AMHERST – Greg Carvel employs his volume knob judiciously.
The UMass hockey coach gave his team some rope at the beginning of Saturday’s second game against Union. The Minutemen scored seven goals in the opener Friday, and he wanted to see how they would respond.
“Consistency is a word that carries a lot of weight, and I actually tested the team a little bit,” Carvel said. “I didn’t like how they responded, and I think it was the second timeout of the first period, I got loud.”
No. 6 UMass heard clearly. The Minutemen poured in seven goals for the second night in a row and shut out the Dutchmen 7-0 to remain unbeaten.
“We had a bit of a slower start, so at the intermission, our coaching staff and our players did a really good job of re-setting and making sure that we got back to our competitive nature and realized that things wouldn’t be easy just because we won 7-1 (Friday),” UMass defenseman Scott Morrow said. “Sometimes you’ve just got to have those moments where you look around and say, ‘we aren’t performing to what we’re capable of. We’ve got to reset here and go out and compete harder.’ I thought our team did a did a really good job of that, and it showed the maturity of our group.”
Graduate transfer Matt Koopman led the way with the opening goal, picking the puck out of a scrum in front of the crease and ferrying it into the net with 3 minutes, 24 seconds left in the third period. Ryan Sullivan and Eric Faith earned assists on the play.
“I didn’t like the way we were playing, took a couple penalties early. Those are signs that you’re not ready to play,” Carvel said. “I told them after the first period you don’t want things to be easy in life. You want things to be hard, because when you earn them a lot more, it feels a lot better than when you had to work to earn something.”
That 1-0 lead ballooned to five after a four-goal second period, UMass’ highest frame of the season so far. Morrow ripped a wrist shot to the top corner and ran over a Union defender in the process 3:22 into the second to make it 3-0. Reed Lebster and Kenny Connors assisted the play.
Lucas Mercuri made it 3-0 eight minutes later, waiting in the right spot at the end of a pass and deflection from Cole O’Hara and Tyson Dyck on a power play.
“That’s a good sign for our power play. Both units have been buzzing really well,” Morrow said. “I think our second unit would be the top unit on most teams in the country. We’re pretty fortunate to have a lot of talented guys in our team, but I think we shared the puck really well.”
Morrow matched his career high with his second goal of the game, another power play blast at 13:38. Ryan Ufko and Connors set up the play.
“I want the power play that’s, obviously it’s huge if they’re scoring goals, but I think every power play should be dangerous,” Carvel said.
Freshman Michael Cameron tallied his first career UMass goal on a rare even strength opportunity with 2:05 left in the second. Josh Nodler pushed the puck up to Lebster, who ripped a pinpoint pass to the front of the net around a Union defender. Cameron controlled it and ripped a clean shot for a 5-0 lead.
“To catch and release the puck the way he did and beat the goalie high, we saw it all weekend, his speed created offense for us up the ice,” Carvel said. “I’ve been waiting for him to get his nose a little dirtier in the game.”
Cameron’s tally means four of the five freshmen that regularly see time for the Minutemen have now scored their first career goal. Only defenseman Noah Ellis has yet to open his account.
“It’s a lot of fun. It gets the monkey off their back pretty quickly,” Carvel said.
His classmate Tyson Dyck tipped in goal No. 6 7:31 into the third from Nodler and Mercuri, also on the power play.
Taylor Makar sewed up the scoring five minutes later with a burst of speed. He took a pass from Mercuri and Aaron Bohlinger, lost a Union defender at the center line and lifted the puck over Union goalie Connor Murphy as he sprayed him in the face. He stood in the crease with his stick in the air as the Minutemen converged, pulling him out onto open ice.
“One thing I enjoy about this time of the year is seeing which guys are starting to take steps,” Carvel said. “Taylor Makar had a big weekend. That goal, what he did on that goal is what I know he’s been capable of.”
The Minutemen’s defense didn’t suffer amidst the offensive output. Arizona State transfer Cole Brady posted a shutout in his first UMass start with 32 saves.
“We’ve got a goalie dilemma again, I guess. That’s a good thing,” Carvel said. “We’ve got depth at those positions, and that’s, to me, a positive.”
UMass converted 4-of-5 power play opportunities and kept Union off the board (0-for-6) with a man advantage.
The Minutemen have won four games in a row and will finish their five-game home stand 7 p.m. Friday against Merrimack (ESPN-Plus).
Kyle Grabowski can be reached at kgrabowski@gazettenet.com. Follow him on Twitter @kylegrbwsk.