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University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
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Union
Trip To Union, Home Opener Vs. AIC Next Up For Hockey
October 12, 2017 | Hockey
The Minutemen will play at Union on Friday and host AIC in the Mullins Center on Saturday night.
| University of Massachusetts Hockey Game Notes | |
| Games 3-4 | Massachusetts (1-1-0, 0-0-0 HEA) at Union Dutchmen (0-3-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) | Massachusetts (1-1-0, 0-0-0 HEA) vs. American International (0-2-1, 0-2-1 AHA) |
| Dates | Times | Friday, October 13 - 7 p.m. / Saturday, October, 14 - 7 p.m. |
| Location | Friday: Schenectady, N.Y. - Achilles Center (2,504) | Saturday: Amherst, Mass. - Mullins Center (8,373) |
| Series History | UMass leads 6-3-1 | AIC leads 22-13-1 |
| Live Statistics | Friday: SideArm | Saturday: SideArm |
| Watch Live | Friday: UnionAthletics.tv | Saturday: UMass All-Access |
| Listen (Radio) | WHMP AM 1400/1240 FM 96.9/107.5 |
| Listen (Online) | WHMP Streaming Player | TuneIn App (mobile devices) |
| Game Notes | Massachusetts | Union | American International |
| Team Records | Massachusetts | Union | American International |
| @UMassHockey | @UMassAthletics | |
| UMass Hockey | UMass Athletics | |
| Tickets | Friday at Union | Saturday |
| Game Promotions | Saturday: Saturday Night Skates |
Quick Hits: UMass Splits In Trip To Arizona State
- University of Massachusetts hockey split its season-opening trip to Tempe, Arizona, to face Arizona State. The Minutemen dropped game one, 5-3, before rebounding for a 4-2 victory in game two.
- In game one, UMass trimmed a three-goal deficit to one late in the contest, but the third period comeback fell just short. A pair of second period goals for the Sun Devils helped lift ASU past UMass at Oceanside Ice Arena.
- Nine Minutemen combined for the squad's nine points—six were freshmen collecting their first collegiate points: Austin Albrecht, Marco Bozzo, Mitchell Chaffee, Mario Ferraro, John Leonard and Cale Makar. Redshirt sophomore Josh Couturier assisted on the squad's final tally for his first point in a UMass uniform.
- Arizona State out-shot the Minutemen, 30-21 in game one and went 1-for-6 on the power play, while UMass was 0-for-5.
- Sophomore Ryan Wischow made 25 saves for the Minutemen in the contest.
- Amherst native John Leonard's first collegiate goal broke a 2-2 deadlock midway through the third period to help carry UMas to its first win of the season in game two against the Sun Devils.
- UMass jumped on the board first at the 6:30 mark of the opening period. Freshman Jake Gaudet swatted home a rebound off a Jake Horton shot from the top of the crease to give the Minutemen a 1-0 lead. Freshman Oliver Chau earned his first collegiate point with the secondary assist. Arizona State answered, however, just 69 seconds later to knot things up at 1-1.
- The Minutemen went back on top by a goal 7:59 into the second period. Junior Brett Boeing fed the puck out of the corner to sophomore Griff Jeszka for a close-range one-timer, the first points of the year for both. At 12:06, though, the Sun Devils answered once more.
- UMass regained the lead 9:02 into the third period when Leonard collected a pass from redshirt senior Niko Rufo and sophomore Jake McLaughlin and slid the puck underneath netminder Joey Daccord.
- Rufo then sealed the victory with an empty net tally from freshman Mario Ferraro at the 19:11 mark to complete a two-point night.
- Freshman Matt Murray earned his first collegiate win in net, making 22 saves in the victory for the Minutemen.
- UMass out-shot the Sun Devils 32-24. Both teams were 0-for-4 on the power play for the night.
A Baker's Dozen
- With 13 freshmen on the roster, UMass has the largest freshman class in all of Division I hockey this season. Air Force and Alaska Anchorage follow, each with 12 freshmen.
- The class is comprised of eight forwards, three defensemen and two goaltenders. The group hails from three different countries with five from the United States, seven from Canada and one from Finland. Amherst native John Leonard is the closest to home, while Eetu Torpström, at 3,962 miles from Kuopio, Finland, is the furthest.
- In addition to having the most freshmen in college hockey this season, UMass also has the most freshmen and sophomores on its roster (21). AIC and Maine, two teams the Minutemen will face this year, are next on the list with 20.
League Imports
- Though new to the Minutemen, two additions to the UMass roster for 2017-18 are not only veterans of college hockey, but of Hockey East.
