After a trip to Vegas last week, the UMass hockey team returns to Amherst for its home opener on Friday.

The Minutemen (2-1) earned a split in the Ice Breaker Tournament, falling to Omaha in overtime but followed up with a convincing 5-1 triumph over Air Force.

On Friday, UMass will look to continue building during the non-conference slate when it hosts Sacred Heart at the Mullins Center. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. The Minutemen travel to Fairfield to face the Pioneers at 7 p.m. on Saturday to wrap up the home-and-home.

Two weeks into the season and UMass coach Greg Carvel says he’s pleased with how his squad has played thus far and the progress of the defense.

“Two weekends of experience here now,” Carvel said. “I like just about everything I see. [Francesco] Dell’Elce and [Larry] Keenan are showing quickly that they’ll be quality players for us. I feel like our top four is pretty stable. We need to get our five and six figured out. To me, it’s a matter of playing things out and seeing who separates themselves. Ideally after Sacred Heart and before UConn, we have it figured out. That’s the only area of concern.”

Through three games, the Minutemen offense is clicking.

UMass potted five goals against Bentley, scored twice against Omaha and followed with a five-goal performance against Air Force. With great confidence in the ability to put the puck in the net, Carvel says he sees the lone area to solve on the roster is who will hold down the third defensive line.

Linden Alger and Deerfield native Kaz Sobieski held down the third defensive line against Omaha while Alger and freshman Finn Loftus were paired up against Air Force.

“We have really good depth up front,” Carvel said. “I’m really happy with our 12 forwards that are dressing up front. Just need to figure out that last pair of defenseman then we’ll be good to go.”

After tallying five points as a freshman and 14 as a sophomore, Cole O’Hara is off to a career-best start this season.

The junior picked up assists against both Bentley and Omaha and against Air Force, O’Hara netted a pair of goals and dished an assist. The performance in Vegas earned O’Hara Hockey East Player of the Week honors, with Carvel noting the improvement he’s seen in his game.

“He came back a different player than what he was his first two years here,” Carvel said. “I think he was unhappy with his freshman and sophomore year numbers wise. He’s just matured. He’s stronger, more confident. He’s always had the ability to shoot and make plays. He’s a good offensive player, plays the game hard and the way we want our guys to play. I just think he has a lot of confidence and that comes with time, sacrifice and discipline. He gives all of those. He has talent and it’s all coming together. We expect him to be a big player for us this year.”

Special teams showed life for the Minutemen in the Ice Breaker Tournament. UMass potted a power play goal against Omaha, going 1-4, while the Mavericks were 1-6 on the power play.

Against Air Force the Minutemen were 2-4 on power play and were 4-5 on the kill. Still, there’s plenty to improve on which once again will be a focus against Sacred Heart this weekend.

“I’m not sure that we had success so we’ll stick with it,” Carvel said. “We’ll keep doing what we’re doing. It was a good weekend both sides. I’m excited about our special teams. They weren’t as good as they should have been last year but I like how we’re trending right now. I think we’re a really good 5-on-5 team. If we can get our special teams to be better than our opponents, we’re going to win a lot of games.”

The Pioneers (0-1-1) opened their season last weekend against Colgate, falling 6-5 in overtime in the opening game before earning a shootout win the second time around.