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University of Massachusets Athletics
Hockey Faces Off Against UMass Lowell, No. 7 UNH
November 05, 1999 | Hockey
Nov. 5, 1999
CONFERENCE WEEKEND: The Minutemen face another weekend of conference games this weekend after taking a weekend off from league play with last Friday?s matchup with Army. Friday?s game vs. UMass Lowell will be only the second home date after opening at home with then-No. 1 Boston College.
UMASS-UMASS LOWELL SERIES: UMass Lowell leads the all-time series between the two schools, which began in 1968, 14-8-1. UMass Lowell won the season series between the two squads last year winning in Amherst by a 4-3 margin in overtime, and at home, 2-1, before UMass came back to win the final meeting of the season, 3-2.
UMASS-NEW HAMPSHIRE SERIES: UMass and New Hampshire have met 63 times before Saturday?s game. The Wildcats hold a 51-9-3 lead in the all-time series, which began in 1926. UNH won all three meetings between the two teams last season. In 1997-98, the Minutemen picked up their first win against UNH in Hockey East competition, posting a 4-3 win against the No. 3 Wildcats on Feb. 21 in the Mullins Center.
BLANCHARD GETS KEY GOAL: Senior forward Jef Blanchard (Stouffville, Ont.) picked up a key goal in UMass? win over Army. Blanchard scored the lone goal of the contest with 45 seconds remaining in overtime to give the Minutemen a 1-0 win in the contests. The overtime game-winner was the first of Blanchard?s collegiate career. Blanchard currently leads the team in scoring with three points (2g, 1a).
HELANEN RETURNS AS TOP GOALIE: Junior Markus Helanen (Vanta?, Finland) returns as the Minutemen?s top goalie and one of the top three in Hockey East. An honorable mention All-Hockey East pick and two-time Hockey East Goaltender of the Month, Helanen posted a UMass single-season record 885 saves and recorded 10 of UMass? 12 wins. Helanen is also second among returnees in the league in save percentage with a .898 mark last year. Helanen has gotten off to a strong start this season, posting his second career shutout and holding a 2.71 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage after four starts.
ALUMNI CUP BATTLE RENEWS: After UMass Lowell won the UMass Alumni Cup for the second straight season last year, the Minutemen are looking to bring the Cup back to Amherst in 1999-2000. UMass won the award in each of the first two seasons of competition (1995-96, 1996-97), while the River Hawks won it in 1997-98 and 1998-99. The award goes to the winner of the season series between the two schools and was established by the Alumni Associations of both schools.
BROTHERS SCORE: In their first game together vs. Boston College, brothers Jeff and Tim Turner (Saginaw, Mich.) combined to set up the goal by sophomore Jedd Crumb (Winnipeg, Man.). Jeff, a junior, and Tim, a freshman, have not been on the same hockey team since prior to high school. The Turner brothers were united on the same line against Army last week, and will play together again vs. UMass Lowell.
STILL YOUNG: While UMass had one of the youngest teams in the country last year, the Minutemen still have a young group, although slightly more experienced this season. With just four seniors, the bulk of the team is in the sophomore (nine players) and junior (nine players) classes.
MEET THE CAPTAINS: Senior forward Nathan Sell (Pembroke, Ont.) is serving as the UMass captain for the 1999-2000 campaign. Sell is joined by senior forward Jeff Blanchard (Stouffville, Ont.) and junior forward Jeff Turner (Saginaw, Mich.) who will serve as alternate captains. Sell is the just the third player to be named the team?s lone captain under Joe Mallen, following Jaynen Rissling (1993-94, 1994-95, 1995-96) and Dean Stork (1998-99). The 1996-97 and 1997-98 teams had co-captains.
SCOUTING THE RIVER HAWKS: UMass Lowell entered the 1999-2000 campaign tied with the Minutemen at seventh in the Hockey East preseason poll after tying for sixth in the final 1998-99 standings with UMass. Off to a 2-4-0 start, the River Hawks have been led by senior Chris Bell, junior Jeremy Kyte, and freshman Ed McGrane, who have each tallied four points. Freshman Cam McCormick and sophomore Jimi St. John have split time evenly in goal and have each posted 1-2-0 records to date.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS: New Hampshire enters Saturday?s matchup with a 4-2-0 overall record and a 1-0-0 mark in Hockey East play, but has dropped two of its last three decisions. Leading the Wildcats has been sophomore Darren Haydar with seven points (5g, 2a), followed by Corey-Joe Ficek (2g, 3a) and Sean Austin (1g, 4a). Ty Conklin has seen a majority of the time in goal, posting a 3.27 gaa and a .881 save percentage along with a 3-1 record in five appearances. His backup, Matt Carney, has a 4.24 gaa and a .857 save percentage in two games played.
HEAD COACH JOE MALLEN: Joe Mallen is in his seventh season at the helm of the Minuteman hockey program and tenth year as a collegiate head coach. In his tenure at UMass, he sports a 67-127-13 record. During his first year (1993-94), Mallen guided UMass to a school-record 20 wins. Over the past five seasons in Hockey East, Mallen has brought his team to a highly competitive level, winning season series with Merrimack, UMass Lowell, Providence, and Northeastern over that span, and defeating every league team at least once. Mallen began his head coaching career at UMass-Boston (1979-85), where he brought the Beacons from the club level to a successful Division II program. In his five years at UMass-Boston, he compiled an 80-46-2 (.633) mark and captured the 1982 ECAC Division III Championship. Mallen has an overall career record of 147-173-15 as a collegiate head coach.
TOUGHEST SCHEDULE YET: The Minutemen will be facing perhaps their toughest Division I schedule to date with 11 games vs. ?99 NCAA participants, and 16 games vs. teams either ranked or also receiving votes in the preseason U.S. College Hockey Online poll.
SLAPSHOTS: UMass? overtime win over Army was its first OT victory since a Jan. 1997 win over Northeastern?UMass is still seeking its first win at the Whittemore Center. The Minutemen did tie New Hampshire there in Feb. 1996?After this weekend?s contest, UMass will have only one more Hockey East game before December, next Saturday?s matchup vs. Merrimack. In between are non-conference games vs. UConn, Vermont, and Union?UMass has not lost to an unranked team at home since Dec. 5, 1998 in a 3-2 decision vs. Boston University.