University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
UConn
Hockey Heads To Hartford For Tuesday Matchup With UConn
December 04, 2017 | Hockey
The Minutemen carry a three-game winning streak into the XL Center Tuesday.
| University of Massachusetts Hockey Game Notes | |
| Game 14 | Massachusetts Minutemen (8-6-0, 3-3-0 HEA) at UConn Huskies (6-11-2, 4-7-1) |
| Date | Time | Tuesday, December 5, 2017 - 7:p5 p.m. |
| Location | Hartford, Conn. - XL Center (9,000) |
| Series History | UMass leads 35-12-3 |
| Live Statistics | GameTracker |
| Watch Live | HuskyVision |
| Listen (Radio) | WHMP AM 1400/1240 FM 96.9/107.5 |
| Listen (Online) | WHMP Streaming Player | TuneIn App (mobile devices) |
| Game Notes | Massachusetts | UConn |
| Team Records | Massachusetts | UConn |
| @UMassHockey | @UMassAthletics | @UConnMHOC | |
| UMass Hockey | UMass Athletics | |
| Tickets | Tuesday |
| Game Promotions | None |
Quick Hits: UMass Sweeps Home-And-Home With Quinnipiac
- University of Massachusetts hockey scored three goals in a program-record one-minute, 18-second span to rally past UConn for a 4-2 win on Friday night at the Mullins Center. The victory was the third straight for the Minutemen and fourth in the past five games.
- UConn opened the scoring just 66 seconds into the contest, capitalizing on an early power play opportunity.
- The Minutemen answered quickly, knotting the score at 1-1 at the 2:40 mark. Junior Austin Plevy and freshman George Mika fed redshirt sophomore Josh Couturier on the rush as he netted his second of the season from the top of the left faceoff circle.
- The Huskies added another with the man advantage before the end of the period, though that put UConn back in front, 2-1.
- The score held at 2-1 until the closing 1:57 of the second period when UMass rattled off three goals to tie and take the lead.
- Mika began the charge, rifling a shot past Adam Huska from just inside the UConn blueline off a nifty drop pass from freshman Cale Makar at the 18:03 mark. Sophomore Niko Hildenbrand earned an assist on the play, as well.
- Sophomore Jack Suter followed with his first of the season just 29 seconds later, knocking home a feed from juniors Brett Boeing and Kurt Keats.
- Freshman Mitchell Chaffee followed with the Minutemen's fourth tally at the 19:21 mark to push the advantage to 4-2, cleaning up a rebound in the slot from junior Ivan Chukarov and freshman Oliver Chau.
- Chaffee's goal extending his point streak to five straight games and his goal scoring streak to three games.
- UMass finished with a 31-27 shot advantage and went 0-for-6 on the power play, while the Huskies were 2-for-4. Sophomore Ryan Wischow made 25 saves to pick up his fifth win of the season (5-1-0).
Wischow Earns Player Of The Week Honor From Hockey East
- Sophomore goaltender Ryan Wischow was named the Hockey East Player of the Week on November after leading UMass to a weekend sweep of Quinnipiac. It marked Wischow's first weekly honor of his career.
- Wischow, who is the first UMass neminder to garner Player of the Week recognition since Jonathan Quick did so in 2007, posted a pair of wins as the Minutemen swept a weekend series against the Bobcats. He logged a 2.00 goals-against average and a .952 save percentage over the two contests, making a total of 79 saves.
- Wischow stopped 47 shots in UMass' 6-3 win over the Bobcats in the Saturday contest after opening the weekend with 32 saves in a 2-1 win on the road at Quinnipiac.
- After winning his fourth straight start vs. UConn last Friday, Wischow is now 5-1-0 on the year with a 2.57 GAA and a .921 save percentage over seven games and 397 minutes of action. He currently ranks first in Hockey East in winning percentage (.833), is fourth in save percentage and sixth in goals against average.
- Wischow's performance against Quinnipiac capped a stellar month of November for the netminder, which saw him go 3-0-0 over four games with a 1.93 goals-against average and a .947 save percentage, making 126 saves.
- Currently in league play, Wischow is second with a .935 save percentage and third with a 1.90 goals-against average over 157 minutes of action.
Top Of The Class
- As a team, UMass leads the nation in freshmen scoring in goals (27), assists (42), points (69), game winning goals (4), goals per-game (1.93), assists per-game (3.00) and points per-game (4.93).
- The Minutemen are 16 points and nine goals ahead of Wisconsin (53 and 18) for the national lead with five fewer games played on the year.
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 against Union and AIC 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 a four-game point streak for Leonard.
Chau Chipping In
- Aided by 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 14 points on the season on six goals and eight 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 logged his first career multi-goal game with a pair of tallies in UMass' 6-3 win over Quinnipiac on Nov. 25 and extended his point streak to three straight with an assist in last Friday's 4-2 victory over UConn.
- Chau currently ranks tied for second in the nation among freshmen in points per-game (1.00), tied for sixth in goals (6), tied for sixth in points (14), tied for fifth in goals per-game (0.43) and tied for sixth in power-play points (6).
- In Hockey East, Chau is tied for sixth overall in points, tied for ninth in goals and is first in freshman scoring.
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. He is second on the team in scoring currently with 11 points on six goals and five assists, having surpassed his career points (10) and goals totals (4) from Providence in just 13 games.
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, 27 of 42 UMass goals on the season have been scored by freshmen, including 19 of the last 25 goals.
- 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 14 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.
- The latest member of the freshman class to collect his first career goal was Albrecht who scored the game winner against #8/7 Providence for the Minutemen on Nov. 9.
- Gaudet picked up his first three assists of his career in back-to-back nights of UMass' sweep of Quinnipiac (11/24-25).
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.
