#16 Wildcats Fall to #14 UMass, 3-2

Friday, February 23

Amherst, Mass.

7 PM

University of New Hampshire

16-12-1, 9-9-1

UMass

17-9-3, 10-7-2

New Hampshire

Massachusetts

Robert Cronin

2/23/2024 10:19:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey

Box Score

Robert Cronin and Marty Lavins scored for the Wildcats.

By: UNH Wildcats

AMHERST, Mass. – Samuli Niinisaari scored two goals for the Minutemen as the No. 16 University of New Hampshire men's hockey team fell to No. 14 UMass, 3-2, on Friday night at the Mullins Center in Hockey East action.

Junior forward Robert Cronin (Plymouth, Mass.) and freshman forward Marty Lavins (Riga, Latvia) each scored a goal for the Wildcats.

With the loss, the Wildcats fall to 16-12-1 (9-9-1 Hockey East), while the Minutemen improve to 17-9-3 (10-7-1 Hockey East).

UP NEXT:

UNH will conclude the two-game series versus the Minutemen on Saturday, Feb. 24 at the Whittemore Center at Key Auto Group Complex on STEM Night presented by Breezeline at 7 p.m. on ESPN+. There will also be postgame autographs.
Go to UNHWildcats.com/Tickets.or call the ticket office at (603) 862-4000 to catch the most exciting family entertainment in New Hampshire.

Score: #14 UMass 3, #16 New Hampshire 2
Records: UNH (16-12-1, 9-9-1 Hockey East); UMass (17-9-3, 10-7-2 Hockey East)
Location: Amherst, Mass. (Mullins Center)
Date: Friday, Feb. 23, 2024

HOW IT HAPPENED:

UMass scored the only goal of the first period when Niinisaari fired a one-timer to the back of the net at 11:21.
The Wildcats tied the contest at 1-1 at 4:23 of the second period, when Cronin knocked in a loose puck. Freshman forward J.P. Turner (East Falmouth, Mass.) posted an assist on the goal.
The Minutemen took a 2-1 lead at 18:09 with a goal by Jack Musa.
UMass then made it a 3-1 score with 1:48 remaining in the third period with an empty-net goal by Niinisaari.
Lavins scored with just 2.4 seconds left in the third period to cut the deficit to 3-2. Senior defenseman Luke Reid (Warman, Saskatchewan) and sophomore forward Stiven Sardarian (Saint Petersburg) each tallied an assist on the goal.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

UNH outshot UMass, 32-21.
The Wildcats went 0-5 on the power play and the Minutemen went 0-3.
Junior goalie Jakob Hellsten (Ljusdal, Sweden) recorded 18 saves for the Wildcats and is now 11-9-1 on the year, while Michael Hrabal tallied 30 saves for the Minutemen and improves to 13-7-1.