A three-goal second period from host Merrimack enabled the Warriors to earn a weekend split with the UMass hockey team.

Merrimack scored three times in the middle period and goalie Hugo Ollas stopped 24 of the 25 shots he faced to lift the club to a 4-1 Hockey East victory on Saturday night at Lawler Rink in North Andover.

Merrimack improved to 10-10-1 overall, 3-7-1 in Hockey East. UMass fell to 12-6-3, 5-4-2.

Merrimack got on the board first 1:30 into the second period with a goal from Ty Daneault. The lead doubled to 2-0 just over four minutes later when Mark Hillier found the back of the net.

UMass got on the board with 11:46 left in the second, cutting the deficit in half at 2-1 when Owen Murray buried a shot with an assist credited to Kenny Connors.

But Alex Jeffries re-established the two-goal cushion not long after, giving Merrimack a 3-1 lead going into the second intermission.

Matt Copponi put things out of reach for the Warriors early in the third, as his goal made it 4-1 and sealed the deal for the weekend split after UMass won Friday’s opener in Amherst.

UMass goalie Michael Hrabal made 24 saves in net.

The Minutemen are off until Saturday, Jan. 20 when they travel to Northeastern for a 4 p.m. game at Matthews Arena in Boston.