Men's Ice Hockey, the Beacons took care of business sweeping the home-and-home series with Johnson and Wales University, taking the road edition of the matchup, 6-3, on Saturday afternoon.

With the two victories and two losses this weekend by Skidmore College, UMass Boston remains in contention for a home playoff game in the New England Hockey Conference Quarterfinals. With eight teams qualifying, the Beacons sit at 25 points in fifth place with Skidmore at 24 points while Elmira College and Babson College sit ahead at 28 and 29 points respectively.

THE BASICS
UMass Boston 6, Johnson & Wales University 3

UMass Boston (11-12-0, 8-8-0 NEHC)
Johnson & Wales University (2-20-1, 1-15-0 NEHC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
A scoreless first period gave way to a high-scoring second frame in which senior forward Andy Walker netted his second goal of the weekend from junior forward Owen Bourdow and sophomore forward Alex Duncan just over nine minutes in. Four minutes later, junior forward Jacob Banks tacked on the second goal of the period from senior defender Davis Browning to make it 2-0.

Junior defender Gino Carabelli made it three goals for UMass Boston in the second, when senior defender Nick Daluisio and freshman forward Jazz Krivtsov teamed up for Carabelli's third goal of the year. To start the third, the Wildcats responded when sophomore forward Connor Blanchard scored a minute and a half into the period, cutting the Beacon lead down to two, 3-1.

Over the course of five minutes in the latter half of the frame, both sides would exchange a combined five goals which included Walker netting two more goals to earn his first career hat trick while sophomore forward Ty Mathews added his third goal of the season en route to a dominant 6-3 road victory for UMass Boston.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Sophomore goalie Darius Bell made 19 saves on 22 attempts from Johnson and Wales
• Sophomore goalie Jacob Perrin had another big performance for Johnson and Wales, stopping 49 of 55 shots
• UMass Boston outscored Johnson and Wales 11-4 during the home-and-home series
• Owen Bourdow and Alex Duncan finished with three assists each

 
WHO'S NEXT
UMass Boston finishes up their regular season schedule next weekend with two home games at the Edward T. Barry Ice Rink starting with Skidmore College on Friday night at 7:00 PM. The Beacons fell on the road earlier this year to the Thoroughbreds, 4-3, on January 7^th.