University of Massachusets Athletics
Hockey Game Notes for Friday Night Versus UMass Lowell
October 31, 2000 | Hockey
Oct. 31, 2000
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SCOUTING UMASS LOWELL
UMass Lowell enters the game with a 2-2-0 record. The River Hawks opened the season with two non-conference wins before losing two Hockey East league games last weekend. The River Hawks began the season with a 6-1 win over UConn and followed it with an impressive 4-3 victory over Rensselaer. Last weekend, the River Hawks lost their Hockey East opener, 5-2, to upstart Northeastern and then lost a tough 4-3 decision to highly-ranked New Hampshire. UMass Lowell has a balanced scoring attack with five players who have more than one goal on the season. The offense is led by Kyle Kidney and Laurent Meunier, who each have three goals and two assists. The defense is led by NHL first-round draft pick Ron Hainsey (four assists). The goaltending duties have been split by Jimi St. John and Cam McCormick so far this season.
THE LAST MEETING WITH THE RIVER HAWKS
The last time UMass and UMass Lowell played was Feb. 6 of last season. With the River Hawks leading 3-2 with less than a minute to go in the third period, UMass was awarded a penalty shot. Jeff Turner (Saginaw, Mich.) converted on the play and sent the game into overtime, where it stayed tied 3-3. UMass Lowell jumped out to a 2-0 lead on goals by Craig Brown and Ed McGrane. The Minutemen responded with two consecutive power play goals by Tim Turner (Saginaw, Mich.) to tie the game. The River Hawks went ahead 3-2 on a shorthanded goal in the third period by Dan Fontas.
ONE GOOD TURN(ER) DESERVES ANOTHER
Brothers, senior captain Jeff Turner and sophomore Tim Turner, are off to a fast start. The two brothers combined for two goals and six assists in the two games at then-No. 3 Wisconsin to open the season. Tim scored a pair of goals and three assists, while Jeff recorded three assists. The brothers were responsible for eight of the Minutemen's 15 points in the series. The brothers also combined for a goal and an assist in the 4-4 tie with Colgate. Tim scored the Minutemen's third goal, while Jeff assisted on the game-tying score. In the 3-0 win over Merrimack last Friday night, Jeff netted a goal and an assist, while Tim picked up an assist. The brothers are the top two scorers on the team this season. There is less than a three-year age difference between the brothers (Jeff is currently 24, and Tim is 21), but last season marked the first time in their hockey playing careers that the two skated on the same line together.
THE CAPTAIN
Senior Jeff Turner, who led the Minutemen in scoring during the 1999-2000 season, with 34 points, is the team captain this year. Turner led the team last season in goals (15), shots (110), game-winning goals (four) and was second in assists (19). Turner had back-to-back two-goal games last season against UConn and Vermont. His 34 points were good enough for 15th in overall scoring in Hockey East. He also finished tied for third in the league in shorthanded goals (three) and tied for fifth in game-winning goals. Turner leads UMass in assists this season with five. He recorded three helpers in the Minutemen's season-opening loss to then-No. 3 Wisconsin. He also recorded an assist on the game-tying goal against Colgate. Last Friday, he netted his first goal of the season and added an assist in the 3-0 win over Merrimack. He is currently tied for 14th place on the all-time UMass scoring list with 70 points and is tied for 10th in career assists with 41.
THERE'S A FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING
Markus Helanen (Vantaa, Finland) recorded his first career Hockey East shutout when he made 31 saves in the 3-0 win over Merrimack last Friday at the Mullins Center. Helanen now has three shutouts in his career. It marked his first shutout since Oct. 29 of last season when UMass defeated Army 1-0 in overtime. His only other career shutout came as a freshman in 1998 when he made 28 saves in a 3-0 win over Air Force. Through four games, Helanen has a .905 save percentage and a 3.30 goals against average. He has made 124 saves in over 236 minutes of action. In the four games he started, he has a 1-1-1 record. Last season, Helanen set a single-season record for the lowest goals against average with 2.83. He currently holds the lowest career goals against average (3.16). Helanen is also currently second on the all-time saves list at UMass with 1,926 to date. He trails his former teamate, Brian Regan, who is at 3,050. Helanen played in 31 games last season with a record of 10-16-3.
