Minutemen moving on

Hockey
Jon Pelland

For the first time since its run to the championship game in 2004, UMass is returning to the TD Banknorth Garden and the Hockey East semifinals. A 5-2 victory tonight gave the Minutemen a two-game sweep of Maine. Here's coach Don Cahoon's opening statement at the postgame press conference.

"I thought it was a really gutsy performance by our club and for all the players in the locker room to be able to contain themselves in the moment. It's so easy for this thing to run away, especially when you have to play teams consecutive nights like we did [with Maine]. To just keep it in the present, our guys did an unbelievable job of just keeping it very much in the present to the point where we were just trying to win one period at a time. That's been going on for a few weeks now. I give them high marks for buying into that concept and for really putting in good practice."

UMass will face New Hampshire on Friday night given BU's overtime win over Vermont tonight to take that series, 2-1.