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University of Massachusets Athletics
Hockey Kicks Off 2015-16 With Exhibition Vs. Dalhousie
October 01, 2015 | Hockey
AMHERST, Mass. - This Saturday, Oct. 3, marks the start of the University of Massachusetts hockey season as the Minutemen will play host to Dalhousie in a 7 p.m. exhibition matchup at the Mullins Center, a game that will be broadcast on WHMP 1400/1240/FM 96.9. UMass' 26-man roster, which features 16 returnees and 10 newcomers, will be tuning up for the 2015-16 season opener on Oct. 9 at Colorado College.
Forwards (1 Sr./2 Jr./8 So./4 Fr.)
Returning/Lost: 10/5
The Minutemen return four of their top-five scorers from 2014-15, including sophomore Dennis Kravchenko who finished fifth in the nation in freshman scoring last season with 33 points on 10 goals and a team-best 23 assists over 36 games. The Laguna Niguel, Calif., native was the first freshman to lead UMass in scoring since 2007-08 and just the third in the program's Hockey East era. In Hockey East play, Kravchenko had a team-high 21 points (8g, 13a) in 22 league contests to rank 10th in the league and second among freshmen in 2014-15.
Junior Steven Iacobellis, who was named the team's captain back in April, has played in 68 of a possible 70 games thus far through two seasons in a Minutemen uniform, totaling 45 career points on 19 goals and 26 assists. As a sophomore in 2014-15, Iacobellis bested his freshman year total with 24 points to rank third on the team, while finishing fourth on the squad in goals (8) and third in assists (16), He has finished in the top-three in scoring for the team in each of his first two UMass campaigns.
Senior Shane Walsh had a breakout year in 2014-15, more than tripling his career total in goals scored from his two previous seasons, finishing second on the team with 14 goals. The West Roxbury, Mass., native had career high 22 points (14g, 8a) in 36 games and led the Minutemen with three game-winners. Remarkably, 12 of Walsh's 14 tallies came in the second half of the season over a span of 18 games and he ranked in the top 25 nationally in goals scored after Jan. 1.
Sophomore Patrick Lee was one of three UMass freshmen to reach the 20-point plateau in 2014-15 as he finished the year with five goals and 15 assists, good for fifth on the squad.
The Minutemen welcome four freshmen forwards to the fold in 2015-16, including Austin Plevy and Kurt Keats who totaled a combined 297 points in their junior careers. Plevy won the Alberta Junior Hockey League scoring title last season and Keats finished 2014-15 ranked 11th in the British Columbia Junior Hockey League.
Defensemen (1 Sr./2 Jr./1 So./4 Fr.)
Returning/Lost: 4/3
UMass' roster features a young D-corps for 2015-16 with Ben Gallacher as the lone senior in the group. Gallacher, who has played in 90 career games between Ohio State and UMass, has put up double-digit point totals in each of his first three seasons of college hockey, including 10 points (2g, 8a) last year. Sophomore Jake Horton is the only returning defenseman who appeared in all 36 games last season. As a rookie, the Plymouth, Minn., native registered eight points (4g, 4a) and was -1.
The Minutemen have brought in four freshmen defenseman, including NHL draft picks Ivan Chukarov and William Lagesson. Chukarov was taken in the seventh round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft by the Buffalo Sabres, while Lagesson was a 2014 fourth round selection for the Edmonton Oilers. In addition, Callum Fryer attended prospect camp with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2015 as an undrafted invitee and freshman Carmine Buono was recently named to NHL CSS Preliminary September 2015 Players To Watch List for the 2016 NHL Draft.
Goaltenders (1 Jr./1 So./1 Fr.)
Returning/Lost: 2/1
In net, UMass returns junior Alex Wakaluk and sophomore Henry Dill. Dill appeared in 25 games last season with 19 starts to lead all Minutemen netminders, playing a total of 1221:16 and posting a record of 7-10-1. Freshman goaltender Nic Renyard comes to UMass after a highly successful final campaign of junior hockey that earned him 2015 RBC CJHL national Junior A hockey Player of the Year honors and the 2015 CJHL Top Goaltender Award.
