BOSTON, Mass. – Backed by a season-high 47 saves from senior
Graham Burke and a combined seven points from the top line, the UMass Dartmouth men's hockey team defeated UMass Boston, 6-4 in Little East Conference (LEC) action on Friday at Edward T. Barry Rink. The Corsairs move to 9-7-0 overall and 4-5-0 in conference play, while the Beacons are now 10-6-0 and 5-4-0 in the LEC.
It was a wild opening period of play as the Corsairs got things going just 26 seconds into the frame. Collecting the puck in the neutral zone, senior assistant captain and left winger
Tyler Stewart navigated through the left circle. He sent a quick pass to rookie center
Kailin Chen in the low slot for the tally.
The Corsairs made it a 2-0 contest at 4:16, this time on the power play as sophomore defender Brennan Pecararo carried the puck all the way into the offensive zone, passing it off to Stewart in the left circle. The senior fired a shot in on goal as it was tipped in off the stick of rookie center
Liam Fecteau.
UMass Boston got on the board at 9:03 as a flurry in front of the Corsairs net saw junior forward Jack Mortson tap it in at the right post past the reach of UMD goalie
Graham Burke to pull within one.
At the 14:05 mark, the Corsairs added to their total as senior assistant captain and right wing
Kevin Johnston corralled the puck in the defensive zone, passing it across to Stewart in the middle as he skated into the offensive zone. Johnston sprinted in on the right, connecting on his pass at the doorstep to make it a 3-1 contest.
UMass Dartmouth made it a three-goal lead at the 17:26 mark as Chen netted his second of the game on the power play. Skating into the top of the slot, Stewart fired in a shot that was tipped left by junior winger
Alex Walker in front. Chen was there to drive it home for the 4-1 advantage.
In the second period of play, the Beacons closed the gap at 2:44 as junior forward Jakob Teply got the puck off the stick of teammate Jacob Roberson and wristed a shot from the low slot.
The Corsairs answered at 5:32 as a faceoff win from Chen saw the puck drop back to Pecararo at the point. He fired in a shot down low as the puck bounced off the boards behind the net. UMB's goalie attempted to clear it, but it came loose off his stick as rookie winger
Chris Cardillo found it and banked the puck into the nearly open net.
UMass Boston closed the gap at 15:45 of the frame as a shot by rookie forward Jake Lindstrom in the mid-slot was saved by Burke. The rebound caromed out to sophomore forward Michael Lynch on the left side as he fired it in past Burke to make it a 5-3 contest.
The Corsairs responded less than four seconds later as a faceoff win saw the puck land on the stick of sophomore defender
Tristan Boyer. Making his way down the right boards, he passed to the middle, finding junior center
Connor Little as he poke-checked it ahead. Sophomore left winger
Blake Kashark was there, unloading a shot at the left post for the 6-3 margin.
UMass Dartmouth saw an outstanding effort from its defense in the middle frame, allowing just one goal as Burke stopped 23 of the 25 shots he faced in the stanza.
In the final period of play, the two teams continued to battle with the Beacons continuing to fire in shots on the Corsairs net. UMass Boston added their final goal with six seconds remaining as Lindstrom got one in past Burke with the Corsairs up on the man-advantage for the 6-4 final score.
Chen paced the way with two goals – also going 19-7 in the face-off circle, while Stewart notched four assists on the night – matching a career-high he previously set at Edward T. Barry Rink on January 4, 2025 in a 6-3 win over Fitchburg State in the Codfish Bowl. Of Burke's 47 saves, 23 came in the second period of play, while he notched 12 stops in the first and third periods.
The two teams return to action on Saturday, heading to Hetland Arena to complete the home-and-home series. Action between the Corsairs and the Beacons gets underway at 4:30pm.
