University of Massachusets Athletics
UMass Hockey Hosts New Brunswick This Saturday In Exhibition Action
September 30, 2008 | Hockey
Sept. 30, 2008
AMHERST, Mass. - The UMass men's hockey team will open the 2008-09 season this Saturday at 6 p.m. in an exhibition game against New Brunswick at the Mullins Center Practice Rink. This will be an early chance for fans to see the team before the Minutemen start the regular-season next Friday and Saturday at the Ice Breaker Tournament in Boston. Admission to the exhibition game is free on Saturday, but fans are encouraged to show up early as seating is limited in the practice rink.
Below is a preview of the 2008-09 UMass men's ice hockey team:
After an outstanding start to the 2007-2008 season that culminated in the capturing the Lightning College Hockey Classic and a No. 5 ranking nationally, the Minutemen faced a tough stretch during conference play throughout the second half of the season in the ever competitive Hockey East Association. As a result, UMass hockey fans look to the 2008-09 season with an unmatched anticipation of the team's return as one of the top teams in the country. Although the Mass Attack has lost several key components from last season, the Minutemen return a wealth of talent on both ends of the ice and look to blend a crop of highly touted newcomers with those veterans.
UMass has steadily climbed the ranks of collegiate hockey's elite programs in recent years and looks to solidify its place among the nation's and Hockey East's traditional powers. A strong non-conference schedule followed by the conference slate will be a true test of the Minutemen preparing them come tournament play.
The Minutemen return seven of their top 10 scorers from last season, six blueliners and all three goalies. Joining the team will be four new forwards and two defensemen. The season opens with one of the most highly anticipated tournaments in the country as UMass heads to the Ice Breaker Tournament hosted by Boston University. Match-ups against 2007 National Champion Michigan State and last year's National Finalist North Dakotka (NCAA champs in 2000) highlight the opening non-conference portion of the schedule.
The home schedule will once again be key for UMass which saw its highest average attendance last year in the history of the Mullins Center. UMass will have 18 home dates this year including non-conference tilts with St. Lawrence and Cornell. The Minutemen are 5-0-1 in the last six non-conference home games and 14-3-1 over the last four years.
Captains UMass will be led this year by senior Cory Quirk (Brockton, Mass.) and junior Brett Watson (Media, Pa.), both of whom will wear the "C." Both Quirk and Watson have exhibited leadership both on and off the ice throughout their careers at UMass. Quirk was second on the team in scoring last season with 11 goals and 18 assists, and will see time on both the power play and penalty kill during the 2008-09 season. Watson tallied one goal and three assists for four points and has been an integral part of the penalty kill since his freshman year with the Minutemen.
Forwards The Minutemen will have seven out of their top ten scorers from 2007-08 returning to this year's squad, led by sophomore James Marcou (Kings Park, N.Y.). Marcou tallied 8 goals and 24 assists for 32 points in his freshman campaign, ranking fifth in rookie scoring in Hockey East. He earned Hockey East All-Rookie honors and was a semifinalist for the Walter Brown Award.
Marcou will be joined by senior captain Cory Quirk, who collected 11 goals and 18 assists for 29 points last season along with a 60.4% faceoff percentage. For his career, Quirk ranks 22nd all-time in UMass scoring with 32 goals and 41 assists for 73 points.
Along with Marcou and Quirk, the Mass Attack will need Chris Davis (Simsbury, Conn.), Will Ortiz (Framingham, Mass.) and Alex Berry (Danvers, Mass.) to continue their scoring ways this season. Davis ended last season with 23 points on 6 goals and 17 assists, his strongest scoring season in his three years with the Minutemen.
Ortiz concluded the campaign with 7 goals and 8 assists, including a team best 2 game-winning goals. After getting off to a slow start in 2007 Berry finished last season on a tear, scoring seven of his 10 total goals in his last nine games, including three goals in his last three regular season games to propel Massachusetts into the Hockey East playoffs.
With the departures of P.J. Fenton and Mike Kostka, UMass will need several players to increase their offensive output this season. Among others, the coaching staff will be looking for Chase Langeraap (Cayuga, Ontario) to play well this year, especially after Langeraap was sidelined with an injury towards the end of the season.
As a team the Mass Attack received at least one point from each skater last season, while 23 out of 27 skaters had multi-point seasons. This year's incoming forwards, David Boehm, Danny Hobbs, T.J. Syner, Casey Wellman and Dan Rossman will be looked to help contribute to the team's scoring in 2008-09.
Defensemen The Minuteman defense returns a strong core of talent from last year's team, including junior Justin Braun (Vadnais Heights, Minn.). Braun finished last season totaling four goals and 16 assists for 20 points, which ranked second among defenseman in team scoring and eighth in Hockey East. Braun will be joined by Martin Nolet (Quebec City, Quebec) and Topher Bevis (Harvard, Mass.) as the leaders of the defensive squad. Braun and Nolet will likely see time on the power play again this season, while Bevis will man the point during penalty killing situations. Braun and Nolet combined for three goals and five assists while on the power play last year.
