University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
#8/7 Providence
Hockey Set For Pair With No. 8/7 Providence This Week
November 07, 2017 | Hockey
The Minutemen will host the Friars on Thursday and play at Providence Saturday.
| University of Massachusetts Hockey Game Notes | |
| Games 10-11 | Massachusetts Minutemen (4-5-0, 1-2-0 HEA) vs. #8/7 Providence Friars (5-3-0, 2-2-0 HEA) |
| Dates | Times | Thursday, November 9, 2017 - 7 p.m. / Saturday, November 11, 2017 - 7 p.m. |
| Locations | Thursday: Amherst, Mass. - Mullins Center (8,373) | Saturday: Providence, R.I. - Schneider Arena (3,030) |
| Series History | Providence leads 45-23-1 |
| Live Statistics | Thursday: SideArm | Saturday: GameTracker |
| Watch Live | Thursday: UMass All-Access | Saturday: Friars 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 | Providence |
| Team Records | Massachusetts | Providence |
| @UMassHockey | @UMassAthletics | @FriarsHockey | |
| UMass Hockey | UMass Athletics | |
| Tickets | Thursday | Saturday |
| Game Promotions | Thursday: Veteran's Day Ticket Promo |
Quick Hits: UMass Falls To No. 13 New Hampshire At Home, 3-0
- An early goal and two more on the power play carried No. 13 New Hampshire past UMass, 3-0 last Saturday night at the Mullins Center.
- UNH opened the scoring just 1:40 into the contest. The Wildcats then pushed the margin to 2-0 with a rebound goal on the power play.
- New Hampshire added its third and final tally on a 5-on-3 opportunity 6:53 into the second period.
- UMass out-shot the Wildcats, 27-26 in the contest and went 0-for-7 on the power play, while UNH was 2-for-8. Danny Tirone finished with 27 saves in net for New Hampshire while freshman Matt Murray and sophomore Ryan Wischow totaled nine and 14 stops, respectively, for the Minutemen.
Killing Time
- UMass has killed off 23 of the last 26 penalties against the squad over a five-game span, a 88.5% PK percentage. The Minutemen's penalty kill is among the best in Hockey East and in the nation, 16th in the country at 85.7% and fourth in Hockey East.
- The Minutemen have gone 42 for 49 on the penalty kill through nine games. UMass also ranks 15 in the country for combined special teams at 55.1%.
Stellar Homecoming For Leonard
- After stealing the headlines following a three-point effort in his first game at the Mullins Center, Amherst native John Leonard was named the Hockey East Rookie of the Week and the UMass Student-Athlete of the Week on October 16.
- Leonard helped UMass to a 2-0-0 weekend last week with the first two multi-point games of his career.
- He registered two goals and three assists over the two contests for a five-point week, starting the weekend with a pair of helpers in a 5-4 win at Union. He followed up with a three-point night against AIC, factoring in all three of the Minutemen's goals with two goals and an assist, including his second game winner of the season.
- The performances also capped off Leonard's four-game point streak.
Chau Chipping In
- After a four-point weekend against Merrimack that earned him Hockey East Rookie of the Week recognition, freshman Oliver Chau currently leads UMass in scoring with nine points on the season on three goals and six assists.
- On Oct. 28 on the road at Merrimack, Chau posted a three-point effort with a goal and two assists for a new season high and third multi-point game of the season.
- He currently ranks tied for ninth in the nation among freshmen in points per-game (1.00) and is tied for second in Hockey East in freshman scoring with nine points.
- Chau is tied for seventh overall in Hockey East in points, tied for 11th in assists (6) and tied for seventh in power-play points (5).
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 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.
- Rufo equaled his season career high in a Friars' uniform (2g, 2a in 19 games in 2016-17) in just the third game of the season for the Minutemen.
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. He collected his first collegiate shutout on Oct. 27 vs. Merrimack.
- Chau picked up his first collegiate goal early in the second period at Union on Oct. 13 and George Mika netted his on the power play midway through the third. To date, 15 of 23 UMass goals on the season have been scored by freshmen, including all three in the 3-1 win over AIC on Oct. 14 and five of seven in the Minutemen's weekend series against Merimack.
- Freshman Philip Lagunov's assist on Niko Rufo's goal at Union marked his first collegiate point. All 11 freshman skaters have at least one point through UMass' first nine games.
- In UMass' weekend series against Merrimack on Oct. 27-28, three rookie defensemen, Makar, Eetu Torpström and Ferraro registered their first collegiate goals, while Couturier picked up his first as a member of the Minutemen.
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.
