AMHERST — For the third consecutive game, the No. 13/10 UMass hockey team was on the wrong end of a close game that couldn’t be decided in just 60 minutes.

The Minutemen held a 3-2 lead over UConn with under three minutes to play in regulation, looking to come out of their first Hockey East game in over a month with a win. Then Taylor Makar went to the penalty box for high sticking, and the Huskies flipped the game on its head.

Just 18 seconds later, UConn’s Hudson Schandor received the puck from Samu Salminen in front of the net to complete a quick triangle passing combination with Jake Richard, and Schandor buried a shot by the recovering Cole Brady to tie the game, 3-3, with two minutes to go.

Both teams played out regulation and a five-minute, 3-on-3 OT period scoreless, and officially tied the game 3-3 on Friday night at the Mullins Center. The Huskies, however, would go on to win 1-0 in the fourth round of a penalty shootout, as Jake Flynn played hero to give UConn an upset win on the road.

“Tonight’s game felt very similar to our last few games, another game in overtime, but another game I thought we were slightly the better team,” UMass head coach Greg Carvel said. “We found a way to fight back and take the lead. The one thing this team needs to learn how to do: they need to learn how to win. We take an unnecessary penalty to give them a power play, and we didn’t do a very good job on the kill, obviously.”

Following a UMass goal that tied the game at two, Minutemen freshman Aydar Suniev found space in the slot on the power play, and rifled a shot through traffic. UConn goalie Ethan Haider never saw the puck, and it whipped by his left shoulder and into the top right corner to give the Minutemen a 3-2 lead.

That’s when Makar made the mistake – his second penalty of the night.

“Unfortunately, I took a penalty, got a high stick,” Makar said. “Just one of our details we talk about that slipped. I think putting them on a power play at the end of the game there when we’re one up just is a tough play.”

After a scoreless first period, the two sides exchanged goals in the opening two minutes of the second, with Minutemen freshman Jack Musa scoring on an assist from Scott Morrow, and UConn’s Jake Percival beating Brady on a breakaway.

The Huskies added a second goal with 8:22 left in the period, as Joey Muldowney collected a rebound, pirouetted with the puck and slid it by Brady.

UConn’s physicality bothered UMass through 4o minutes.

“They pressured us effectively,” Carvel said. “We got guys that we’d like to have a little time and space, and UConn did a good job of taking that away from us.”

The Minutemen continued to play well in the third period once again, and it started with a terrific goal from Kenny Connors on a perfect centering pass from Cole O’Hara to knot the game at two with 12:04 remaining.

Connors and O’Hara have started to play better and better as of late, and Carvel knows his team could benefit from that line – including Makar – being more productive.

“Two guys that we needed to be better are starting to be better,” Carvel said. “Cole had the puck around the net a lot tonight. I would’ve liked to see him shoot the puck in overtime, because he can shoot and score. Kenny has always been an important player for us, but his game, he’s starting to put the puck in the net for us, and that’s important. We have two lines that have been pretty consistent offensively, if we can get that line being consistent it’s going to help us a lot.”

The Connors-O’Hara connection set up Suniev’s sweet goal a little over five minutes later. The 18-year old freshman was phenomenal on Friday. The go-ahead goal in the third was just one of the many quality chances he had to score. With under two minutes to go, just 16 seconds after UConn’s equalizer, Suniev blasted a shot off the post, just missing his second of the night by inches.

“He scored a goal, could’ve scored a couple,” Carvel said of Suniev. “He’s one of our more talented players, so he’s out there a lot in overtime and on the power play. He’s a difference maker. His game’s coming where I’m trusting him more that I can put him out there in 3-on-3 and he’s more likely to win the game for us than lose it.”

UMass (11-5-3, 4-3-2 Hockey East) has only Hockey East opponents remaining on its schedule, starting with a home-and-home weekend series against Merrimack next Friday (home) and Saturday (away). Both games are slated to start at 7 p.m.