By CHRIS COLLINS
(Photo courtesy of Todd Howe)
(Amherst, MA) — Throngs of fans led by the UMass marching band crowded along Mullins Way Sunday to welcome two Peter Pan buses carrying the NCAA Champion UMass men’s hockey team, which just hours earlier dominated St. Cloud State 5-0 to win only the second national championship in school history.
“We’re very happy for our kids. They earned this,” UMass Coach Greg Carvel said shortly after his team hosted the trophy in Pittsburgh late Saturday night. “We’ve pushed them really hard over the last four years, the seniors especially.”
It was UMass’ second Frozen Four appearance in the last three years, and arguably it’s most dominant performance of the tournament. Freshman defenseman Aaron Bohlinger’s first career goal gave UMass the lead on a nifty 2-on-0 pass from Ryan Sullivan just over 7 minutes into the game.Reed Lebster made it 2-0 shortly before the end of the first period.
The Minutemen went up 3-0 on a highlight-reel worthy shorthanded goal by UMass senior center Philip Lagunov, who beat the St. Cloud defenseman with a toe drag and popped it between goalie David Hrenak’s legs. A power play goal by defenseman Phil Kessel and another by forward Bobby Trovigno created the 5-0 final. UMass Goaltender Fillip Lindberg stopped 25 shots for his fourth NCAA tournament shutout after missing the semi-final game because of COVID 19.
The only other NCAA championship in UMass history was won by the lacrosse team in 1982.