Hockey Begins Second Half At Yale, UMass Lowell

University of Massachusetts Hockey Game Notes
Games 17-18	Massachusetts Minutemen (9-7-0, 3-4-0 HEA) at Yale Bulldogs (6-8-0, 4-6-0 ECAC) \| at UMass Lowell River Hawks (10-9-0, 6-6-0 HEA)
Dates \| Times	Friday, January 5, 2018 - 7 p.m. / Saturday, January 6, 2018 - 7 p.m.
Locations	Friday: New Haven, Conn. - Ingalls Rink (3,500) \| