BOSTON, MA (February 10, 2024) – The UMass Boston men's ice hockey program concluded their season in style from the Edward T. Barry Rink on Saturday afternoon against the Wildcats of Johnson & Wales University, as the Beacons tallied four first period goals, as well as graduate keeper Sam Best adding to his career shutout record to close out the regular season in style on their senior night.
First-year forward Jack Morston tallied four points behind two goals and two assists against the Wildcats, as his stick burned the hottest on senior night. Sophomore forward Jazz Krivstov, and first-years Jakob Teply and Jack Ford each tallied for the Beacons in the win tonight behind a whopping 51 total team shots. Teply was one of four first period scorers, as well as assisting on two other goals on the evening, for three points in the win. Sophomore Jude Kurtas led the Beacons in shots on goal with a team high seven efforts. Graduate forward Connor Foley won the most puck drops against the Wildcats, winning 13 of his 22 drops from the faceoff circle. First-year defender Jacob Kaminski put a body on eight JWU shots on net, earning a team-high in blocked shots. Best played all three periods, faced 34 shots and stopped each one of them for his eighth career shutout, a UMass Boston record. The game was riddled with penalties from both teams, as the Beacons spent a total of 21 minutes in the box off nine total penalties, compared to the Wildcats' 16 total penalty minutes on eight total penalties.

JWU Won the first puck drop of the game and immediately were too overzealous on the defensive end, as the Wildcats picked up their first penalty less than a minute into the game for tripping. This would serve costly, as the Beacons fed off the one man advantage and capitalized on the power play two minutes into the opening puck drop. Teply scored the first off assists from Mortson and Ford, as the Beacons were just beginning to roll. The loss against the Wildcats on Friday night away from the Edward T. Barry fueled the fire behind the Beacons sticks, as they stuck again halfway through the first period. Mortson would extend the lead to two following his first goal of the afternoon following assists by Teply, and first-year forward Chris Repmann. This time, an even strength goal as the Beacons asserted their dominance on their home ice. With just over four minutes remaining in the first period, the Wildcats suffered another penalty, this time for indirect contact to the head. UMass Bosotn didn't take lightly to this, and made JWU dive deeper into their deficit following Mortson's second on the night, as he was assisted by Teply and senior defender Kevin Sadovski for the Beacons third goal in just the first 16 minutes of play. The offensive onslaught continued for UMass, as the final goal of the period came in the final thirty seconds with the game clock winding down. Krivstov took a wrist shot from the slot coming across from the wing to slot home his shot on the near post glove side provide one more for good measure. Krivstov was fed by Kurtas, as the Beacs headed into the locker room with a more than comfortable lead heading into the second. The Beacons outshot the Wildcats 19-11 in the first period.

No goals were scored in the second period despite the opportunity Wildcats' power plays. The Beacons got tagged twice in the period, once for too many players on the ice, and again for boarding. Four minutes the Beacons played a man down, and between the power-play kill and the incredible swiftness of Best, JWU came up empty not just through the two power plays, but empty throughout the entire period. The Beacons outshot the Wildcats 17-13 in the second period, and headed into the final 20 minutes of play with a four point cushion earned from the first period.

Five minutes into the final period of play and the Beacs decided one more was enough for a good measure on their season finale. Ford connected from Mortson and junior forward Ty Matthews to bring the tally to 5-0 on what would be the final goal of the offensive onslaught put on the Wildcats by the Beacons.

The Beacons conclude the regular season 9-14-2 overall with a New England Hockey Conference record of 7-11. With the conclusion of the regular season today, the UMass Boston men's hockey team will await seeding for playoffs which begin next week. Game information to be announced via social medias and 2023-24 Men's Ice Hockey Schedule - UMass Boston (beaconsathletics.com).