UMass Boston Men’s Hockey went up against two nationally ranked universities in a series of ruthless matches. The first match was against number two nationally ranked Hobart and William Smith College Statesmen. However, their game didn’t go as planned, and the Beacons took a hard fall after getting shelled, 6—1. Even though the Beacons faced defeat at the hands of the Statesmen, they reached a new high throughout the matches. Graduate goalie Sam Best, who did not have the much-anticipated hot start this season, had 49 saves on 55 shots.
The Statesmen went in hard and fast, but so did the Beacons. There was a total of 23 shot attempts made by the team, only one of which found the back of Damon Beaver’s net. This golden shot was netted by graduate forward, Conor Foley who was assisted by sophomore forwards Jazz Krivtsov and Jude Kurtas.
A similar fate was met by the team in their next match, where they came face to face with a 7–1 defeat at the hands of Elmira College and their Eagles. The Eagles proved why they were ranked seventh in Division III, as Nicholas Domitrovic netted the first goal in a matter of just 48 seconds. The Beacons leveled the ice before the first period came to a close when senior forward, Kevin Sadovski netted his fourth goal of the season with assists from Mortson and Corey Clifton.
Even though it wasn’t the best weekend in Beaconville for men’s hockey, there’s still some positives to take away. The team won 36 out of the 62 face-offs on Saturday against the Eagles. Senior forward Mike Krupunski stated, “We got a lot of dumb penalties, myself included. We just keep on working harder and maybe come back stronger in the next game.”
The Beacons definitely learned from their mistakes, and contrary to their past matches, the team wasn’t as quick on the offensive front. Even though they couldn’t break through the defensive wall of these two schools, they definitely punched holes in it. They had a lot of injured players and a few sick ones, so only a small group could make it to the games. The team still showed up to the venue, took to the ice and gave all they had. Their all was clearly not enough against the ranked universities, who skated up a storm and rained on the Beacons’ parade. UMass Boston learned a lot from their opponents and realized where they fell short and how they could improve themselves as the season rolls on.
The team has definitely seen a lot of improvement since the season commenced, but their lack of offense has remained a constant. They can stop pucks, but are unable to net them, let alone flood the defense with pucks in the offensive zone. However, the season has just started, and they still have a long way to the Codfish Bowl next month. The team is leaving no stone unturned as they are preparing to win. Coach Peter Belisle gives the team strength and keeps them going even after some strings of losses.
These matches showed that if they play to their strengths, they can fare a lot better when the clock strikes zero. The team is stronger than before both physically and mentally, it’s a matter of their skillset improving that will see them reap what they sow more effectively. They are going to continue to work on themselves and their game this holiday season and come back to take the rink packed with confidence, dedication and a lot of new skills. The Beacons have set the bar high for themselves individually as well as a team. They are all set to push their limits and skate off with some much-needed confidence once they begin to click again.