AMHERST, Mass. – The RIT Men's Hockey team lost a 5-1 decision at No. 18 UMass, Saturday.
The Minutemen led, 2-0, to start the game before sophomore defenseman
Nick De Angelis tallied in the final seconds of the first to cut the deficit in half. UMass struck twice in the first eight minutes of the second and later added a third for the decisive four-goal lead after 40 minutes of play.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- UMass opened the scoring at 16:27 of the first. A shot from the left points rebounded to the slot. Justin Kerr dug a puck to Lukas Klecka in the left faceoff circle, who slung a pass to the right faceoff circle for a one-timer by Larry Keenan that scored inside the right post.
- Maxi Masse then centered a puck from the left faceoff circle to Egor Barabanov in the slot for a shot inside the right post with 51seconds on the clock.
- RIT got one back with 11.1 left in the first. Sophomore forward Zach Wigle created a turnover in the RIT end and pushed a puck through the neutral zone to De Angleis, who fought off a defender to slip a short backhanded shot inside the right post.
- UMass made it a 3-1 game at 4:53 of the second after Jack Musa took a return pass and fed Coleson Hanrahan at the top of the slot for a shot under Tiger sophomore goaltender Collin Mackenzie.
- The Minutemen struck again less than three minutes later on the power play after Barabanov found Vaclav Nestrasil wide open in the slot for a short finish behind Mackenzie at 7:41.
- Musa later sent a puck from behind the goal to an open Masse in the slot for one-timer, stick side, at 15:19 to convert another power play opportunity for what proved to be the final tally of the game.
GAME NOTES
- Mackenzie finished his first start of the season with 41 saves, more than doubling the previous career-high 20 he made in a 3-3 tie versus Niagara (Jan. 24) last season.
- UMass finished with a 46-23 shot advantage.
- RIT was 0-for-2 on the power play, while finishing 2-for-4 on the penalty kill.
- De Angelis' tally was his first collegiate goal. He also blocked a team-high three shots.
- RIT skated to a 2-2 tie in Friday's opener versus the Minutemen on the back of a 48-save performance by junior goalkeeper Jakub Krbecek. The Tigers went on to win a 2-1 penalty shootout.
WHAT'S NEXT
RIT hosts No. 3 Michigan State next Saturday (Oct. 17) for the Brick City Homecoming and Family Weekend game to be played at Blue Cross Arena in downtown Rochester. Faceoff is set for 7:05 p.m.