- Redshirt sophomore Josh Couturier, who sat out last season per NCAA transfer rules, suits up for the Maroon and White for the first time this fall. As a freshman at Boston College in 2015-16, Couturier saw action in 33 games and contributed six points for the Eagles on two goals and four assists.
- In the offseason, UMass also added graduate transfer Niko Rufo to its 2017-18 roster, eligible to play immediately. Rufo, a forward from Stoneham, joined the Minutemen from Providence College and has one year of collegiate eligibility remaining.
- At Providence, Rufo tallied 10 points on four goals and six assists in 56 games over four seasons, with a career-high 18 games played in both 2015-16 and 2016-17. He appeared in 11 games during the Friars' national championship season in 2014-15.
Firsts On Firsts On Firsts
- In UMass' season opening weekend at Arizona State all 13 freshmen dressed for at least one of the two contests with 12 seeing their first collegiate action.
- Six freshmen collected their first collegiate points in the season opener at Arizona State: Austin Albrecht (assist), Marco Bozzo (goal), Mitchell Chaffee (goal), Mario Ferraro (assist), John Leonard (assist) and Cale Makar (assist).
- Redshirt sophomore Josh Couturier assisted on the squad's final tally in game one for his first point in a UMass uniform.
- On night two at Arizona State, freshmen provided two of the four goals for the Minutemen, with Jake Gaudet opening the scoring with his first of his career and John Leonard collecting the game-winner for his first career tally.
- Freshman Oliver Chau notched an assist in game two for his first career point and redshirt senior Niko Rufo logged a goal and an assist at Arizona State on Oct. 7 for his first career multi-point game.
- Freshman Matt Murray made his collegiate debut in net at Arizona State on Oct. 7 and earned his first career win.
Sophomore Support
- Sophomore forward Griff Jeskza comes into the 2017-18 as UMass' top returning goal scorer from a season ago. As a rookie in 2016-17, Jeszka found the back of the net seven times and added five assists for 12 points.
- Jeszka not only led the 2016-17 freshman class in scoring, but was second overall on the squad in goals and fifth in points.
- Three more sophomores contributed nine points apiece last season—Jonny Lazarus (5g, 4a), Niko Hildenbrand (4g, 5a) and Shane Bear (3g, 6a).
History Made At The 2017 NHL Draft
- It was a historic weekend for UMass at the 2017 NHL Draft as the Minutemen saw incoming freshmen Cale Makar and Mario Ferraro become the two highest draft picks in program history. Makar was selected No. 4 overall by the Colorado Avalanche and Ferraro was taken 49th overall by the San Jose Sharks.
- Makar became the first Minuteman to be selected in the first round. His No. 4 selection tied for fourth all-time in Hockey East history, as well. Prior to the 2017 NHL Draft, current Anaheim Ducks defenseman Brandon Montour had been UMass' highest draft pick going in the second round, 55th overall, to the Ducks in 2014.
- Makar amassed 135 career points on 35 goals and 100 assists over 111 regular season contests with the Brooks Bandits over the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) and added 37 points (9g, 28a) in 46 career postseason games with AJHL titles with Brooks in 2016 and 2017. His laundry list of honors includes: 2016-17 AJHL Top Defenceman, 2016-17 AJHL Most Valuable Player, 2016-17 AJHL Playoff MVP, 2016-17 AJHL All-League Team, 2016-17 Western Canada Cup Top Defenceman and All-Tournament Team, 2016-17 RBC Cup Top Defenceman and Most Valuable Player (the first player to ever be named RBC Cup MVP in back-to-back seasons), 2016-17 CJHL Most Valuable Player and 2016-17 RBC National Junior A Player of the Year.
- Ferraro played his final season of junior hockey in the United States Hockey League (USHL) with the Des Moines Buccaneers and totaled 41 points on eight goals and 33 assists over 60 regular season contests. He garnered USHL First All-Star Team and USHL All-Rookie Team accolades after tying for first among USHL defensemen in goals and ranking second in points and assists.
Minding The Net
- Ryan Wischow is the lone returning goaltender for the Minutemen, but brings a wealth of experience into his sophomore season after seeing nearly 70% of the time in net for UMass in 2016-17.
- As a freshman, Wischow played in 27 games, starting 26 of those, for a total of 1461 minutes and logged 700 saves.
- The Green Bay, Wisconsin, native recorded a 31-save shutout in his collegiate debut against Colorado College on Oct. 7, 2016 to become the first goaltender in UMass' Division I history to post a shutout in his career debut.
- On December 13, 2016, Wischow made a career high 52 saves at Princeton, the most saves for a UMass goaltender in a regulation game since 2001.
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