In what has become a sad state of affairs, the UMass Boston men’s ice hockey team lost another pair of games over President’s Day weekend, the first to Massachusetts College, 11-1, and the second to Skidmore, 8-0. The Beacons record is now an abysmal 0-19-2 with just two games remaining in the regular season.
Massachusetts College had control from the start, spreading out the scoring over all three periods, 3-3-5. UMB gave them plenty of opportunities to score, including 10 power plays (Mass. College converted four times). Beacon goaltender duties were split between Craig Paster (21 saves on 30 shots) and Jeff Riley (7 saves on 9 shots). Freshman Luke Niemiec scored the only goal for UMB, his fourth of the season. Steve Marek and Julian Giantonio had the assists. Mass. College’s Nick Cote had a hat trick and Kyle Reynolds also contributed with a pair of goals
The Skidmore contest was only slightly better for the Beacons. The team greatly reduced the amount of penalties from the night before and held the score relatively close, 3-0, heading into the final period of play. But a torrid stretch of 4 goals in a little over 7 minutes dashed any thought of a comeback.
Eight different Skidmore players scored a goal, while goalie Matt Meacham turned back all 18 UMB shots for the shutout. Paster had 37 saves on 45 shots for the Beacons.
The Beacons will have one final weekend to register a win when they first host St. Anselm College on Friday February 18 at 7pm and then New England College the next day at 3pm. Bad blood might still exist between NEC and UMB stemming from last year’s first round ECAC East tournament game. For those who don’t recall, an on-ice melee erupted at the end of the first period, which resulted in a number of players from both teams being ejected, including four Beacon players.