UMass and UNH in two-game Hockey East playoff contention showdown at the Mullins Center

The Minutemen could control its own playoff destiny with a pair of home wins this weekend against New Hampshire.

Michael Pereira (#7) has scored a team-high 17 goals for UMass, which opens a two-game home stand against New Hampshire Friday night at 7. photo by J. Anthony Roberts

This is it.

With four regular season games remaining, the University of Massachusetts hockey team finds itself tied for the eighth and final spot in Hockey East. Following their huge win last Saturday at Maine, the Minutemen are even with Northeastern with 18 points apiece, and four points behind seventh-place New Hampshire with a game in hand.

And those are the only teams within striking distance for UMass in what has been a very strong year for Hockey East where teams have jumped or fallen two places after a good or bad weekend.

The Minutemen get first crack at New Hampshire Friday night at 7 at the Mullins Center in the first of back to back home games with the Wildcats. The teams go at it again Saturday night at 7, but if the Minutemen (11-14-5, 7-12-4) should lose Friday, UNH clinches a playoff spot, leaving only Northeastern as prey. New Hampshire would hold a six-point lead on UMass, and even if the teams ended tied in the regular-season standings, UNH would hold the tie-breaker having won the only other game with UMass, 7-3 at Durham, Nov. 4.

“Every game is like a playoff game,” UMass goal-scoring leader (17) Michael Pereira said after Thursday’s practice.

Northeastern is also home for two games this weekend against Maine.

Pereira is not concerned with the fact that New Hampshire is 10-1-3 in the last 14 games with the Minutemen. Last year’s UNH squad had a dominant first line that all graduated, and the Wildcats (13-15-3, 10-12-2) have thus slipped a bit in the standings.

“They’re a more evenly balanced team this year,” Pereira said. “They’re a good skating team, and I expect this to be a skating game.”

The Wildcats have played better under freshman goaltender Casey DeSmith, who has taken the No. 1 job away from senior Matt DiGirolamo. DeSmith has given up two or less goals in nine of his 13 starts, and has a 7-6-1 record. Five of his losses were by one goal, three in overtime.

But Pereira is not fazed by the UNH upgrade in goal.

“With all goalies, you’ve got to get them to move,” he said.