The UMass hockey team pulled away in the third period to beat Holy Cross, 3-1, in Worcester Friday night.
Bobby Kaiser’s first collegiate goal broke a 1-1 tie as the fourth-ranked Minutemen won their sixth straight.
At 9-1-0, UMass matched its best start in program history. The 1971-72 team also started 9-1-0. The Minutemen host New Hampshire in a Hockey East matchup, Sunday at 2 p.m.
“There’s no easy wins at this level and tonight I thought we played a great 60 minutes,” UMass head coach Greg Carvel said in a release provided by the school after the game. “You want it to be easy, but it never is. Holy Cross played exactly as we thought they would, good speed up and down the ice and they competed hard. I was really happy with our effort tonight; 60 minutes, most guys competing, and we grinded out another road win.”
UMass outshot Holy Cross (1-7-1) 19-9 in the first period and led 1-0 on a Mitchell Chaffee goal.
Cale Makar added an empty-netter with an assist from Jake Gaudet. Mario Ferraro and Kurt Keats assisted Kaiser on his goal.
Filip Lindberg made 20 saves for UMass.
Hamilton 3, Amherst 2 — Phil Johansson scored twice, but the Mammoths dropped their season opener on the road.
Connecticut College 2, Amherst 2 — Jamie McNamara and Jocelyn Hunyadi each scored, and Caitlin Walker added 33 saves, but the Mammoths opened their season with a tie at home.
Amherst 96, Framingham State 62 — The Mammoths opened a 55-29 lead at halftime and cruised from there in the Ken Wright Invitational at LaFrak Gymnasium.
Grant Robinson scored a team-high 20 points, while Josh Chery added 13 points.
St. Joseph University 69, Mount Holyoke 45 — Ireland Clare Kennedy had 13 points, while Annika Brooks had 13 points but the Lyons (0-4) fell on the road.