University of Massachusets Athletics
The Mass Attack Notes for the Boston College Game
January 07, 2002 | Hockey
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GAME #20
Boston College (11-6-2 / 4-4-1 HEA)
at
Massachusetts (7-11-0 / 2-7-0 HEA)
Monday, January 7, 2002 * 7:00 p.m.
William D. Mullins Center (8,389)
Amherst, Massachusetts
MONDAY NIGHT'S GAME
Massachusetts enters the game with a 7-12-0 overall record and a 2-7-0 record in Hockey East, while Boston College enters the game with a 11-6-2 overall record and a 4-4-1 Hockey East record. The Eagles are ranked No. 10 in the nation in both polls. The Minutemen are coming off a 5-1 loss to No. 1 St. Cloud State on Friday night in Minnesota. Boston College is coming off a 2-1 victory at Yale last night. Tony Voce and Ty Hennes scored the two Eagles goals in the victory. Massachusetts and Boston College met earlier this season on Dec. 1, with the Eagles coming out on top with a 4-0 victory in Boston. Massachusetts has not played a home game in exactly one month. The Minutemen last played at the William D. Mullins Center on Dec. 7, against Boston University. This is the first Hockey East game for UMass since losing 3-2 at Boston University on Dec. 9. Tonight's game is the 28th all-time meeting between Massachusetts and Boston College. The Eagles hold a 22-4-1 (.833) advantage in the series. Boston College is 19-3-1 (.848) against Massachusetts since the Minutemen joined Hockey East for the 1994-95 season.
SCOUTING THE BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES
The defending national champions got off to a slow start this year, but have been one of the hottest teams in the nation over the past two months. Boston College opened the season with a 2-4-1 record in its first seven games. The Eagles then won six of their next seven to improve their record to 8-5-1 through 14 games. Boston College has big non-conference wins over Wisconsin (3-1) and Harvard (1-0). The Eagles also have an impressive 3-1 victory over Boston University in Hockey East play on Nov. 17. The offense is led by Tony Voce (17g, 13a), Ben Eaves (8g, 17a), J.D. Forrest (5g, 11a), Ales Dolinar (5g, 9a) and Ryan Shannon (5g, 8a). The defense is anchored by the goaltending tandem of Tim Kelleher and Matti Kaltiainen. Kelleher has a 6-2-2 record with a 2.56 goals against average and an .887 save percentage. Kaltiainen has a 4-4-0 record while posting a 2.75 GAA and an .908 save percentage. Eaves has missed the last three games while playing to Team USA at the World Juniors in the Czech Republic.
RECAPPING THE ST. CLOUD STATE GAME
No. 1 St. Cloud State scored three goals in the second period to break open a tie game en route to a 5-1 victory over Massachusetts at the National Hockey Center on Friday night. The top-ranked Huskies opened the scoring at the 11:22 mark of the first period when Mark Hartigan scored off a rebound. Hartigan knocked in a loose puck from just outside the goal crease. Matt Hendricks and Jeff Finger assisted on the goal. Massachusetts tied the game five minutes later when freshman Greg Mauldin (Holliston, Mass.) scored during a five-on-three Minuteman power play. Mauldin knocked in a rebound of his own shot from the side of the net. Seniors Martin Miljko (Etobicoke, Ontario) and Toni S?derholm (Helsinki, Finland) assisted on the goal. Mauldin has now scored a goal in each of the last four games and is tied with junior Tim Turner (Saginaw, Mich.) for the team lead with seven. The Huskies regained the lead when Ryan Malone scored on a deflection of a Derek Eastman shot from the point at the 8:15 mark of the second period. Finger was credited with the other assist. Malone netted his second goal of the period five minutes later to give St. Cloud State a 3-1 lead. Eastman assisted on the goal which came during a four-on-four situation. The Huskies extended their lead to 4-1 when Hartigan netted his second of the game on a wrap-around from behind the UMass net at the 15:07 mark. St. Cloud State took a 5-1 lead early in the third period when Joe Motzko scored on a wrap-around with assits from Lee Brooks and Ryan Johnson at the 2:17 mark. Massachusetts freshman goaltender Tim Warner (Waltham, Mass.) made a career-high 39 saves in the net, while St. Cloud goaltender Dean Weasler made 17 saves. The Minutemen held the Huskies scoreless on six power-play attempts. St. Cloud State entered the game with the best power-play (35.5%) in the nation.
TURNER AND MILJKO MOVING UP THE CHARTS
Junior Tim Turner and senior Martin Miljko continue to move up the all-time Massachusetts career scoring chart. Turner enters the game in 21st place with 65 points on 28 goals and 37 assists. Miljko is tied for 36th place with 53 career points on 24 goals and 29 assists. Turner leads the team in scoring this season (13 points), while Miljko is tied for second with four goals and eight assists for 12 points.
KUIPER COMING INTO HIS OWN
Sophomore defenseman Nick Kuiper (Beaconsfield, Quebec) has been one of Massachusetts most consistent players so far this season. Kuiper, who joined the Minutemen in January of last season, is tied for third on the team with six assists. He recorded his first multiple-point game of his collegiate career with a pair of assists against Boston University on Dec. 7, and then followed it up with an assist at BU on Dec. 9. He scored his first career goal on a slapshot from the point last Friday night against Niagara in the first game of the RPI/HSBC Holiday Tournament. Following the title game, Kuiper was named to the all-tournament team.
