There was a near-record crowd of 6,286 on hand at the Mullins Center to watch the University of Massachusetts at Amherst take on the Boston University hockey team on Friday night.
But a quick listen to the crowd would have deceived.
The Terriers (17-10-2, 10-8-0 Hockey East) rode a dominant defensive performance and another great game from junior Sean Fields to shut out the Minutemen (14-15-1, 8-13-0 Hockey East), 2-0, and leave the fans disappointed and quiet.
‘This is up there [with my best performances]’ Fields said. ‘I got lucky a couple of times with a couple posts, but it’s always fun getting a win and getting a shutout. It’s one of the better ones. Me and coach were talking before the game; I didn’t have my ‘A game’ up here last time. I kind of gave the game to them. I was looking for a little revenge this time around.’
Senior center Brian Collins knocked a power play rebound home to score the only goal BU would need, his seventh of the season, at 5:12 of the first frame. Collins’ rebound came off a shot from senior right wing John Sabo, after senior captain Freddy Meyer fed Sabo in the slot after falling to the ice but maintaining control of the puck.
BU controlled play for much of the period, with solid checking from the forwards and the defense shutting down UMass’ young but potent offense.
Senior Ryan Priem had BU’s best hit of the game. Catching UMass forward Michael Mullen with his head down, Priem delivered a clean-but-brutal check that knocked Mullen out cold for a couple of minutes. Unfortunately for BU, obscured by Priem’s monster hit was another collision involving sophomore forward Matt Radoslovich. Radoslovich sustained a concussion from the hit and did not return to the ice, and BU coach Jack Parker was unsure if he’d have Radoslovich’s services for tonight’s Beanpot final.
Junior forward Mark Mullen gave Fields some insurance early in the second when he pulled off a great individual move to beat UMass junior defenseman Thomas Pock and freshman goalie Gabe Winer. Mullen picked up a loose puck in the BU zone during a four-on-four and skated it down the right boards, gaining speed as Pock tried to close him down. The Dorchester native beat Pock with his speed and went to the net, where Winer tried to poke the puck away before Mullen shot it. Winer missed and Mullen wristed home his eighth goal of the season.
‘Surprised [that I beat the defenseman so easily]? A little bit, yeah. I didn’t expect it’ Mullen said. ‘I was just trying to carry the puck. As I looked, I saw the angle and I cut in.’
From Mullen’s goal on, Fields made every save he needed to preserve his fourth clean sheet of the season. The capper came in the third when UMass captain Tim Turner had a wide open shot in the slot off a nice feed. Fields shifted quickly and made a great save on the stick side to keep UMass off the board.
The junior hailing from Alberta has now allowed just one goal in his last three contests. With the Terriers’ struggles putting the puck in the net this season, Parker knows the importance of his ever-improving netminder.
‘There’s no question from day one he’s been our most valuable player,’ Parker said. ‘He’s had a terrific season for us, but of late, he’s up in the .920 save percentage, a two-something goals against average, he’s looked so confident. He made a couple other 10-bell saves I think. In general, he came up big for us. He’s stolen a few games for us where we absolutely did not deserve to win.’
This one was not one of those games, however. While Fields was unquestionably the star of the game, he had help from all fronts. The defense shut down players like forward Greg Mauldin, a dangerous sophomore who leads the Minutemen in scoring, and freshman forward Matt Anderson. The defensive pair of senior Mike Bussoli and sophomore Ryan Whitney was particularly effective, using their size well and making Fields’ job a little easier.
The forwards also did what they needed to defensively, especially on the forecheck, which didn’t escape Parker’s all-seeing eyes.
‘We played better team defense. We were much more alert. We played much better at center ice,’ Parker said. ‘We tried to play a little bit more conservative on the forecheck against their first two lines, and play a little bit more aggressive against their other lines.’
The win gave BU a series victory for the season, and it avenged its earlier loss to UMass at the Mullins Center, when the Terriers took a 4-1 lead but completely collapsed as the game went on, with no one performing up to par. Most importantly, Fields stepped up after having a rough game in the first meeting.
‘It was so much of a better game than we played up here last time, from the goaltender on out,’ Parker said. ‘I talked to Fieldsy before the game and said, ‘I watched the game last night. I haven’t seen it in a while because we weren’t playing them so I didn’t watch that game. I watched the game last night, and I didn’t realize how bad you played up here.’ I didn’t realize how bad both goalies played up here. The UMass goalie didn’t play that well that night either. I wanted to grab a stick and take a shot after seeing what was going on that night. I thought both goalies played great tonight, and thought Fieldsy was a little bit sharper.’