AMHERST — After UMass’ Jan. 16 loss at Maine, Minuteman hockey coach Greg Carvel pulled Matt Murray aside. He told the freshman goalie he was going to start him several games in a row.
Carvel hoped that eliminating the game-by-game audition feel would allow Murray to relax and find a rhythm.
Murray was strong in Friday’s 3-0 shutout win over No. 8 Northeastern. He wasn’t great but lacked much help the next night in a 5-0 loss at Northeastern. On Tuesday against Boston College, the Minutemen lost 2-1, but Murray kept the team afloat during some rough patches.
“We wanted to give him some games in a row to allow him to get confidence,” Carvel said Tuesday. “I liked what I saw tonight. … He’s moving better, looking more comfortable, more confident. I was happy to see that. We need that.”
Murray said he’s in a good frame of mind.
“The few games after Christmas break have been solid. I’m definitely earning my net,” said the Alberta native. “I just have to keep going day by day and do what I do.”
Murray had been sharp to open the season, but slumped as his goals against average jumped from 2.35 at the start of November to 3.48 after a 5-3 loss at Yale on Jan. 5.
“You just have to battle through it day by day in practice and be the hardest working guy on the ice,” he said. “What you do in practice carries over to the games.”
Murray will likely be in the net Friday when the Minutemen (11-12-1, 5-8-1 Hockey East) host Maine for the first of back-to-back 7 p.m. games at the Mullins Center. It starts a three-game home stretch for UMass, which plays seven of its final 10 games at the Mullins Center, where it is 6-3-0 this season.
Since beating UMass in Orono, the Black Bears (12-9-4, 6-6-3) have tied New Hampshire twice.
Murray will have to play well as Maine freshman goalie Jeremy Swayman is leading the conference with a 92.6 save percentage and has a 2.53 goals against average.
Sophomore forward Mitchell Fossier leads the Black Bears with 21 points (eight goals, 13 assists).
UMass is expecting to have freshman Cale Makar back in the lineup. The standout defenseman missed Tuesday’s loss with an upper-body injury.
Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage