University of Massachusets Athletics
The Mass Attack Is Back: Thursday Night Vs. RPI
October 06, 2009 | Hockey
Oct. 6, 2009
The Mass Attack Is Back: Season-Opener Vs. Rensselaer
• The 2009-10 UMass hockey season kicks off on Thursday (Oct. 8) night as the Mass Attack hosts Rensselaer at the Mullins Center. The puck is schedule to drop at 7 PM. The Minutemen will open the campaign with three straight home games and seven of the first nine at the Mullins Center placing great value on an early start to the season. Fans can following the action with GameTracker Live Stats, streaming video, a live game blog, and on the radio (100.9 FM WRNX) and streaming audio at UMassAthletics.com.
First Game Of The Season
• The UMass/RPI game will be one of the two opening college hockey games of the season. Quinnipiac heads to Ohio State as well on Thursday making these two games the first of the season in the NCAA. The season fully gets underway on Friday night.
The Series With RPI
• The Minutemen squared off with Rensselaer last October in Troy, N.Y., with UMass blanking the Engineers 6-0. Dan Meyers earned the first shutout of his career, making 25 saves in goal, while 12 different Minutemen tallied points. Chris Davis netted two goals for the victors with Doug Kublin, Casey Wellman and Danny Hobbs each scoring their first collegiate goals in the win as well. UMass was 1-for-4 on the power play and dominated in faceoffs, winning 31-of-50 draws.
• Massachusetts leads the all-time series with Rensselaer with a 7-4-1 record. Thursday will be the first time since the 2002-03 season that the Engineers have visited Amherst for a game with the Minutemen; Rensselaer dropped that contest to UMass, 4-3, on October 20, 2002. The series first began in 1911, when the Minutemen skated to a 4-0 victory. The Engineers haven't defeated Massachusetts since December 29, 2001, when RPI beat UMass in overtime, 3-2, at the RPI Holiday Tournament.
Cahoon vs. RPI
• This will be Coach Don Cahoon's 25th career tilt against Rensselaer. The Engineers narrowly hold the edge against Cahoon all-time, sporting an 11-10-4 record against the Massachusetts coach. During his nine year tenure at Princeton University, Cahoon and the Tigers faced ECAC opponent RPI several times throughout the season.
Skate With The Minutemen This Sunday
• This Sunday (Oct. 11) fans of all ages are invited to Skate With The Minutemen at the Mullins Center Practice Rink. The event is free and there will be an autograph session following the hour of skating. The fun begins at 3 PM.
Minutemen Looking Forward To 2009-10 Campaign With Veteran Line-Up
• With 21 letterwinners returning and six of its top 10 scorers coming back, the 2009-10 edition of the UMass hockey team looks poised to make this season one to remember. Included in the returning offensive leaders are All-American James Marcou and Casey Wellman, a pair of the top blue-liners in Hockey East in Justin Braun and Martin Nolet, and two seasonsed goalies in Paul Dainton and Dan Meyers.
• Marcou finished the 2008-09 league regular-season tied with Boston University's Colin Wilson as the Hockey East scoring leader. Wellman led the league in Rookie Scoring. It was the first time in UMass history that the Minutemen had the league scoring leader and the rookie scoring leader.
• With seven of the first nine games at the Mullins Center, a strong beginning to the season could set the tone early for the season. Five of those seven games are against Hockey East rivals including defending national champion Boston University and a pair of home games against New Hampshire.
• This will be head coach Don "Toot" Cahoon's 10th season at UMass. He has guided the Minutemen to three Hockey East Semifinal appearances, a Hockey East Championship appearance and UMass' first-ever NCAA Tournament berth and win. He is the all-time winningest coach in UMass program history with 129 career wins.
UMass Featured Nine Times On TV
• Nine regular-season games this season will be televised live including three on ESPNU and three on NESN. Over the summer, ESPNU and COMCAST Cable reached an agreement to add the channel to the regular cable line-up which means the Minutemen will be seen in over 55 million households.
• The Jan. 2 Boston University game, the Jan. 10 game at Northeastern and the Jan. 24 meeting against Vermont in the Mullins Center will all be televised on ESPNU.
• The Nov. 28 game at Quinnipiac will be shown on NESN, while the Feb. 5 Boston College game and the Feb. 20 Merrimack game, both in the Mullins Center, will be featured as part of NESN's Friday Night Ice game package.
• Both road games at Providence (10/30, 1/30) will be aired on COX Television which is available throughout Rhode Island, while the March 6 contest at Maine will be aired locally on WABI-TV which also streams live on the internet.
