University of Massachusets Athletics
Minutemen Tangle With Merrimack Tuesday At The Mullins Center
December 05, 2005 | Hockey
Dec. 5, 2005
AMHERST, Mass. -
UMass-Merrimack Game Notes | Gameday Central
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The University of Massachusetts returns to the ice after a 10-day break, playing host to league foe Merrimack on Tuesday night before a home-and-home duel with Boston College this weekend. The Eagles and Minutemen drop the puck in Chestnut Hill on Friday before returning to Amherst on Saturday.
Saturday is also MULLET NIGHT at the Mullins Center, and the first 1,000 fans will receive a free mullet wig. The UMass Student Athletic Advisory Committee will be collecting new, unwrapped toys to benefit the Shriners Children's Hospital in Springfield. The first 100 fans to donate a new toy will receive a voucher for a free popcorn from UMass concessions.
UMass closed out the month of November with a 3-1-0 run, with the three wins coming against ranked teams. The week of Nov. 21 saw the Minutemen defeat then-No. 5 Vermont byt the score of 2-1 before turning around and defeating No. 3 Colorado College 4-3. Massachusetts fell the following night to two-time defending National Champion Denver 4-0. The Tuesday game marks the first time former UMass Assistant Coach and current Merrimack Head Coach Mark Dennehy will face off against his former team.
QUICKLY ADDING UP
The honors for freshman goaltender Jon Quick are starting to roll in. He was recently named the Hockey East Superskills Rookie of the Month for November, recording a .937 save percentage to lead all league netminders, as well as a 2.40 goals-against average. Quick backstopped UMass to its 2-1 win over No. 5 Vermont, stopping 29 of 30 Catamount shots, considerable due to the 30-11 home advantage in shots. After backstopping UMass to its first league win over No. 14 BU, he was named the Hockey East Pure Hockey Defensive Player of the Week as well as the UMass/Dinn Bros. Athlete of the Week for the week of Nov. 14. Quick was also named the Hockey East Superskills Co-Rookie of the Week on Nov. 7 for his 49-save performance against Providence on 11/4. His .933 season save percentage is good enough for seventh in the nation, second among all DI rookie netminders. That mark is tops among all league goalies.
FOR STARTERS
Massachusetts and Merrimack is dead-even in the all-time series, which stands at 25-25-5, dating back to Feb. 7, 1970, a 4-3 win for UMass at home. In the Modern Era (1993-present) the Minutemen hold a 18-15-2 edge in the series. That includes a 9-5-1 mark under current UMass head coach Don Cahoon. The Boston College Eagles hold an impressive 29-5-1 record against the Minutemen. The last UMass win was on Jan. 3, 2003, a 3-2 victory on the road.
UMASS ON THE ALL-TIME CHARTS
Senior captain Stephen Werner currently sits in the No. 8 spot on UMass' top-20 all-time scorers list with 101 career points. Both co-captain Marvin Degon and Werner, as well as classmate Jamie Solon have played in over 100 career games: 121 for Degon, 118 for Werner, 113 for Solon. Goalie Gabe Winer is closing on the century mark for career games. He currently has played in 99.
CLOSING DECEMBER: THE TOYOTA UCONN HOCKEY CLASSIC
This week's games will be the last before college exams and the holiday break for the Minutemen. The schedule resumes on Dec. 29 and 30 when Massachusetts participates in the Toyota UConn Holiday Classic. Aside from the host Huskies, Bowling Green and Army are set to participate as well. Army is 4-9-2 heading into this weekend, while the BGSU Falcons are 4-10-1 and the Huskies are 4-7-1.
