University of Massachusets Athletics
Hockey Game Notes for Thursday Night at Maine
December 11, 2000 | Hockey
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THE SCOUTING REPORT ON MAINE
Maine enters the game with a 6-6-4 overall reocrd and a 3-3-2 record in Hockey East. The Black Bears are 4-3-2 at Alfond Arena this season and have never lost to the Minutemen at home. Six of Maine's 16 games have gone into overtime. The Black Bears opened the season at Alfond Arena with a 1-1 tie and a 4-2 loss to defending national champion North Dakota. Maine responded with an 8-2 win over St. Lawrence before splitting a pair of games with Ohio State. Following a win over the Buckeyes, the Black Bears lost to Providence (5-3), tied Northeastern (1-1), and then defeated Merrimack (6-2) and UMass Lowell (2-0). Maine then went 1-1-1 in three games with ECAC schools, before defeating and tying Northeastern to wrap up its season series with the Huskies. Last weekend, Maine suffered a 3-2 loss at Boston University and a 7-2 loss to Boston College at home. Maine is allowing an average of just 2.3 goals per game. The defense is anchored by juniot goaltender Matt Yeats, who has a 5-4-1 record while posting a 2.38 goals against average and an .899 save percentage. The offense is led by sophomore Chris Heisten (2g, 10a), senior Matthias Trattnig (7g, 4a), sophomore Martin Kariya (5g, 6a) and sophomore Lucas Lawson (5g, 5a). Maine has converted on 16 of 86 (19%) power plays and has killed off 70 of 78 (90%) shorthanded situations.
THIS YEAR'S CAPTAINS
Seniors Jeff Turner (Saginaw, Mich.) and Jay Shaw (Cranston, R.I.) are the two captains for the Minutemen this season. Turner is the captain and Shaw is the alternate. Turner is currently tied for the team lead in assists with 10 and is tied for the team lead in points with 14. Turner has taken a team-leading 55 shots. Shaw netted his first goal of the season against Vermont on Nov. 21. He has two assists for three points in 14 games. Both Turner and Shaw are three-year letterwinners who began their UMass careers during the 1997-98 season. Turner has played in 102 career games and Shaw has played in 93.
PENALTY FILLED AFFAIRS
Penalites have been hurting the Minutemen this season. UMass is currently ranked ninth in the nation in highest average penalty minutes per game (21.4). UMass has been whistled for 153 penalties for 342 minutes in 16 games this season, including setting a new school record with 65 penalty minutes at Rensselaer. Opponents are scoring on close to a quarter of thier power play chances (27 of 107), while UMass is only scoring on 14% of its chances (12 of 85).
MAKING THE MOST OF HIS PLAYING TIME
Junior forward Martin Miljko (Etobicoke, Ontario) has made the most of his playing time this season. Last season, he only played in 11 games because of a reoccuring knee injury. Miljko has scored at least one point in nine of the 13 games he has played. He is averaging over a point a game with seven goals and seven assists for a team-leading 14 points. The only three games he did not record a point in were against UConn, Vermont and the second game against Boston University. Miljko did not play in the two games at Wisconsin and the game at Boston College. He has four multiple-point games this season, including Colgate (two goals), UMass Lowell (two assists), the first game at Nebraska-Omaha (a goal and an assist) and the first game against Boston University (a goal and an assist). Miljko leads the Minutemen with four power play goals and is tied for sixth overall in Hockey East for power play goals.
THE GOALTENDING TANDEM
Markus Helanen and junior Mike Johnson (Excelsior, Minn.) have split the time in the net so far this season. Helanen has played in 11 games (starting 10), while Johnson has played in eight (starting six). Helanen has a 3-5-1 record while posting a 3.47 goals against average and an .891 save percentage. Johnson has a 1-5-1 record while posting a 4.71 goals against average and an .872 save percentage.
TAKING HIS TURN(ER) AT SCORING
Sophomore forward Tim Turner (Saginaw, Mich.) leads UMass with eight goals this season. Turner, who last season led the Minutemen with 21 assists, has been scoring goals at a much faster pace this year. He already has two multiple-goal games, including a five-point performace at Wisconsin in the season-opener in which he netted two goals and three assists. He also netted a pair of goals in the 5-4 win at UMass Lowell, including the game-winner with just 14 seconds remaining in overtime. He is third on the team in scoring with 13 points. Last season, he netted five goals in 34 games.
ALL HAIL HELANEN!
Markus Helanen stopped 36 of the 37 shots he faced in the 3-1 win at Providence this past Friday. He was named the Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season. His 36 saves helped UMass to defeat Providence for the fifth straight time. The win improved Helanen's conference record to 3-1-0 on the year. In Hockey East play, Helanen has a 2.43 goals against average and a .925 save percentage. Helanen has already doubled his career shutout total this season. He entered the season with two career shutouts, and 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 shutout on Nov. 4 versus then-No. 3 New Hampshire as the Minutemen won 3-0. He stopped 31 shots in the first shutout and 28 versus UNH. Helanen currently has a 3.47 goals against average and a .891 save percentage, while posting a 3-5-1 record on the season. He was named Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week following the shutout of New Hampshire.
JALKANEN ASSISTING THE DEFENSE
Sophomore defenseman Samuli Jalkanen (Helsinki, Finland) has been one of the steadiest players for UMass this season. Jalkanen has recorded seven assists in the past seven games to climb into a tie for the team lead with 10. He recorded his first career multiple-point game with assists on both UMass goals in the 4-2 loss at Boston University (12/2). Seven of Jalkanen's 10 assists have come on the power play. He consistently logs more ice time than any other player and was named the number two star of the game in the Minutemen's 3-1 victory against Providence (12/8). He is one of three Finnish players on the UMass roster along with fellow countrymen Toni S?derholm and Markus Helanen.
