
UMass men's hockey falls to Western Michigan in NCAA Fargo Regional final
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After failing to capitalize on a power play after UMass forward Aydar Suniev was whistled for boarding, Western Michigan (32-7-1) cashed in when Suniev took another penalty. The Broncos' challenge for a major was successful, and Suniev's night was done when the call was upgraded to a five-minute major and a game misconduct for hitting NCHC player of the year Alex Bump from behind at 18:14 of the second.
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The Minutemen, who were the third least penalized team in the NCAA this season, would not only be a man down for the next five minutes, but also without their second leading scorer in Suniev. The sophomore had 20 goals this season, two coming in the 5-4 win over Minnesota in Thursday's semifinal, including the overtime winner.
The Broncos needed just 21 seconds to convert, with Providence College transfer Liam Valente blasting a one-timer from the top of the right circle off a pass from Grant Slukynsky at 18:35. Western Michigan landed the last 10 shots of the period and held a 20-18 edge through 40 minutes.
When the third period resumed, Western Michigan still had 3:14 remaining on the power play and took advantage, grabbing a 2-1 lead when Tim Washe re-directed a shot from Brian Kramer past Michael Hrabal (25 saves) at 2:47.
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Less than a minute later, UMass (21-14-5) went on the power play when Western Michigan's Iiro Hakkarainen went off for elbowing. The call was upgraded to a standalone five-minute major for contact to the head, but the Minutemen failed to find the back of the net.
UMass had several opportunities in the closing minutes with Hrabal pulled for the extra skater, but failed to get a shot by Slukynsky as the Broncos held on to clinch their first trip to the Frozen Four in 10 NCAA tournament appearances.
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