BEANTOWN BLUES
Massachusetts has historically struggled against the teams from the captial city of the Commonwealth. Since joining Hockey East for the start of the 1994-95 season, the Minutemen have compiled a 10-58-6 (.176) record against the four Division I hockey playing schools from Boston. UMass' all-time record against those four schools is 16-81-7 (.188). The breakdown is as follows:
- Boston College, 4-22-1 (.167)
- Boston University, 2-30-0 (.063)
- Harvard, 1-5-0 (.166)
- Northeastern, 9-24-7 (.313)
Overall UMass holds a 52-101-8 (.348) record all-time against all schools from Boston (regardless of division or current program status). The other Beantown schools are:
- Boston State, 12-8-0 (.600)
- M.I.T. 20-9-1, (.683)
- Tufts 4-4-0, (.500)
J.R. ZAVISZA REJOINS THE MINUTEMEN
Forward J.R. Zavisza (Suffield, Conn.) is back on the Minuteman roster after not playing the fall semester. Zavisza, a junior, played 25 games last season while scoring a goal and an assist for two points. He played in six games as a freshman in 1999-2000. Zavisza adds depth and size (6-4, 230 lbs.) to a depleted group of UMass forwards. He previously played for the New England Jr. Coyotes (EJHL), the U.S. National Development Team and Avon Old Farms.
LOOKING BACK TO THE LAST BOSTON COLLEGE GAME
Sophomore Tony Voce scored two goals, while classmate Ben Eaves collected three assists in Boston College's 4-0 victory over Massachusetts in front of 6,376 at Kelley Rink on Dec. 1, 2001. Boston College took an early lead, 11:40 into the game, on Voce's first goal of the night. Freshman Dave Spina and Eaves set up the power-play score. Spina extended the lead to 2-0 at 16:42 on an even-strength goal right out of a face-off. Freshman Ryan Shannon won the draw back to Spina for the goal. Voce struck again just 30 seconds later when he pocketed an Eaves cross-ice pass directly in front of the net. Junior A.J. Walker also assisted on the goal. After a scoreless second period, Walker came through with a goal at 13:06 of the third period, taking an Eaves pass in front of the net. Voce also assisted on the goal. Massachusetts threw 20 shots on net, but Kelleher stopped them all for his second shutout in a row. He also blanked Harvard on Friday, Nov. 23 in a 23-save effort. UMass senior Mike Johnson (Excelsior, Minn.), who last season made 60 saves against the Eagles in a 3-3 tie, made 28 saves in the losing effort.
MAULDIN DOING IT WITH LESS HELP
Freshman Greg Mauldin is tied for fourth nationally with two shorthanded goals. Mauldin netted his second shorthanded tally of the season when he scored against Boston University on Dec. 9. He netted his first against Connecticut on Nov. 11. Last season the Minutemen did not score any shorthanded goals. Mauldin is tied for second on the team in scoring with seven goals and five assists for 12 points. He leads the team in shots on net with 69 and in plus/minus rating with a +3.
FRESHMAN CLASS PICKING UP THE SCORING PACE
The 11-man freshman class has played an important role in the Minutemen's start to the season. They have combined for 17 goals and 15 assists through 19 games. Greg Mauldin leads the class with 12 points. Craig MacDonald (Canton, Mass.) has six points on four goals and two assists, including a two-goal game against Dartmouth. Peter Trovato (North Attleboro, Mass.) also has six points on two goals and four assists. Tim Vitek (Dresden, Ontario) has two goals and an assist, while Justin Rafferty (Clifton Park, N.Y.) picked up his first two assists at Dartmouth. Matt Walsh (Arlington, Mass.) scored has scored two goals despite missing seven games suffering from bronchitis. Defenseman Sean Regan (South Boston, Mass.) recorded his first collegiate point with an assist on the first goal of the game against Connecticut on Nov. 11.
FINNISH(ING) FROM THE BLUE LINE
Finnish-born defensemen Toni S?derholm and Samuli Jalkanen (Helsinki, Finland) have been netting some points from the blue line this season. S?derholm leads the team with nine assists, eight of them have come on the power play. S?derholm netted his first goal of the season last Friday against Niagara. He was, however, playing his first game at center, having moved up from his usual spot on the blue line. S?derholm has played three games as a forward this season. Jalkanen has three goals and six assists and is tied for fifth on the team in scoring. Two of his three goals have come on the power play. Including Nick Kuiper, who has one goal and six assists, three of the Minutemen's top seven scorers are defensemen.
TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE MAN-ADVANTAGE
Massachusetts has converted on 16 of its 84 (19.0%) power-play opportunities this season. The Minutemen scored a season-high three power-play goals in the 6-5 victory over Connecticut at the Springfield Civic Center on Nov. 11, and then matched the feat with three against Dartmouth in the 4-0 victory on Nov. 24. Last season, UMass scored on 19 of 149 (12.8%) power-play opportunities. Tim Turner leads the team with five power-play goals, followed by Greg Mauldin with three. Samuli Jalkanen, Craig MacDonald, and Thomas P?ck are next with two man-advantage goals each.
MacDONALD / MAULDIN / TURNER
The line of Craig MacDonald, Greg Mauldin and Tim Turner has been together for 12 games this season, including the last eight. Turner leads the Minutemen in goals (seven) and points (13), while MacDonald is tied for third in goals (four) and Mauldin is tied for second in points (12).
JUST A FEW EXTRA THOUGHTS
Monday's game against Boston College is just the sixth home game of the season for Massachusetts and first in a month... The Minutemen are 2-3-0 (.400) at the Mullins Center this season... The Minutemen are 1-10-0 (.091) against ranked opponents, with the lone win being a 4-3 victory at No. 14 Providence on Oct. 28... Tickets for all UMass hockey home games can be purchased at all Ticketmaster locations and the UMass Athletic Ticket Office which is now located in the Mullins Center Box Office or by calling 1-800-UMASS-TIX.
