Young Minutemen Look to Make Big Improvements

The most important element of the UMass hockey team this year will be the team. There are no superstars on this team, instead there are many skilled players who, if they mesh together correctly, will make a formidable team. The Minutemen will be extremely young in 1998-99. There are only two seniors on the squad, and nearly three-quarters of the team are freshmen or sophomores.

"We have a very young team, but a very skilled one," said Mallen. "They are going to have to work together for us to win. We can't depend on one person to bear the scoring load, or to stop every puck. It's going to have to be a total team effort."

Forwards

In a team filled with youth, the forwards are the most experienced returning group for UMass, including six of the eight upperclassmen on the squad.

Junior right winger Jeff Blanchard is the top returning forward on the squad, finishing tied for second on the team in scoring last season with 19 points (4g, 15a). One of the fastest forwards in Hockey East, Blanchard could have a breakthrough year this season and become a major scorer in the league. One of Blanchard's junior counterparts in the forward corps is Nathan Sell, who besides being the top defensive center on the team, will be looked at to provide more offense for the Minutemen this season than he has in the past.

The old-timer in the group is senior Bryan Fitzgerald, who will be the inspirational leader for the forwards this year. A fifth-year senior, Fitzgerald finally broke into the lineup last season after toiling as a hard-working practice player and gave the Minutemen a tougher, more aggressive look on defense.

Sophomores Kris Wallis and Jeff Turner hold the same type of scoring potential as former Minutemen Rob Bonneau and Warren Norris, who left UMass as the No. 2 and No. 3 scorers in school history. Wallis has outstanding stick-handling skills and made a serious commitment to improving his strength over the summer. Turner showed great potential in the final weeks of the '97-98 season after missing the first half of the season after breaking his ankle in the first day of on-ice practice last season.

Two other impressive rookies last season were left wingers Nick Stephens and R. J. Gates. Stephens has absolutely incredible speed on the ice and could be a major impact player in the league if he can bring the other parts of his game up near the par of his skating ability. Gates was the biggest surprise on the team last year, scoring eight goals as a walk-on in just 26 games.

Other returnees looking for time up front include junior Bryan Kennedy, and sophomores Jay Shaw and Ray Geever. Kennedy has a tremendous shot, but needs to become more of a reliable performer on ice. Geever got some experience last year, and should challenge for a spot at right wing.

Newcomers at forward represent one of the most talented incoming groups Mallen has ever put forth. Freshmen Jedd Crumb, Martin Miljko, and Darcy King, along with junior transfer Dmitri Vasiliev represent a highly-skilled group of offensive talents. Crumb was a runner up for Canadian National Player of the Year in junior hockey last season and is a pure scorer. Miljko has been a high-end scorer in his league and has both good quickness and skating ability. King is one of the youngest players in the program, but is very skilled and has great hockey sense. Vasiliev has great offensive tools and will be able to play for the Minutemen in late December following the required year off after his transfer from Northeastern.

"I think that while we are going to have to rely a lot on our younger players, this is the most skilled group we have had here," said Mallen. "We will expect a lot more out of our returnees, especially some of our upperclassmen like Jeff Blanchard, Nathan Sell, and Bryan Fitzgerald. We lost a lot of our scoring from last season, so this will defintely have to be an area where some guys step up and take that responsibility upon themselves."

Defensemen

There's no doubting that the defensive corps for the Minutemen will be a very young group this season. With one senior and one junior figuring into the mix, this group will be one of the youngest in Hockey East.

Leading the defense will be junior captain Dean Stork. Stork was UMass' most consistent defenseman last season and will log a lot of minutes on the ice this year. He also increased his offensive effort last year and made himself into a more complete player.

Other returnees behind the blue line include sophomores Kevin Tucker and Joey Culgin and senior Brendan Shaw. Tucker has great size and made great improvements to his game last year, despite playing half the season with a cast as a result of a broken wrist. Culgin joined the Minutemen in mid-season, and made an outstanding transition to college hockey after playing the first half of the season in the USHL. Shaw has been a solid contributor in practice during his tenure and will fight for more playing time this season after breaking into the line up last year.

Five newcomers will also compete for regular ice time. Freshmen Chris Brannen, Randy Drohan, Justin Shaw, Toni S?derholm, and Luke DuPlessis make up the defensive newcomers. Brannen is a big skilled defenseman who should be able to produce both offensively and defensively. Drohan is a tough player that moves the puck well and always plays solid defense. Shaw is a younger player, but is one of the top defensemen in the country in his age group. The younger brother of forward Jay Shaw, he has great size and speed and should be able to develop into a productive offensive contributor in addition to being a great defender. S?derholm combines a background of junior hockey in Canada along with his native Finland and is a very skilled player. DuPlessis is a very strong defenseman with raw skills that could make him a solid contributor in the future.

"Our defense is going to be very young, but I'm encouraged by the skill level that they have," said Mallen. "They are going to have to work extra hard night in and night out to ensure that our team is successful this season. There are no proven scorers in the group, and we're going to need some of them to step up and help pick up the offense as well as playing great defense."

Goaltenders

Gone is all-time saves leader Brian Regan, and fighting for his starting place in the lineup will be his backup from last season, sophomore Markus Helanen, and freshman Mike Johnson. Sophomore John McDonough will also compete for time.

Helanen has the inside track on the No. 1 spot after having some very impressive performances on the ice last season. In addition to his shutout against Air Force, Helanen posted solid efforts against tough Boston College and Princeton squads. Helanen has great size and quickness, combined with a strong ability to handle the puck.

Johnson comes out of hockey-rich Minnesota as one of the state's top high school goaltenders. A great athlete, Johnson was also a baseball star in high school and consistently kept his hockey team in games with his play. McDonough is an outstanding student and helped push both Helanen and Regan in practice last year after joining the team in December.

"It's tough to lose a goaltender that played as much as Brian did," said Mallen. "But I'm very confident in Markus' ability to step into the starting role. Mike Johnson was an exceptional high school goaltender and has the tools to be a top collegiate goaltender as well."

Schedule

It's been a well-known fact that the Minutemen play in the nation's toughest hockey conference with three games per season against some of the nation's toughest teams. But this season, UMass will face its most challenging schedule to date with the best non-conference slate in school history. All told, UMass has 17 games against teams in the top 15 of the final 1997-98 RPI rankings and 11 games vs. NCAA participants.

Highlighting the non-conference schedule is single games at both Michigan State in the season opener and Colorado College following Thanksgiving as part of a two-game Colorado swing. Both will be first time opponents for the Minutemen, as will Western Michigan, who UMass plays in a two-game set in Kalamazoo, Mich. following Christmas. UMass will meet Harvard for the first time as a Division I school this season and renews its series with Union, Vermont, Air Force, and Army, all for single games.

"You don't improve at this level unless you measure yourself against the best," said Mallen. "Our schedule this year puts us against some of the best teams in the nation both inside and outside of our conference, and we will get a chance to see how we compare to them."

Wrap-Up

Last season was a disappointing one for the Minutemen. While the team had improved in each of its first three years in Division I, last year's minor step back is a lesson and motivation for this year's squad. With the most skilled group of players to date, along with a solid team philosophy, look for the Minutemen to once again be a challenging opponent in the nation's toughest college hockey conference.

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University of Massachusets Athletics

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