BOSTON, MA (February 9,2024) – The UMass Boston Beacons men's ice hockey team took one on the chin from Providence R.I as the Wildcats of Johnson & Wales Providence took the first of two matchups against the Beacons on Friday night following a whirlwind of offense from the Wildcats.

Sophomore forward Jazz Krivstov willed the Beacons' offense tonight with 11 shots towards the pipes, putting eight of his efforts on target. Sophomore forward Jude Kurtas, and junior forward Koyle Bankauskas were highly efficient from the drop today, as they won 18 of the 23 combined faceoffs they stepped up for. However, graduate Conor Foley once again led the team in faceoff wins with 17 wins out of his 28 puck drops. First-year forward Jack Mortson led the team in blocked shots in the effort, putting a deflection on three different shot attempts from the 'Cats. First-year Antonio Tarantino split duties between the pipes with graduate goalie Sam Best, as they combined for 19 saves against 24 shots from Johnson & Wales.

Mortson kicked things off with a win from center ice as the Beacs came away with the initial possession. Krivstov and Foley applied the initial pressure from the jump for the Beacons, however the Wildcats' goalie answered their every call to action. Senior forward Owen Bourdow picked up an earlier timeout for slashing just two minutes in, but the UMass Boston penalty kill was strong enough to hold off the pressure from JWU. UMB wouldn't see the favor returned until halfway into the first period when the Wildcats picked up two minutes for interference. Again, the extra man advantage came up empty this time for the Beacons. JWU was able to score their first of the game following the completion of their penalty, as full strength seemed to give them an added boost out of the penalty. The Wildcats' first and only goal of the first period came eight minutes into the period, despite UMass outshooting the Wildcats 17 to nine in the first period of play.

Following the break, Mortson secured possession for the Beacons once again to start things off the UMass. Krivstov, Foley, and Bourdow along with junior forward Evan Googins and senior defenseman Blake Colman each rattled off shots toward goal to open the period with some heat, yet each time they knocked, the Wildcats' goalie was there to answer. The Beacs continued to apply the pressure for much of the second period, despite also giving up another pair of penalties. With eight minutes remaining in the second period, JWU drew blood once again to increase their lead to two despite not applying as much pressure as UMass Boston. Krivstov responded off a dish from first-year defender Zander Lizotte to cut the  Wildcats lead to just one. However, scoring in the period was not concluded as the Wildcats struck once again in the closing moments with a man-up advantage to regrow their two-goal lead heading into the third period.

JWU struck once again in the third period at the 13-minute mark to run the scoring up to 4-1, however, the Beacons responded moments afterward following Bourdow's finish off assists by Foley and first-year forward Chris Repmann to cut the deficit to a dangerous two-goal lead. With the game clock dying and desperation growing, the Beacons pulled Best out of net for the last two minutes to try and apply added pressure in hopes that they could still pull out a win. JWU would take advantage of the desperation and tally one more on the empty net to put the Beacons away 5-2 on Friday night in Providence.

UMass Boston men's hockey falls to 8-14-2 overall on the season, while falling to 6-11 in the New England Hockey Conference. The Beacs are back in action tomorrow on Saturday February 10th from the Edward T. Barry at 4:00 pm to celebrate their seniors in their final home game of the season against JWU once more.Tune in to UMass Boston - Official Athletics Website (beaconsathletics.com) for live stats and video coverage this weekend.