Vermont blanks Minutemen
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AMHERST - The University of Massachusetts hockey team could not overcome a decreased energy level in a disjointed game as its four-game winning streak ended Sunday at the Mullins Center.
Less than 24 hours after an emotionally charged win over No. 17 Vermont on Saturday night, the Minutemen could not match that intensity and lost 3-0 to the Catamounts Sunday afternoon.
It was the first shutout against No. 15 UMass this season and the first blanking of the Minutemen since a 2-0 loss to Boston College on Feb. 6, 2009, a stretch of 35 games.
"I don't think we had the same energy level that we had (Saturday) night and neither did they," said UMass coach Don "Toot" Cahoon. "They did a good job managing the lead once they got it."
Senior captain Brett Watson agreed.
"It's something we're not particularly used to coming back the next day for an afternoon game," Watson said. "But they're in the same situation that we are. I thought we worked hard, but didn't have the jump at times."
Despite the loss, the Minutemen (15-9, 10-7 Hockey East) completed the weekend tied with No. 11 Boston College (12-8-2, 9-6-2 Hockey East) for second place in conference play with 20 points. They are five points behind first-place New Hampshire (12-7-4, 11-2-3 Hockey East), which is ranked 16th in the country.
UMass is at Boston University (8-11-3, 6-9-2 Hockey East) at 7 p.m. Friday.
Sunday's win jumped Vermont (12-8-2, 6-7-2 Hockey East) into a tie for sixth with Boston University with 14 points.
Catamounts goaltender Rob Madore stopped 31 Minuteman shots, including one from point-blank range by Casey Wellman with just over six minutes remaining.
Madore dedicated his performance to his uncle Rick Madore, who died after a heart attack at age 51 during the week.
"I played for something a little more than myself," Madore said. "It was nice to come away with a win."
Both coaches were impressed.
"I'm just so proud of Rob," Vermont coach Kevin Sneddon said. "He had an extraordinary weekend."
"Madore played very well," Cahoon said. "He made some big saves and kept us from really challenging,"
The game's first two periods were noticeably disjointed, partly due to 15 penalties. The Minutemen could not take advantage of nine power-play opportunities.
"We were 0-for-9 in the power play and weren't very crisp in that situation," Cahoon said. "It was a big difference in the game."
Sneddon said, "I think our penalty kill was the difference tonight. That's one of the best power plays in the country and we limited their opportunities."
The Catamounts capitalized on a man advantage with 8:29 left in the first period, ending a UMass streak of 19 straight killed penalties. Drew MacKenzie's wrist shot through traffic eluded a screened Paul Dainton in the Minuteman goal to give Vermont a 1-0 lead.
Wahsontiio Stacey made the score 2-0 with 7:40 played in the second period. Chris McCarthy backhanded the puck from the left-wing faceoff circle to Stacey who tapped it in from in front of the net.
Colin Vock added an empty-net goal with 20 seconds left to close the scoring.
Dainton finished with 16 saves for the Minutemen.
PAIRWISE - Despite the loss, the Minutemen moved up in the PairWise Rankings, the computer system that attempts to duplicate the method used to seed the NCAA Tournament. UMass is tied with St. Cloud State for fifth after entering the game at No. 6.
SATURDAY'S GAME - Wellman scored two goals and added an assist to lead the Minutemen to a 3-1 win Saturday night at the Mullins Center.
James Marcou gave UMass a 1-0 lead 21 seconds into the game with a goal assisted by Wellman and Matt Irwin.
Jay Anctil tied the game for the Catamounts with a goal 12:07 into the first period.
Wellman put the Minutemen ahead for good when he scored on a wrist shot after carrying the puck the length of the rink with five seconds to play in the second period.
Wellman sealed the win when he scored an empty-net goal with 1:06 remaining, assisted by Marcou, after Madore (28 saves) was pulled.
Dainton made 25 saves Saturday.
CONCANNON OUT - Marc Concannon missed Sunday's game with an undisclosed injury.
With Concannon joining Chase Langeraap and Michael Lecomte on the shelf, the Minutemen were shorthanded at forward as Cahoon dressed seven defenseman including freshman Mike Donnellan.
Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. For more UMass coverage, including a UMass sports blog, go to http://www.gazettenet.com/blog/umass-sports.
