AMHERST – Apathy replaced the desperation the UMass hockey team showed trying to end its six-game losing streak when the Minutemen faced Vermont on Friday at the Mullins Center.

They earned a point with a 3-3 tie and won the shootout 2-1, but it looked worst than a loss to UMass coach Greg Carvel.

“The best we played was when they got a five-minute major and the score was 3-2, and we actually played with some urgency and we actually cared about the game,” Carvel said. “I was very discouraged by the lack of detail and checking, the poor puck decisions. It’s disrespectful.”

Vermont erased a 3-0 deficit in the third period.  Jens Richards converted a breakaway on the breakaway shooting stick side low against UMass goalie Luke Pavicich with 3 minutes, 57 seconds remaining that knotted the game at 3.

Vermont finally ended the shutout 1:55 into the third period when Finn Evan’s shot trickled past Pavicich and barely squeaked over the line before the net was dislodged. Thomas Sinclair assisted the play.

The Catamounts shaved UMass’ lead back to one shortly after. Defenseman Eric Gotz exited the game down the tunnel after a hard hit sent him into the boards, and Massimo Lombardi snuck a puck under Pavicich with 16:23 left.

“The message going into this game knowing we were up against a juggernaut in UMass was that we wanted to be loose. We wanted to have a little bit of fun,” Vermont coach Todd Woodcroft said. “We were playing for free. There was no pressure on us.”

Pavicich kept the game tied in the final two minutes after he turned away a three-on-nobody chance with his right pad after a neutral zone turnover. 

No one scored in the five-minute, three-on-three overtime period, which sent the game to a shootout. Michael Cameron found the net for UMass in the shootout in the first round, and Cole O’Hara won it for the Minutemen in Round 3.

Joel Määttä scored for Vermont.

It goes into the NCAA scorebook as a tie.

UMass (10-13-4, 4-11-2 Hockey East) spent 17 minutes in the penalty box after being whistled for seven penalties.

“When you take seven penalties, there’s a reason for that. Guys didn’t come out and play with the integrity that’s necessary,” Carvel said. 

The infractions almost caught up to UMass in the third period. Defenseman Ryan Ufko was initially whistled for interference in the corner with 14:06 remaining. The play was reviewed, and he as assessed a game misconduct  for contact to the head and ejected, while the Minutemen faced a five-minute penalty kill.

UMass squashed the chance to retain its lead for the moment.

The Minutemen began the second period in the midst of a five-minute major power play but couldn’t generate much out of it. The Minutemen’s senior line picked up the slack, however. After entering the zone in transition, Eric Faith bended a perfect pass to Reed Lebster across the ice in front of the net. Rather than shooting, he whipped a backhanded pass to a charging Cal Kiefiuk, who dangled the puck back and forth quickly before whipping it into the net with 8:41 left in the second period. It was his second goal in as many games after scoring the winner against Providence last week and made it 3-0 UMass.

“He’s heating up,” Carvel said. “We socred three goals. That should have been enough.”

Vermont (9-15-4, 4-12-2) celebrated like it had broken the shutout with 3:51 left in the second, but the puck kicked off the post and under UMass goalie Luke Pavicich’s pad, whwere he kept it. The officials reviewed the goal call and quickly overturned it to reinstate the shutout.

Pavicich saved 28 shots.

UMass killed two penalties and 1:57 of a third in the second.

The Minutemen weathered three more Vermont power plays in the first period and still built a 2-0 lead after killing all three.

UMass forward Lucas Mercuri committed the first with an elbowing call 73 seconds  into the game. Vermont challenged for a major penalty after a high hit, but the minor call was confirmed, taking away the Catamounts timeout before there was barely a stoppage.

The Minutemen made it even worse. After Vermont mishandled the puck near its blue line and it floated into the neutral zone, Michael Cameron raced up the ice and snatched it away for a breakaway, snapping a shorthanded wrist shot into the net 2:40 in for a 1-0 lead. 

“They kind of made a mistake, I got the puck and got lucky,” Cameron said. “I looked up and I saw the top right was open, and I tried to put it there. Luckily it went in.”

  The 34 remaining seconds on  the Vermont power play that passed without incident.

Kenny Connors doubled UMass’ lead with 10:05 left in the first period. Cole O’Hara retrieved a Connors miss from below the goal line and flipped it over the net. It landed on Connors’ stick as he was facing away from the net. He whipped it behind him into the bottom corner for a 2-0 advantage.

It was his eighth goal of the season, tied with Cameron for the team lead.

“I don't think anyone puts stock in that.We're all just trying to do what we can to win every night,” Connors said. “If it's one of us putting it in the back of the net when we get the opportunity, that's what we're going to do.”

The teams will meet again at 7 p.m. Saturday for UMass’ Pink the Rink cancer awareness night (NESN).

“The standard was far off. We got what we deserve. We squeaked by a team that I think was missing some players. I know what that's like. It's tough to overcome,” Carvel said. “I don't care. You go into the third period ahead 3-0 and it’s 3-3 to end regulation, you’ve got some issues that need to be dealt with.”

Kyle Grabowski can be reached at kgrabowski@gazettenet.com. Follow him on Twitter @kylegrbwsk.]]>