BOSTON — UMass’ return to TD Garden was a brief and fruitless one.
The Minutemen made their first appearance in the Hockey East semifinals in 12 years, and their inexperience showed at times. Boston College used the funky hops off the boards to its advantage while those same bounces seemed to befuddle UMass. Passes misconnected, dump-ins skipped away from their intended target and the Minutemen couldn’t string together anything in the offensive zone.
The difference in experience levels in Boston’s pro arena was the unspoken variable between the top-seeded Minutemen and seventh-seeded Eagles. It might not have been the difference in Boston College’s 3-0 win Friday night, but it certainly played a large role in the Minutemen’s slow start.
“I’m sure most of those kids on the Boston College team have played six, eight games here and that’s a distinct advantage,” coach Greg Carvel said. “Our kids in the first period, this is a big stage that they’re not used to, and … it was like home-ice advantage for them considering how many more times they’ve played on this ice. It took us awhile to get going and we had a couple of spurts, but they were obviously a lot more comfortable than we were.”
UMass (28-9-0) did not look prepared from the outset and seemed to be rattled early in the contest. The Minutemen couldn’t string together passes or set up on offense in the first period despite registering 12 shots in the opening 20 minutes. It was a far more disjointed performance than typical from UMass, which held possession for two to three minutes before playing defense for long stretches.
The jitters were far more apparent in the forwards who didn’t try to use their skill and speed in the neutral zone as often. The Minutemen elected to dump and chase at times even when they had the room on the ice to try to make something happen. It was the top line of Mitchell Chaffee, Oliver Chau and Jake Gaudet that seemed to create the most chances for UMass, but they were too few and far between for Carvel’s liking.
“There were a lot of times when our forwards were chipping pucks in on those long passes when they had time and space to make plays,” Carvel said. “That really revealed a lot about where we were (Friday), just uncomfortable. No one wanted the puck on their stick and when it got on their stick, no one moved their feet. To me, it was glaring how our mindset was so far off.”
It also didn’t help that the Eagles (14-21-3) played a far more physical game than the Minutemen for 60 minutes. UMass wasn’t able to sustain its bruising forecheck and didn’t apply enough pressure on Boston College to stymie its breakouts into the neutral zone. Meanwhile, the Eagles forced far more turnovers in the UMass defensive zone, including one from Mario Ferraro late in the first period that eventually led to the Eagles’ first goal with 12.3 seconds left.
“We checked really well,” BC coach Jerry York said. “We covered people whether it was on the forecheck and making it hard to break out of the zone or the back check that limited their chances. We played in sync and cohesive in all three zones.”
The only player who seemed to come out of the locker room ready to play was freshman goalie Filip Lindberg, who made his second straight start for the Minutemen. He kept UMass competitive in the game with several spectacular saves in the second period when the Eagles held a 17-5 advantage in shots. His poise helped the Minutemen kill off a 5-on-3 power play, most notably robbing Julius Mattila on the doorstep with his glove to keep the game at 1-0.
Carvel had kept his goaltending decision secret for the week, but said Lindberg’s play last week against New Hampshire in the quarterfinals was the major factor in him starting the freshman over sophomore Matt Murray, who has been the starter for most of the season.
“They’re very close,” Carvel said. “There’s not much difference between the two, and I think I made the right call, he played extremely well.”
The Minutemen now await their fate Sunday at 7 p.m. when the NCAA releases the brackets for the national tournament on ESPNU. UMass is assured of a spot in the field and likely will be a No. 1 seed in either the Manchester or Providence regionals.