Hockey Game Notes for Tuesday Night Against Vermont

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THE SCOUTING REPORT ON VERMONT
Vermont enters the game with a 4-2-0 overall record and in first place in the ECAC with a 4-0-0 record. The Catamounts enter the game having won thier last four. They are 2-1-0 at Gutterson Field House and are 0-2-0 against Hockey East teams this season. Vermont opened the year with a 5-4 loss to New Hampshire and followed with a 3-1 loss to Boston University. The Catamounts then rebounded with wins over Harvard (5-3), Brown (6-1), Princeton (3-2) and Yale (5-2). The offense is led by senior forward J.F. Caudron who has netted four goals and three assists for seven points in five games. Sophomore Ryan Miller (3g, 3a), junior Graham Mink (3g, 3a), senior Andreas Moberg (2g, 4a), senior Jerry Gernander (1g, 4a) and freshman Jeff Miles (2g, 3a) have all been scoring for the Catamounts. The defense is anchored by senior goaltender Andrew Allen who has a 4-1-0 record, a 2.58 goals against average and a .925 save percentage.

ONE GOOD TURN(ER) DESERVES ANOTHER
Brothers, senior captain Jeff Turner (Saginaw, Mich.) and sophomore Tim Turner, are off to a fast start. The two brothers have combined for 22 points through 11 games. Tim leads the team with seven goals, while Jeff is leading the team with eight assists. Jeff and Tim are tied for the team lead in points with 11. Jeff scored the game-winning goal in the first period versus New Hampshire, while Tim netted the game-winner with 14 seconds remaining in overtime against UMass Lowell. Tim has scored a goal in five of the Minutemen's 10 games. The brothers opened the season combining for eight points at Wisconsin. Tim netted two goals and three assists and Jeff recorded three assists. They combined for a goal and an assist versus Colgate and two goals and an assist versus Merrimack. They each netted a goal in the series against Nebraska-Omaha. The Turners are both tied for 12th in overall scoring in Hockey East.

QUICK START IN HOCKEY EAST
UMass is off to a quick start in Hockey East this season winning three of its first four league games. The last time the Minutemen began the season 3-1 in Hockey East was 1995-96. Last season, UMass did not record its third league win until Jan. 21 when they defeated Merrimack 5-3.

UMASS AGAINST THE ECAC
The Minutemen are 24-76-6 (.255) all-time against teams currently in the ECAC conference. UMass is 0-1-1 this season against ECAC opponents, tying Colgate 4-4 (10/21) and losing to Rensselaer 9-2 (11/18).

FINNISH(ING) THE DEAL
Senior goaltender Markus Helanen (Vantaa, Finland) has already doubled his career shutout total this season. He entered the season with two career shutouts and through seven games this season, he has already matched that total. He notched his first career Hockey East shutout on Oct. 27 in a 3-0 win over Merrimack and then recorded another 3-0 shutout last Saturday against then-No. 3 New Hampshire. He stopped 31 shots in the first shutout and 28 versus UNH. Helanen currently has a 3.54 goals against average and a .896 save percentage, while posting a 2-3-1 record on the season. He was named Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week following the shutout of UNH.

GOING AFTER THE BEST
The 3-0 shutout over then-No. 3 New Hampshire on Nov. 4, marked the fifth time since the hockey program was reinstated for the 1993-94 season that the Minutemen have defeated a team in the top five. The game versus UNH marked the Minutemen's fourth game this season against a team ranked in the top five. Here are the five victories against top five teams:
* 1/28/95 vs. No. 1 Maine, 4-2
* 2/22/98 vs. No. 3 New Hampshire, 4-3
* 11/13/98 vs. No. 4 Maine, 2-1
* 2/26/00 at No. 5 Boston College, 5-1
* 11/4/00 vs. No.3 New Hampshire, 3-0

NO LUCK VS. NON-CONFERENCE OPPONENTS
UMass has a 0-5-2 record against non-conference opponents this season. The Minutemen lost two games at Wisconsin to open the season and then followed it with a come-from-behind tie with Colgate. UMass lost a pair of games at Nebraska-Omaha before tying UConn and then losing to Rensselaer. However, UMass went 3-1-1 last season against teams in the ECAC. The Minutemen defeated Union, Harvard and St. Lawrence and teid Vermont. The lone loss last season was a 3-2 defeat to Colgate in the season-opener.

MAKING IT COUNT
Junior Martin Miljko (Etobicoke, Ontario) has scored at least one point in seven of the eight games in which he has played. Miljko, who did not make the season-opening trip out to Wisconsin, has taken advantage of his limited playing time. Miljko currently has five goals and five assists for 10 points. In his first game of the season he netted two goals, including the game-tying score versus Colgate with less than a minute to go in the third period. He followed it up with an assist in the 3-0 win over Merrimack. He sat out the game at Boston College and then returned to the lineup with a goal versus UMass Lowell. Last Saturday night against New Hampshire, he picked up a pair of assists in the 3-0 win. He had a goal and an assist in the first game and an assist in the second game at Nebraska-Omaha. Miljko was held scoreless this past week against UConn, but followed with a power play goal in the second period at Rensselaer.

THE CAPTAIN
Senior Jeff Turner, who led the team last season in goals (15), shots (110), game-winning goals (four) and was second in assists (19), is the team captain this year. 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 is currently tied for the team lead in points with 11 and leads the team in assists with eight. He recorded three helpers in the Minutemen's season-opening loss to then-No. 3 Wisconsin (10/6) and added three more helpers in the 5-4 overtime win at UMass Lowell (11/3). He also recorded an assist on the game-tying goal against Colgate (10/21). He netted goals in the 3-0 wins over Merrimack (10/27) and then-No. 3 New Hampshire (11/4), including the game-winner on the power play versus the Wildcats. He also scored a goal in the final minute of the 3-2 loss at Nebraska-Omaha (11/10). He is currently in 14th place on the all-time UMass scoring list with 75 points and is 10th in career assists with 44.

NEWCOMERS MAKING AN IMPACT
Four newcomers have made an immediate impact on the team. Freshman Thomas P?ck (Klagenfurt, Austria) has four goals and three assists. Freshman Scott Horvath (West Redding, Conn.) has scored three goals and and two assists. Sophomore Jimmy Callahan (Lexington, Mass.), who sat out last season because of an NCAA Clearinghouse issue, has two goals and four assists. Freshman Mike Warner (Waltham, Mass.) has played a regular shift in all 11 games and netted his first career point with a goal versus No. 2 Boston College.

THE LAST TIME ON THE ICE FOR UMASS
Rensselaer scored six first period goals en route to a 9-2 win over the Minutemen this past Saturday in Troy, N.Y. The Engineers netted five power play goals and one shorthanded score in the game. Matt Murley had four goals, including two on the power play for RPI. Marc Cavosie and Nolan Graham each netted a goal and two assists, while Carson Butterwick and Jim Henkel each netted three assists.

CAREER FIRSTS FOR ZAVISZA AND SCAPAROTTI
Sophomores J.R. Zavisza (Suffield, Conn.) and Anthony Scaparotti (Medford, Mass.) each netted their first career point in the second period of the loss to Rensselaer this past Saturday night. Zavisza scored off a pass from Scaparotti 3:47 into the period for the Minutemen's first goal of the game.

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. Eight UMass opponents are currently ranked in the top 15. The Minutemen have already played Boston College (#2), Wisconsin (#3), New Hampshire (#3) and Colgate (#12). UMass has a 1-3-1 record against ranked opponents this season and a 2-2-1 record against unranked teams.

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 183-173-38 (.513) in 14 seasons.

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University of Massachusets Athletics

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