UMass Story Lines
• Despite having several talented scorers, UMass will have to put together a consistent overall scoring effort in 2009-10 to find success. Last season, the Minutemen finished seventh in scoring offense averaging 2.87 goals per game and were 6-9 in one goal games.
• Defensively, UMass finished sixth in the league in 2008-09 allowing 2.64 goals per game. The Minutemen allowed one or fewer goals on 11 occassions last season going 9-0-2 in those games.
• The UMass special teams finished the 2008-09 season ranked fifth on the power play and sixth on the penalty kill. UMass was 31-for-184 (.168) on the power play, while the penalty kill unit was 156-of-186 (.839).
• UMass returns 66.2 percent of its point production from last season with James Marcou (47pts) and Casey Wellman (33pts) returning as the top scorers. Alex Berry and Cory Quirk each tallied 30 points as seniors last season.
• Defensively, a pair of NHL draftees will anchor the blueline in Martin Nolet and Justin Braun. Braun was the team's fifth leading scorer with 23 points and was named to the Hockey East All-Conference Second Team. Nolet is primarily a stay-at-home defenseman who was named to the Hockey East Academic All-Star Team last year having the highest GPA among league defensemen.
• Brett Watson will once again serve as a team captain. Justin Braun will also wear the `C' on his sweater after being named an assistant captain midway through last season. James Marcou and Martin Nolet will both serve as assistant captains this year.
• Nine returning players dressed in 30-or-more games last season. Seven returners have played in over 60 games for their career led by Justin Braun's 114. Brett Watson and Martin Nolet have each played in over 100 games as well.
CAHOON BECOMES ALL-TIME WINNINGEST COACH IN UMASS HISTORY
• Head coach Don "Toot" Cahoon became the all-time winning head coach in UMass history on Dec. 12, 2008 with a 4-0 win over American International. The win over AIC gave Cahoon 121 career wins which surpassed UMass Hall of Famer Jack Canniff who had 120 wins in his career from 1967-79. He earned his 300th overall win as a head coach on Dec. 5, 2008 in a 5-1 win over Connecticut.
• Under Cahoon's tenure, UMass made its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance (2007) and played for the Hockey East Championship title in 2003-04.
• Cahoon now has a 129-166-31 record at UMass through nine seasons. Overall, in 22 years as a head coach, Cahoon is 309-339-67.
Marcou An All-American
• James Marcou enters the season with 79 career points in 75 career games. His 32 assists last season was a single-season UMass record, while his 47 points was tied for the fourth-best single-season effort. His 56 career assists is tied for 12th overall at UMass.
• He became just the sixth All-American at UMass including the third in the modern era joining Thomas Pock (2004) and Jon Quick (2007).
A PAIR OF DRAFT PICKS ANCHOR BLUE LINE
• Martin Nolet and Justin Braun started each game last season as UMass' top defensive pair - their first season as line mates. Nolet was a 5th-round draft pick by Los Angeles in the 2006 draft (144th overall), while Braun was a 7th-round draft pick by San Jose in the 2007 draft (201st overall).
• Both players have been key on special teams as they are both on the top power play and penalty kill units.
• For the two seasons prior to 2008-09, Nolet started every game paired with captain Mike Kostka, while Braun was paired with David Leaderer.
BRAUN ONE OF HEA'S TOP D-MEN
• Senior defenseman Justin Braun is not only one of the best defensemen for the Minutemen, but he is one of the best in the entire league. Braun plays on the top power play and penalty kill lines and is one of the team leaders in minutes played. He averages over 30 minutes of ice time per game.
• The 2009 member of the Hockey East All-Conference Second Team was the 201st pick overall last season in the NHL Draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins who traded his rights to the San Jose Sharks.
Geographic Diversity
• The 2009-10 UMass roster features players from 13 different states and Canadian provinces. From Massachusetts to California and Florida, UMass has a diverse group of players from across North America.
• Six Minutemen hail from Massachusetts while four represent New York and Quebec.
• Matt Irwin, Paul Dainton and Darren Rowe have the longest journey to get to UMass. Irwin and Dainton hail from British Columbia - a drive which would take over two days. Rowe's drive from Simi Valley, near Los Angeles, would also take roughly two days to complete.
Minutemen Earn Academic Honors
• 12 players earned Hockey East All-Academic honors in 2008-09 - The Minutemen had the third most honorees in the league. This was the fourth consecutive season the UMass had 10-or-more student-athletes honored on the team.
• Martin Nolet was also named to the Hockey East Academic All-Star Team for having the highest grade point average among all league defensemen.
