AMHERST – Ghosts haunted the UMass hockey team all season. Blown leads. Missed checks. Breakaway goals.

It didn’t look like UMass hockey for much of the year.

The Minutemen exorcised those specters and reclaimed their identity against No. 15 Northeastern on Friday, defeating the Huskies 3-2. Northeastern (15-11-5, 12-6-3 Hockey East) hadn’t lost in three weeks.

“I tell you what, it felt like UMass hockey (Friday night), We haven’t had that a lot this year,” UMass coach Greg Carvel said. “The kids wer ready to go. They played a hard, physical style. I liked our game, I liked every part of it.”

UMass defenseman Scott Morrow beat Northeastern goalie Devon Levi 1-on-1 to put UMass ahead for good 3-2 with 8 minutes, 21 seconds on the second period clock. Ryan Sullivan received the official assist for passing him the puck in open ice, but Jerry Harding deserves credit for the goal after separating three Huskies from the puck, lifting one onto his shoulders near the penalty box after ducking under a hit attempt.

“Maybe the greatest shift in the history of the program,” Carvel said. “I told him at the beginning of the year ‘you need to be the scariest player in this league. Everyone should be sacred to death when you’re on the ice. I'm scared to death in practice. I don't try to get too close to him. He is tough. He is. You don't want to run into him. He brought it to another level. He was scary, scary in a good way.”

It was the second time the Minutemen (11-15-5, 5-13-3 Hockey East) took the lead in the second period.

UMass senior Reed Lebster put the Minutemen ahead 41 seconds into the second period. The Minutemen had an extra skater after a Northeastern penalty late in the first. He corralled the puck in the slot and ringed his shot off the post for a 2-1 advantage. Kiefiuk and Kenny Connors assisted the play.

“That’s a talented goal. We just need them to keep doing that,” Carvel said.

That lead lasted 8:16 until Northeastern fourth-liner Liam Walsh ripped in a rebound to tie the game at 2. Matt Choupani assisted the play in a slight transition before UMass’ defense settled.

Northeastern pulled Levi (22 saves) with 1:29 remaining after a UMass icing. The Minutemen called a timeout to rest before the defensive zone face off.

The Minutemen hadn't won at home since Jan. 3 against Brown. 

“That was a lot of fun. I was kind of tearing up at the end there,” Lebster said.

Three UMass seniors committed penalties in the first 11 minutes. Cal Kiefiuk was whistled for a trip 47 seconds in, while Eric Faith (14:32 left) and Josh Nodler (11:13) went to the box for interference.

The Minutemen killed the first two, but the third caught up with them.

Northeastern’s Jack Hughes found Justin Hryckowian right in front of the UMass net, and Hryckowian beat UMass goalie Cole Brady (22 saves) with a backhanded shot through the legs after  shuffling the puck for a moment with 10:39 left in the first period to make it 1-0 Huskies.

UMass finally appeared to earn its own power play after  Matt DeMelis committed a trip with 7:35 left, but UMass sophomore Ryan Lautenbach flew in after the play and hit a Northeastern player to earn a roughing call and make it 4-on-4.

The Minutemen capitalized with more room to work. Kiefiuk raced up the ice with a Northeastern defender between him and Colgate trans fer Elliott McDermott. Kiefiuk wrapped his pass around the defender to McDermott on the back porch, who scored his first goal as a Minutemen to tie the game at 1 with 6:08 left in the first.

“If he didn’t score that one, he was never gonna score a goal,” Carvel said. “Heck of a play by Cal. We need defensemen helping us create offense, and I thought he group did a nice job.”

Brady’s pass started the break, so he received an assist on the play. It’s UMass first goalie assist since Matt Murray had one against UConn in 2020.

The Minutemen honored six players who participated in their final game at the Mullins Center after the final horn: seniors  Faith, Harding, Kiefiuk, Lebster and Nodler plus graduate student Matt Koopman.

Faith, Kiefiuk and Lebster played all four years at UMass.

“They won a lot of games, won championships, been important players for us and really good kids that I’ve really enjoyed coaching,” Carvel said.

Faith, the captain, played in 96 games with 17 points and four goals. Kiefiuk scored 21 goals in 111 games and accumulated 52 points.  Lebster contributed 53 points and 28 goals in 108 games.

Harding transferred from Providence after his freshman year and had 12 points in 98 games.

Nodler spent his first three seasons at Michigan State. He played 27 games for UMass and had five points.

Koopman is a graduate transfer from Providence. He’s accumulated five goals in 30 games and eight points for the Minutemen.

UMass will face Northeastern again at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Matthews Arena. The loss dropped the Huskies to third in the league standings. The Minutemen are just a point back of New Hampshire, which will face UConn on Saturday.

“We’re gonna get the same team on their ice, and they’re gonna be angry. I’m excited,” Carvel said. “I’mg lad we’re playing them tomorrow night on the road. We’ll see exacetly how we’re gonna have to take it to another level. I’m excited for the challenge.”

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