TOUGH GOING WITHOUT TONI
The Minutemen have not played well defensively in the absence of junior defenseman Toni S?derholm (Helsinki, Finland). The Minutemen were 3-3-1 through their first seven games, including shutout wins over Merrimack and New Hampshire. However, since S?derholm has been out of the lineup with a knee injury, UMass has won just one game, going 1-8-1. S?derholm scored a goal and four assists in the seven games he played before having his knee scoped on Nov. 13. He also has a +2 plus/minus rating this season.
P?CK-ING HIS NAME ONTO THE SCORESHEET
Freshman Thomas P?ck (Klagenfurt, Austria) is currently third on the team with five goals. He is also fifth on the team in scoring with eight points. He netted his fifth goal of the season in the second period against St. Cloud State. P?ck is third on UMass in penalties and penalty minutes with 12 for 35 minutes. P?ck was named Hockey East Rookie of the Week for his play during the Wisconsin series. P?ck netted his first collegiate goal in the third period of the season-opener. He also played a key role in the defensive zone, winning a number of faceoffs. P?ck 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 Gilligan was the head coach for the Klagenfurt Athletic Club in Austria. His father also played against Don Cahoon while Cahoon was the head coach of the Vienna Ice Club.
ENJOYING THE HOCKEY EAST SCHEDULE
UMass is off to its best start in Hockey East league play. The Minutemen enter the Maine game with a 4-3-0 record. This is the latest into a season that UMass has been over .500 in league play.
THIRD PERIOD WOES
The Minutemen have had trouble scoring in the third period this season. Through 16 games, UMass has only scored 10 third period goals. The best period for the Minutemen has been the second, where they have netted 19 goals. In the first period, UMass has scored 14 goals. The opponent has scored at least 18 goals in each of the three periods. The only period that UMass has not been outscored in is overtime, where the Minutemen hold a 1-0 advantage in scoring.
DEFINITELY NOT IN THE UNION
Only three UMass players have dressed and played in all 16 games this season. Senior captain Jeff Turner, sophomore defeseman Samuli Jalkanen and freshman forward Mike Warner (Waltham, Mass.) have not missed a game. Turner and Jalkanen are tied for the team lead in assists with 10 each, while Warner has netted two goals and an assist on the season.
OLDER AND WISER
Senior Kris Wallis (Agassiz, British Columbia) has had two multiple-point games and seven points overall on the season. Wallis is the oldest and most experienced player on the UMass roster. The 24-year-old forward scored a goal and two assists at Boston College (10/29) and netted a goal and an assist at Vermont (11/21). He has three goals and four assists this season. Wallis has played 117 games in his UMass career recording 23 goals and 28 assists for 51 points.
WARNER AND GATES RECORD FIRSTS
Mike Warner recorded his first career multiple-point game when he scored an empty net goal with nine seconds remaining in the 3-1 win over Providence this past Friday night. Warner recorded his first career assist in the second period when he helped set up senior R.J. Gates (Plainville, Conn.) for the game-winning goal. The goal was Gates' first of the season and 13th of his career.
ALL-IMPORTANT SECOND INTERMISSION SCORE
The score after the second period of play has been a good indicator as to what the outcome of the game will be. UMass is 4-0-1 this season when leading after two periods. They are 0-8-0 when trailing going into the second intermission and 0-2-1 when the score is tied.
TOUGH GOING ON THE ROAD
The Minutemen have had a tough time winning on the road this season. UMass enters the Maine game with a 2-8-0 record on the road, with the only two wins coming against UMass Lowell in overtime, 5-4, and Providence, 3-1, this past Friday night. UMass is 2-2-0 in Hockey East road games. The Minutemen have a 0-13-0 mark all-time in Orono.
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. Six UMass opponents are currently ranked in the top 15. The Minutemen have already played Boston College (#2), Wisconsin (#3), New Hampshire (#3), Providence (#9), St. Cloud State (#10), Colgate (#12) and Vermont (#14). UMass has a 2-5-1 record against ranked opponents this season and a 2-5-1 record against unranked teams. The Minutemen have two wins over teams ranked in the top 10.
HOME COOKING
Sophomore Brad Nizwantowski (Peabody, Mass.) has enjoyed some success playing in Boston this season. In the Minutemen's two games in the state capital, Nizwantowski has netted two goals and three assists. Five of his eight points have come in the two games in Beantown. He had a goal and two assists at Boston College on Oct. 29, and he netted a goal and an assist at Boston University on Dec. 2. Nizwantowski's father, Ed, is the long-time football and baseball coach at Peabody High School.
TAKING THEIR SHOTS
UMass has been outshot in 11 of its 16 games this season. The Minutemen are 0-3-2 when they take more shots on goal than the opponent. The five games where UMass has held the shot advatage were against Colgate (24 to 21), UConn (30 to 19), Vermont (44 to 19), St. Cloud State (25 to 23) and in the first game against Boston University (35 to 27). The most shots the Minutemen have taken in a game was 44 at Vermont and the least was 17 at UMass Lowell.
OBSTRUCTION INTERFERENCE
This is the Minutemen's 11th game on the road. They have only played at the Mullins Center six times this season... Luke Duplessis is on pace to break the Division I single season UMass record for most penalty minutes (99)... The Minutemen are 2-2-0 in Hockey East road games... UMass has never won a game in Orono... Maine is 5-0-1 in the last six games against UMass... Samuli Jalkanen has recorded seven assists in the last seven games and is tied for the team lead with 10.