University of Massachusets Athletics
Previewing The 2006-07 Hockey Season
September 29, 2006 | Hockey
Sept. 29, 2006
AMHERST, Mass. -
The Captains
Returning for his second-consecutive season as captain, third in a leadership role, is redshirt-senior Matt Anderson. A person that seems to define both the successes and trials of the UMass hockey program in the last five years, Anderson has been atop the Minutemen scoring charts as well as sidelined by season-ending injuries that have plagued his collegiate career. Anderson and the staff expect nothing but a triumphant close to his hockey days at UMass.
Anderson is surrounded by equally well-respected assistant captains in juniors P.J. Fenton, Mike Kostka and senior Mark Matheson. Add the leadership of a strong group of upperclassmen, and you have a team as defined by their veteran status as they are by their youth.
Goaltending
Any hockey coach will tell you that when he starts to talk about his team, he has to start in goal. The Minutemen return two netminders from last season, including Jon Quick, who split time with then-senior Gabe Winer. In his rookie season, Quick registered a respectable 2.98 goals-against average as well as a .920 save percentage. He earned wins against nationally ranked Boston University, Vermont and Boston College, as well as his fist collegiate start against Clarkson
Jamie Gilbert also returns for the Minutemen. Gilbert saw action in four games in 2004-05 -- vs. Merrimack, then-No. 1 Boston College and then-No. 8 New Hampshire (twice) -- making 10 saves.
Joining the goalies is rookie Dan Meyers from the Green Mountain Glades of the EJHL.
"The position obviously takes on a different look." Said Head Coach Don Cahoon. "Gabe (Winer) was the `go-to' guy, the experienced guy for the past four years. We feel real fortunate that Jon Quick is, number one, the terrific athlete that he is. Two, he was able to work with Gabe and shared the duties with him last year to grow in the position and get time to understand college hockey and the impact of that position in its play on the rest of the team."
"The support that Jon will get will come from Jaime Gilbert, who has experienced the environment of college hockey for the last couple of years and has benefited from being a part of it although he hasn't played a lot of games. Dan Meyers comes to us with good credentials, good athleticism and a big body. Hopefully he will develop into a fine player as well."
"We think we are solid in the position and obviously are waiting for one of these guys to step up with Jon in the forefront really emerging as a top player."
Defensemen
The blueline takes on a decidedly different look with the absence of Marvin Degon, UMass' leading defenseman for the past two seasons. Anchoring the group of blueliners is Mark Matheson, who had arguably his finest season as a Minuteman, Mike Kostka, UMass' Most Improved Player last season, and David Leaderer, a junior that has skated in every game in his two seasons. They are joined by redshirt-junior Patrick Dineen and sophomores Topher Bevis, and John Wessbecker.
"The first question is: `Where does Mark Matheson play?' Mark is very central to this team's success in many ways. He is one of the better players on this team skill-wise with the advantage of three years of experience. He is also a leader within the program. So where do we play Mark Matheson? Going into the season, we don't have that answer. We will again ask him to be flexible and allow us to find a position where he will have a terrific impact on the team."
"There are a pile of people coming back that are pure defensemen, people that will only play that position. Mike Kostka, David Leaderer and Patrick Dineen, the juniors. Then we have Topher Bevis and John Wessbecker as the sophomores. We also have three freshmen in Martin Nolet, Kevin Kessler and Justin Braun."
"We've got depth in this position, we have size in this position, we have skill in this position so we are happy with the way we have been able to develop the defensive corps over the last couple of years. Now we expect these players to continue to grow, to embrace our system, continue to improve and then maybe a couple of these guys can become real dominant forces within the league and within college hockey. We think this will be one of the real strengths of our team."
Forwards
It is at forward where the Minutemen will have to step up and provide the offensive spark the team is dependant upon. Losing its top two points producers from a year ago, the team looks to the likes of Matt Anderson, who ended the 2005-06 season third on the scoring chart, and Chris Capraro, who played his best hockey in the second half of the season.
Junior P.J. Fenton and sophomores Chris Davis and Cory Quirk had much success in their rookie campaigns, but need to prove themselves yet again in the offensive categories. They are joined by senior Kevin Jarman, juniors Matt Burto and Zech Klann, as well as sophomores Scott Crowder and Jordan Virtue. Two rookies, Will Ortiz and Brett Watson, also look to contribute immediately.
"I think the element of size and skill has been a tack in our recruiting. We have pretty good size and pretty good skill so we are not giving up a lot in either area. But we will need a couple of these guys to emerge as point producers, which has been our short coming for the last two years."
"Who's going to produce the points? Who's going to be one of our top scorers? Who's going to put up multiple numbers on a consistent basis?. We have Matt Anderson and Chris Capraro with high-end skills and with a lot of experience. There's P.J. Fenton, who is a proven performer that is capable of being a point producer. Then we have a host of prospects that are both returning players and newly recruited players who need to step up and contribute on the point.
"We are looking for production from the Matt Burto's and the Alex Berry's, we need continued development from Chris Davis and Cory Quirk. And obviously there are several other guys, both newly recruited and returning players, that we hope will grow and become skilled players."
"Improving the center position is something else we've looked at. We've got forwards that really enable us to strengthen our play in the middle of the rink and we think we've done this with Brett Watson being a pure center iceman and Danny Gordon returning from his year off. That gives us--with Mark Matheson's ability to play there, Matt Anderson's ability to play there and Cory Quirk's ability to play there--strength in the middle of the rink. Last year we were really concerned about that being a shortcoming, so we have taken that on."
Schedule
UMass will compete against teams from all six of the Division I conferences, five teams that made the NCAA tournament in 2006 and two Frozen Four teams.
"The schedule takes on a different look this year, as we've changed our exhibition opponent and are hosting 18 games. In addition to the tough conference slate, we play in one of the most respected holiday tournaments in the country at Minnesota, with the shot to play a team that could be as high as No. 1 in the preseason polls. Our team will have a mix of youth and experience, we will be bigger and stronger than in the recent past, and we believe that this unique blend will lend itself to great runs in the next few years."
UMass' 34 games will be split into 18 at the Mullins Center and 16 on the road. The Minutemen officially open the regular season with a pair at home versus Sacred Heart and Clarkson.
Massachusetts opens Hockey East play the following weekend with a Thursday trip to New Hampshire (Oct. 26) prior to a Saturday game at Maine (Oct. 28).
The Minutemen will host five league teams twice in 06-07: Providence on Nov. 3 and Feb. 10, Northeastern on Nov. 10 and Feb. 23, sister school UMass Lowell on Jan. 12 and Feb. 3, Boston University on Jan. 27 and Feb. 9, and Maine on March 2 and 3 to close out the regular season.
Highlighting the nonconference portion of the schedule is the Mariucci Classic on Dec. 29 and 30. In addition to the host Golden Gophers, Alabama-Huntsville and Ferris State will compete alongside UMass. Massachusetts will face Ferris State in the opening round.
The Minutemen will host Connecticut (Nov. 18 at 4 p.m.), play at Union (Nov. 25) and host Niagara (Dec. 1) to round out the nonconference slate.