THEY'RE NO FOURTH-RATE LINE
On Sunday night's line charts, the group of left wing Darcy King (Barrie Ontario), center Kris Wallis (Agassiz, British Columbia) and right wing Brad Nizwantowski (Peabody, Mass.) was listed as the fourth line. The trio accounted for four of UMass' five goals against No. 2 Boston College with King scoring twice and Wallis and Nizwantowski each netting another. All told King, Wallis and Nizwantowski combined for nine points and had a plus/minus rating of +9 as a line. The two goals marked the first multiple-goal game of King's career, while the three points by Nizwantowski doubled his career total.
DID I HEAR A NINER IN THERE?
UMass has let up nine goals in two out of the five games thay have played this season. The last time the Minutemen allowed nine or more goals twice in a season was during 1996-97, when it happened three times.
INSTANT RESPECT FOR P?CK
Freshman Thomas P?ck (Klagenfurt, Austria) was named Hockey East Rookie of the Week for his play during the season-opening Wisconsin series. P?ck netted his first collegiate goal in the third period of the Friday night opener. He also played a key role in the defensive zone, winning a number of faceoffs. P?ck followed with a goal versus Colgate in the 4-4 tie with the then-No. 12 Red Raiders. He also played a key role in the 3-0 win over Merrimack. P?ck opened the scoring converting a give-and-go with senior R.J. Gates (Plainville, Conn.) in the first period. P?ck is currently tied for the team lead in goals with three. He has scored in three of the Minutemen's five games. He came to UMass after having played for both the Austrian Under-20 National Team and the Austrian National Team last season. Thomas' father, Hebert, played under current UMass assistant Bill Gilligan while he was a head coach for the Klagenfurt Athletic Club in Austria.
DON'T CALL IT A COMEBACK
UMass scored two goals with its goaltender pulled in the final two minutes against then-No. 12 Colgate on Oct. 21, to earn a 4-4 tie. Tim Turner netted the first of the two goals when he scored from the slot with assists going to junior Toni S?derholm (Helsinki, Finland) and senior Joey Culgin (Framingham, Mass.). With 11 seconds remaining in regulation, Jeff Turner won a faceoff back to S?derholm, who passed to Martin Miljko (Otobicoke, Ontario) in front off the net. Miljko burried the shot for his second goal of the game.
THE DON(ING) OF A NEW ERA
Don Cahoon is currently in his first season as head coach of the Minutemen. Cahoon, who coached at Princeton for the past nine years, looks to improve on UMass' 11-20-5 record last season. Cahoon is the second head coach at UMass since the reinstatement of the program in 1993. He has won three NCAA Championships, two as a player (1971 & 1972) and one as a coach (1991) at Boston University. Cahoon's career coaching record is 181-172-37 (.513) in 14 seasons.
NEWCOMERS MAKING AN IMPACT
The newcomers have made an immediate impact on the team. Freshman Thomas P?ck is tied for the team lead in goals with three. Freshman Scott Horvath (West Redding, Conn.) has netted two power play goals and an assist. Sophomore Jimmy Callahan (Lexington, Mass.), who sat out last season because of an NCAA Clearinghouse issue, has a goal and two assists. Freshman Mike Warner (Waltham, Mass.) has played a regular shift in all five games and netted his first career point with a goal versus No. 2 Boston College Sunday night.
PLAYING IT TOUGH
UMass continues to play one of the nation's toughest schedules. The Minutemen played seven games last season against teams in the 2000 Frozen Four. UMass went 2-5 in those games with an impressive 3-2 overtime win against St. Lawrence and a 5-1 victory at Boston College. This season, the Minutemen will play 18 games against teams that were in the 2000 NCAA tournament. Ten UMass opponents are currently ranked in the top 15.
MINUTEMEN WIN HOCKEY EAST OPENER
When UMass defeated Merrimack, 3-0, last Friday night it marked the first time in over four seasons that UMass opened the Hockey East season with a victory. The Minutemen had lost their Hockey East season opener in each of the past four seasons and in five of the six previous seasons as a Hockey East member. In 1995-96, UMass opened the season with two league wins, before finishing the season with a 10-19-6 record and in eighth place in Hockey East.