• Nolet and Brett Watson were named to the Academic All-Conference Team for the third consecutive season.
Prospective Minutemen
• Several Minutemen spent part of their summers working out at NHL Prospect Camps. Martin Nolet (Los Angeles), Justin Braun (San Jose), Casey Wellman (Nashville), Matt Irwin (San Jose), and Rocco Carzo (Philadephia) spent time in the camps as part of their offseason training.
VS. RANKED TEAMS
• In 2008-09, UMass was 6-12-3 against ranked teams. Of those, UMass faced six teams ranked in the nation's top-5 posting a 6-6-1 record.
• In 2007-08, UMass was 7-10-1 against ranked opponents including a 5-0-1 stretch against ranked teams through the holiday break. It was UMass best record ever against ranked teams.
• All-time, UMass is 46-177-20 against ranked opponents including a 4-7-2 record at neutral sites and a 5-20-4 record against non-conference teams.
• UMass posted its second ever win over a No. 1-ranked team on Friday, Nov. 14 in the 5-1 win over Boston University. The first came in 1994-95 with a 4-2 win over No. 1 Maine on Jan. 28. In the modern era, UMass is 2-12-1 against team's ranked No. 1.
In The National Polls
• UMass was listed as the sixth team in the Receiving Votes category of the first USCHO.com Top-20 poll of the season. UMass garnered 17 total votes.
• 10 teams listed on the poll are featured on UMass' schedule this year highlighted by defending National Champion and No. 2 ranked Boston University.
• Eight of the 10 teams in Hockey East are represented in the poll.
FANS SET NEW ATTENDANCE RECORD
• With an average of 4,934 fans per home game, UMass ranked 13th nationally in attendance last season.
• UMass averaged a program-best 5,017 fans at home games in 2007-08 which was an all-time best for the program. Against UMass Lowell (10/19/07), UMass set a new record for opening game attendance as 5,862 fans came through the turnstiles. Attendance has increased in each of the last four seasons.
• A Mullins Center record 8,389 fans turned out to see UMass defeat Boston College on Nov. 22 - a mark that also ranks as the ninth-best UMass hockey attendance for all venues. UMass had 7,212 and 8,291 fans pack the Mullins Center for the Boston University games (11/14; 2/27).
Offensive Overview
• Offensively, UMass was led by the top scoring line of Alex Berry-Cory Quirk-James Marcou which has attributed almost 35 percent of UMass point total. Marcou returns as one of the nation's top playmakers and finished the 2008-09 Hockey East regular season tied with Boston University sophomore Colin Wilson for the league lead in points. Quirk finished his career as just the seventh player to eclipse the 100-point barrier at UMass.
• Sophomore Casey Wellman anchored the "speed" line with wingers T.J. Syner and Shawn Saunders/Will Ortiz. Wellman led the league in Rookie Scoring and ranked in the top-5 nationally. Syner returns for his sophomore season as a versatile player who also sees time on the PK units.
• Junior Michael Lecomte anchored Chase Langeraap and Danny Hobbs/Chris Davis, while Brett Watson centered Briane Keane/Marc Conncannon and the graduated Chris Davis/Scott Crowder. These were two of the more physical lines last year, but the Minutemen will have to find players to step up to replace the phsyical play of Davis and Crowder and the size and scoring touch of Berry.
Defensive Overview
• Defensively, UMass is anchored by two NHL draft picks in Justin Braun and Martin Nolet. Braun and Nolet paired together for most of last season. Sophomore Matt Irwin has been a tremendous addition to the blueliners adding size, power, and the ability to join the offensive rush. Doug Kublin and Michael Marcou are two of the more true defensive players, while Kevin Kessler rounds out the group.
• As a group, the D-men average just over 6-foot-1, 200 pounds.
• In goal, UMass has the luxury of two very capable goalies in Paul Dainton and Dan Meyers. Both have fairly similar numbers and have been producing their best career seasons to date. Dainton has played the bulk of the minutes, but Meyers has proven capable of winning big games. Backing them up is the tandom of Kevin Moore who joined the team mid-way through last season and freshman Randy Wolcott who hails from Holyoke, Mass.
MULLINS MAGIC
• UMass was 9-8-1 last season at home in front of the Mullins Center crowd.
• The Minutemen lost just three games at home during the 2007-08 season going 8-3-4 (.667). The loss to New Hampshire on Jan. 11 broke a 13-game home unbeaten streak which dated back to the 2006-07 season.