UMass will also be looking to Doug Kublin (Manlius, N.Y.) and John Wessbecker (Victoria, Minn.) to continue aiding the defensive squad. Kublin appeared in 20 games last season, registering one assist. After not receiving much time in the beginning of the season, Kublin stepped up after injuries plagued the blueliners during much of 2008. Wessbecker dressed for 15 games last season before suffering an injury that cost him the entire 2008 stretch of the season.
With the departures of Mike Kostka and David Leaderer from last year's team, the coaching staff has added Matt Irwin (Brentwood Bay, British Columbia) and Michael Marcou (Kings Park, N.Y.) to help fill the voids left by last season's captains. During last year's campaign, Kostka led defenseman in scoring with nine goals and 12 assists, with seven of those goals coming on the power play. Kostka also led the team with a +11 rating. Leaderer registered three goals and five assists last season.
Irwin played last season with the Nanaimo Clippers (BCHL), tallying 22 goals and 42 assists for 64 points. Marcou, the younger brother of current Minuteman James Marcou, played last season for the Waterloo Blackhawks of the USHL.
Goaltending Massachusetts returns a strong duo of goaltenders this season in sophomore Paul Dainton (Genelle, British Columbia) and junior Dan Meyers (Voorhees, N.J.). Dainton saw the majority of time in goal last season, appearing in 33 games and boasting a 2.56 goals against average with a .911 save percentage. His goals against average and save percentage rank fourth and eighth in UMass season history, respectively. Dainton also made 848 saves during last year's campaign, the third highest season total in UMass history. Dainton was named to the Hockey East All-Rookie Team last season along with teammate James Marcou.
Meyers appeared in five games last season, registering a 2.57 goals against average and a .915 save percentage with 107 total saves. Meyers played a huge role in UMass' comeback at Maine on February 24. After entering the game in relief after the second intermission Meyers proceeded to make 12 saves, including several game changing stops, helping the Minutemen score three unanswered goals to send the game into overtime.
UMass' third goalie is Matt Gedman (Framingham, Mass.) who did not see game action last season as a freshman. Gedman is also a two sport athlete as he plays on the baseball team as well.
Special Teams With the depth of last year's team, the Minutemen used a wealth of players while on special teams last season, ranking fourth in power play scoring in Hockey East with a 16.9% conversion rating. The coaching staff will be looking to do the same this season, especially after the losses of P.J. Fenton and Mike Kostka to last year's primary power play unit.
The Mass Attack does return Cory Quirk, James Marcou and Justin Braun to the unit, however. Braun was used both as a defenseman and as a forward while on the power play last season. UMass will also try to incorporate Alex Berry into the man advantage this season; Berry was used as a defenseman on the power play last year, as his teammates would set Berry up for one-timers at the point.
The Minutemen also return a strong penalty killing core from last year's squad. Braun, Martin Nolet, and Topher Bevis all saw time on the penalty kill last season, and will likely do the same this year. Brett Watson will be accompanied by Quirk as the team's strongest penalty killers.
Schedule The Minutemen will once again compete against five of the six NCAA Division I conferences, including four teams that made the NCAA tournament in 2007 and two Frozen Four teams. UMass will face the 2008 NCAA Champion Boston College three times in conference play, beginning November 21 at Boston College.
UMass features a 36 game schedule with 18 games being played at the William D. Mullins Center and 18 games on the road. Massachusetts will officially open the season by playing in the Ice Breaker Tournament on October 10 and 11 at Agganis Arena on the campus of Boston University. UMass will face-off against Michigan State on October 10 before taking on North Dakota the following afternoon.
After traveling to Troy, N.Y. to take on Rensselaer on October 21, the Minutemen will begin conference play by taking on New Hampshire on October 24 at the Whittemore Center in Durham, N.H. UMass will play its first home game on October 31 when they will face-off against Providence. UMass will enjoy five straight games at home starting on November 22 when it will face Boston College; the homestand will take the Minutemen all the way up to the midseason break.
After capturing the Lightning College Hockey Classic title last season, the Mass Attack will look to do the same when they will compete in the Dartmouth Ledyard National Bank Classic on December 28 and 29 on the campus of Dartmouth College. The Minutemen will square off against Bemidji State in the semifinals of the tournament beginning at 4 PM. UMass will then play either Army or Dartmouth the following day.
The Minutemen will host four league teams twice this season: Providence College on Oct. 31 and Jan. 16; Boston University on Nov. 14 and Feb. 27; sister school UMass-Lowell on Nov. 15 and Feb. 7; and rival Maine on Feb. 20 and 21.
UMass will play against St. Lawrence, Connecticut, American International and Cornell to round out the nonconference slate this season.
