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University of Massachusets Athletics
UMass Hockey Set To Open 2014-15 Campaign
October 02, 2014 | Hockey
Forwards (4 Sr./1 Jr./4 So./6 Fr.)
Returning/Lost: 9/7
Despite graduating their top-three scorers from 2013-14, including a pair of career 100-point scorers in Michael Pereira (53g, 54a) and Conor Sheary (38g, 66a), the Minutemen do return three more that combined for 56 points last season-- sophomores Steven Iacobellis and Ray Pigozzi and redshirt senior Troy Power.
Iacobellis was honored as the team's 2013-14 Rookie of the Year after he tied for third on the team in scoring with 21 points on 11 goals and 10 assists. He saw significant time on both the power play and penalty kill units, tallying six power-play goals, one short-handed goal and had two game-winners, as well. Iacobellis ranked fourth among Division I freshmen with 383 faceoff wins and was eighth in faceoff winning percentage (.563, 383-for-680), while finishing the year tied for 16th among the nation's freshmen in goals scored and third in power-play goals.
Pigozzi also made an immediate impact as a freshman last season, registering five goals and 13 assists for 18 points over 33 games. Power, entering his fifth season with UMass as a result of receiving a medical redshirt for 2011-12, is coming off a breakout 2013-14 campaign that saw him log career highs in points (17) and goals (10) and tie a career best in assists (7).
Redshirt sophomore Frank Vatrano, who made his debut with the Minutemen in the Hockey East tournament, is expected to bolster UMass' offensive production in 2014-15. The Western, Mass., native came to Amherst after a highly successful U.S. National Development Team career that saw him win a gold medal with the squad at the 2011 IIHF World U-18 Championship and capture silver at the U-17 championships in 2010. In 2011-12, he registered 35 points in 60 games with Team USA.
In addition, UMass will look for contributions from its six freshman forwards, including Dennis Kravchenko who totaled 129 career points on 43 goals and 86 assists over 135 career games in the USHL. Last season with the Sioux Falls Stampede, Kravchenko pocketed 62 points (22g, 40a) in 56 contests.
Another member of the Minutemen's freshmen forward corps, Patrick Lee, also eclipsed the 100-point mark in three seasons of junior hockey with the Brooks Bandits and was a part of the Bandits' team that won the Royal Bank Cup in 2012-13, Canada's National Junior A Championship.
Prep school product Anthony Petrella comes to UMass with a national title under his belt, as well. He amassed 130 points (66g, 64a) over two seasons with Shattuck-St. Mary's and helped the Sabres capture a USA Hockey National Championship in 2014 after leading the squad in goals (34) and finishing second in points (66).
Riley McDougall, one of five Calgarians on the UMass roster, led the Calgary Mustangs of the Alberta Junior Hockey League in scoring last season with 30 goals and 61 points in 58 games. Classmate Dominic Trento won the scoring title in the USPHL Premier League in 2013-14, as he registered 69 points (25g, 44a) in 48 games for the New Jersey Hitmen. The sixth and final freshman forward, Keith Burchett, of Oak Brook, Ill., led the Sioux Falls Stampede with a .214 scoring percentage that ranked sixth in the USHL last season.
Defensemen (2 Sr., 1 Jr., 2 So., 2 Fr.)
Returning/Lost: 5/3
Senior Oleg Yevenko, on the verge of playing his 100th career game, leads UMass' defensive unit of five returnees and two newcomers. Yevenko is coming off an eventful summer that saw him face top international competition at the 2014 IIHF World Championship in his hometown of Minsk, Belarus, as well as take part in Bruins' Development Camp, his third NHL rookie camp invitation of his career.
After putting up 11 points (1g, 10a) in his first season with the Minutemen last year, junior Ben Gallacher will provide UMass with offense from the blue line again this year.
Freshmen Jake Horton and Maddison Smiley, a pair of offensive-minded defensemen, join the Minutemen following successful junior careers in the NAHL and the AJHL, respectively. Horton led all NAHL defensemen in goal scored in 2013-14 with 21 to help earn him All-NAHL First Team and All-NAHL Central First team honors. Smiley won two AJHL league titles as well as the 2013 RBC Cup National Championship in his time with the Brooks Bandits and was named the 2012-13 AJHL Playoff MVP after recording 14 points (6g, 8a) over 17 playoff contests.
Goaltenders (1 Sr., 1 So., 1 Fr.)
Returning/Lost: 2/1
Senior Steve Mastalerz enters the year as the incumbent starter between the pipes for the Minutemen. Last season, Mastalerz posted up a .907 save percentage over 30 starts and 31 games played in net. The North Andover, Mass., native recorded two shutouts in 2014-15, and currently ranks second in career shutouts for the Maroon and White, one shy of matching the program record.
Sophomore Alex Wakaluk and freshman Henry Dill will battle Mastalerz for time in net. As a rookie, Wakaluk totaled 40 saves over three games and earned the team's Most Improved Player Award at the conclusion of the season. Dill, a freshman out of Columbus, Ohio, comes to UMass from the Aberdeen Wings of the North American Hockey League (NAHL) where he registered a .926 save percentage and finished with a 20-7-1 record.