AMHERST, Mass. — The script was written perfectly for a Connecticut collapse.
The Huskies’ once two-goal lead in the third period was erased in a matter of five minutes on the road against a Massachusetts team that was playing perhaps the best it had all night. It appeared UConn’s last punch had been thrown, and it would be forced to ride back to Storrs with one, maybe two, less Hockey East points than it appeared it would leave with just minutes earlier.
But these are the kinds of moments when practice pays off.
Coaches spend each week preparing their players for any and every situation. In this case, according to Huskies’ coach Mike Cavanaugh, if UConn translated its effort from practice to the game, two points would still be the expectation despite the adversity.
Cavanaugh got the exact result he had expected as Spencer Naas’ goal 13:55 into the third period lifted the Huskies to a 4-3 win Friday night at the Mullins Center.
“What I was very proud of is our team didn’t wilt right there,” Cavanaugh said. “I think we won this game with our week of practice. We had a very strong, hard, intense week of practice. The guys were dialed in. We worked on things we needed to be better at and I thought we accomplished that tonight.”
Naas’ game-winner game as a result of a nice chip along the wall by Jacob Poe, allowing the freshman to corral it and come streaking down the left side and beat UMass goaltender Steve Mastalerz (35 saves) with a low shot at the far post.
“I was just trying to beat the defenseman to the net,” Naas said. “I just whacked it at (Mastalerz’s) feet and hoped for the best.”
Naas and Trevor Gerling eached scored twice to lead the Huskies, while Rob Nichols made 33 saves for the win.
Gerling’s second goal came 1:56 into the third period with one second left on a power play to give UConn a 3-1 lead.
UMass, however, responded less than three minutes later when Frank Vatrano scored a goal for the fourth straight game with a spinning shot off a feed from Ben Gallacher to cut it to 3-2.
Brandon Montour tied it at 3-3 with a power-play goal at 9:01. Montour, playing just his fourth-career game after being ineligible for the first half of the season due to NCAA Clearinghouse issues, created space for himself by skating out to the point and wristing the puck through traffic and into the top right corner for his first collegiate goal.
Mere minutes after Naas’ go-ahead goal, UConn was dealt yet another situation where it needed to go back to the lessons from the week in order to hang on.
Gerling took an elbowing penalty at 18:04 and the Minutemen pulled Mastalerz with 1:13 left to set up a six-on-four situation. UMass had its share of chances at the end, but UConn hung on as time expired thanks to Nichols’ efforts.
“We practice six-on-four,” Cavanaugh said. “It’s something that I think happens two or three times a year, where they’re going to pull the goaltender and you’re going to have to defend a six-on-four. We work at trying to stay in the shot lanes, get a block and if there’s a rebound pouncing on it.”
A combination of good puck movement by UConn and a Minutemen defensive breakdown gave the Huskies an early 1-0 lead. Jesse Schwartz passed the puck behind the net to Brent Norris, who controlled possession of the puck amidst an oncoming pair of UMass defensemen.
The swarm of Minutemen defenders, however, left Naas wide open in front of the crease, and Norris fed him from behind the net for the one-timer 10:45 into the first period.
UConn doubled its advantage four minutes later thanks to more strong play by its forwards in front of the net. This time, it was Shawn Pauly who found Gerling in front on Mastalerz’s blocker side. Mastalerz made a kick save on the initial shot but the senior cleaned up his own rebound and roofed the puck into the net.
Shane Walsh got UMass on the board 1:44 into the second period on a nifty spinning backhand shot from the slot that went low and out of the reach of Nichols.
The Minutemen appeared to have tied the game at 2-2 on an impressive individual effort by Dennis Kravchenko 16:49 into the second period. The freshman came off the bench, skated right into the slot and received the puck in stride, snapping it past Nichols for the goal.
However, as quickly as UMass was celebrating, the officials were just as swift in their decision to overturn the call after a review. They determined Ray Pigozzi ran into Nichols during the goal-scoring sequence, prompting them to make the decision.
UMass coach John Micheletto wouldn’t comment on whether or not he agreed with the call, but was seemingly displeased with the outcome.
“I looked to me that the goalie was out of the crease trying to establish position and our guy was trying to get in position,” Micheletto said. “The game is played on the inside, but I would have to see the play again to comment on it.”