• Over the last 60 games at the Mullins Center, UMass is 35-18-8 (.590) including a 14-3-4 mark in 2006-07.
• All-time, UMass is 122-115-27 in the Mullins Center including a 72-99-21 record among Hockey East foes. Under Don Cahoon, UMass sports a 78-61-15 record at home.
HARD TO BEAT WHEN SCORING 3'S
• UMass was 15-4-0 last season when lighting the lamp three times or more in a game and 0-16-3 when they scored fewer than three goals.
• UMass scored six goals-or-more on four occasions - at RPI (10/21, 6-0), vs. Providence (10/31 - 9-4), vs. No. 3 Northeastern (1/30 - 6-4) and vs. Merrimack (3/7 - 6-1).
FOUR-OR-MORE IS BEST
• Over the last 62 games where UMass scores four-or-more goals, the Minutemen are an amazing 58-3-1. Before the home loss against Vermont (1/25/08), the Mass Attack had not lost a game when scoring four-or-more goals since March 14, 2003 against New Hampshire in the Hockey East Semifinals (5-4).
BIG BROTHERS MAKING A DIFFERENCE OFF ICE
• Often times, student-athletes gain the bulk of their notoriety through their accomplishments in sport. Five Minutemen, however, are trying to make a difference in young peoples lives off the ice as well. Paul Dainton, Brian Keane, Chase Langeraap, James Marcou and Brett Watson each volunteer with the Amherst Big Brothers/Big Sisters Program. Each Big Brother has a `Little' who they spend time with each week.
• Each player had to go through an extensive background check that included visits to their dorm rooms and an interview process that took several months. They spend 3-4 hours per week with their Little Brother whose age ranges from 6 to 13 years.
• Renee Moss is the Director of the program and says she is thrilled to have the guys involved with the project that really came to life two years ago under Mike Kostka through an independent study project. Kostka put together a successful Big Brother/Big Sister Bowl-A-Thon to raise money from the group last spring.
• Brett Watson is also conducting a systematic evaluation of the local program, which will culminate in a list of recommendations about how to improve the program, and how to recruit more volunteers for his Commonwealth College Capstone Project.
HOCKEY'S A FAMILY LEGACY
• For four Minutemen, hockey is truly a family tradition. Djan Lefebvre, Eddie Olczyk, Shawn Saunders and Brett Watson all grew up around NHL rinks as their fathers played professionally. Lefebvre's father, Sylvain, played 14 seasons with the Montreal Canadiens, the Toronto Mapel Leafs, the Quebec Nordiques, the Colorado Avalanche and the New York Rangers. Olczyk's father, Ed, played 16 season's in the NHL, was head coach of the Pittsburgh Penquins, and currently serves as an announcer for NBC and NHL on Versus. Saunder's father, Bernie, played for the Quebec Nordiques, while Watson's father Jim and his uncle Joe both played 10 years for the Philadelphia Flyers as part of the franchise's only two Stanley Cup Championship teams.
Quick-ly Moving Up In The NHL Ranks
• Former UMass All-American Jon Quick enters the 2009-10 NHL season as the top-ranked goalie in the L.A. Kings program. This past summer he was invited to the U.S. Olympic Training Camp as one of three prospective goalies for Team USA. Last season, his first full NHL season, Quick posted a 21-18-2 record, 2.48 goals-against average and .914 save percentage in 44 games
LOOK FOR DAN MEYERS' MOVIE PICKS ON UMASSATHLETICS.COM
• Known to the team as a movie fanatic, Dan Meyers has agreed to share his thoughts and movie critiques with fans with a blog on UMassAthletics.com. Meyers will pick out different movies and share his thoughts on them throughout the season.
• Meyers' movie collection is a big bonus for the team when travelling on long bus trips.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
• UMass Hockey will be broadcast live on 100.9 FM WRNX with John Hennessy calling the play-by-play and Brock Hines calling the color commentary. The pregame show will begin 30 minutes prior to the opening face-off.
• All UMass home hockey games will feature live video streaming and audio through the UMassAthletics.com All-Access Package. Road games featuring streaming video will be listed throughout the season.
• Nine games will be televised this year as well. Three games will be shown on ESPNU, three on NESN, two on COX Television in Rhode Island and once on WABI-TV in Maine.
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• If you want to get the latest UMass hockey news straight to your e-mail account, then sign up for our online e-mail list. You will receive previews, game notes, boxscores, recaps and feature stories delivered right to you. To sign up, e-mail John Sinnett (jsinnett@admin.umass.edu) with the subject line "Sign Up For Hockey Newsletter".
