University of Massachusets Athletics
Hockey Hosts Clarkson Saturday In Operstion 8K
October 08, 2004 | Hockey
Oct. 8, 2004
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WELCOME TO UMASS HOCKEY 2004-05
• Welcome to Operation 8K and the regular-season opener for the UMass hockey team as the Minutemen host Clarkson at the Mullins Center. The Minutemen come into the season riding the wave of success from last season's record-setting 19-12-6 mark which saw the Minutemen reach the Hockey East Finals before falling in an epic three-overtime game to NCAA finalist Maine.
• Tonight's game is the first of 18 home games at the Mullins Center. UMass heads to Alaska for the first time since 1994 as it takes part in the Nye Frontier Classic in Anchorage on Oct. 15-16. The Minutemen face Minnesota on Oct. 15 in the opening round and will take on either the host Seawolves or Canisius on Oct. 16.
• UMass returns home for a pair of games against Hockey East foe UMass Lowell on Oct 22 and Connecticut on Oct. 24.
UMASS TOPS ST. FRANCIS XAVIER IN PRESEASON
• Junior Stephen Werner (Chevy Chase, Md.) scored a short-handed goal with 1:51 left in overtime to give the UMass hockey team a 2-1 win over St. Francis Xavier in an exhibition game at the Mullins Center Practice Rink last Saturday. Werner also had an assist on the Minutemen's first goal of the game.
• UMass got on the board first on the power-play just 4:46 into the first period. Sophomore Kevin Jarman recorded the goal off assists from Werner and redshirt-sophomore Matt Anderson.
FACING CLARKSON FOR THE FIRST TIME
• Tonight's game will be the first between UMass and Clarkson, the winningest program in NCAA hockey history (.652). The Golden Knights have won a record nine ECAC league titles and despite a ninth-place finish last season, Clarkson reached the conference finals. The Golden Knights went 18-18-5 last season under first-year head coach George Roll. They opened the season at Providence last night in Rhode Island.
UMASS PICKED SIXTH IN PRESEASON POLL
• UMass has been picked to finish sixth in Hockey East according to the preseason poll released today at the annual Media Day at the FleetCenter. The Minutemen are coming off a 19-12-6 record and return 21 letterwinners along with seven newcomers on this year's roster.
• For the fifth time in the last seven seasons, the Boston College Eagles have been picked to finish first overall in Hockey East. A unanimous pick to finish first last season, the Eagles rolled through most of their schedule, clinching the regular season title a full two weeks before the playoffs.
• Maine, the defending Hockey East tournament champion and runner-up in the NCAA tournament, finished only two points behind the Eagles in the preseason poll and garnered three first-place votes.
TICKETS FOR NCAA HOCKEY REGIONALS ON SALE
Northeast regional tickets for the Mullins Center in Amherst, Massachusetts (hosted by UMass) are one sale now. Tickets can be purchased by calling 413-545-0810 or 413-545-0505, or by stopping by the Mullins Center box office. Start times for the first-round games March 26, are Noon and 3:30 p.m. Eastern time, while the regional final is March 27, Noon Eastern time. Tickets for the three-game package are $60. There is also a $3 shipping & handling charge.
LOSING A LOT...
• The Minutemen lost four of their top nine scorers from last year. The quartet (Thomas Pock, Nick Kuiper, Mike Warner, Greg Mauldin) accounted for 92 points (43 g, 49 a), or 36.9 percent of last year's scoring. Last year's leading scorer, the Hobey Baker finalist Pock, figured in 41 of the 93 goals (44.1 percent) scored by the Minutemen last season. The Minutemen return 50 of 93 goals (53.8 percent) and 107 of 156 assists (68.6 percent). Pock and Mauldin combined for 31 of the 93 goals scored by UMass.
ABOUT THE SCHEDULE...
• UMass has again loaded up its schedule in hopes of securing the school's first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Minutemen will battle perennial national powers and WCHA members Minnesota, Colorado College, Denver and possibly Alaska-Anchorage, as well as Niagara, all away from the Mullins Center. Minnesota and Denver have won the last three national championships. The Minutemen have never played either of the teams. Add to that, three games against Frozen Four participants Maine and Boston College and NCAA Tournament team New Hampshire, the Minutemen will play at least 13 games against NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago.
COUNTING UP THE MILES...
• The Minutemen may be able to go somewhere nice and sunny at the end of the season with their frequent-flyer miles. UMass will total 17,014 miles via bus and airplane round-trip over the course of the season. The trip to Anchorage, Alaska, for the Nye Fronteir Classic is 9,102 miles round-trip and the trip to Denver and Colorado College will total 3,966 miles round trip. Hockey East games account for 2,770 miles round trip. The final two destinations (Niagara and Vermont) are 800 and 376 miles, respectively.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES...
• Entering the 2003-04 season, the Minutemen were one of five teams nationally that returned four or more 30-point scorers. This year, however, the Minutemen return zero 30-point scorers, being one of five teams with a winning record last season (Quinnipiac, St. Cloud State, Wisconsin, Notre Dame and UMass) that doesn't return a 30-point scorer.
MONTHLY SUCCESS...
• Head Coach Don "Toot" Cahoon certainly finds some months to his liking. Cahoon's best months are November and March. Over the last two seasons in the two months, he is a combined 17-9-2 (.643 winning percentage; 11-5-2 in November and 6-4-0 in March). However, Cahoon has not found February to his liking. In February 2001 and 2002, he was 0-11-2.
IN THE POLLS...
• Prior to Don Cahoon's arrival in Amherst in 2000, the Minutemen had spent a grand total of zero weeks in any national poll. UMass has been ranked in the nation's top 15 each of the last two years, including a program-high No. 7 on Nov. 24, 2003. UMass finished the 2003-04 season ranked 12th in the polls.
TROUBLES OUT WEST...
• Don Cahoon has had much success against teams from the East over his career, but has found tough sledding against teams from out West. In Cahoon's four years at UMass, the Minutemen are a combined 0-11-2 against teams from the WCHA and CCHA conferences. All-time, the Minutemen are 5-20-2 against teams from the two conferences, while Cahoon is 10-12-2 (he is 7-0-0 against Notre Dame all-time).
PLAYING THE BEST...
• UMass has made a habit of playing the best teams in the country and this year is no different. The Minutemen will play the defending national champion for the fourth time, as UMass heads to Denver over Thanksgiving weekend. The Minutemen own a 0-9-0 mark all-time against the defending national champs (BC -- 2001 champs, 0-3-0 in 2002; Maine -- 1999 champs, 0-3-0 in 2000; BU -- 1995 champs, 0-3-0 in 1996). Conversely, the Minutemen are 1-7-3 against teams the year they won the national championship (BC -- 2001 champs, 0-1-2 in 2001; Maine -- 1999 champs, 1-3-1 in 1999; BU -- 1995 champs, 0-3-0 in 1995). UMass will also play the national runners-up for the third straight year, meaning UMass will have played one of the two finalists from the previous year in 11 of the 12 years since the program was resurrected in 1993.
