UMass bounces back again, thumps Harvard in NCAA opener

UMass earned a 4-0 victory over Harvard in the Northeast Regional semifinal at SNHU Arena in Manchester, N.H. (Richard T. Gagnon)

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- What a difference a week makes.

UMass picked an inopportune time for one of its most incomplete efforts of the season as Boston College shut out the Minutemen in last week’s Hockey East semifinal at TD Garden, but things were quite different as the ultimate scenario shifted to “do or die” Friday night in the NCAA Northeast Regional opener.

The top-seeded Minutemen skated to a scoreless draw with Harvard for more than half of the game at SNHU Arena, but freshman Anthony Del Gaizo’s goal 14:15 into the second period opened the floodgates in a complete team effort. Senior Brett Boeing scored two of the following three goals, and freshman Fille Lindberg needed to make only 17 saves en route to a 4-0 shutout during his third consecutive start.