Vermont defeated the University of Massachusetts 2-1 in the Hockey East Tournament opener Friday night.
The Minutemen came close to pulling off an unbelievable upset over the No. 15 team in the nation, but with the score knotted at 1-1 and just over a minute to play in regulation, UVM’s Connor Brickley buried the game-winning goal.
UMass opened the scoring 2:40 into the second period when Troy Power stuffed a loose puck into the back of the net, but Vermont answered later in the period when Michael Paliotta slapped a one-timer past Steve Mastalerz to tie the game at 1-1.
Brickley’s goal with 1:07 remaining in regulation proved to be the difference, and with the win, the Catamounts improve to 19-12-3 on the season, and advance to the quarterfinals next weekend against either No. 2 seed UMass Lowell or No. 3 seed Providence.
The Minutemen close their season with an overall record of 8-22-4.
Photo via Twitter/@UVMmhockey
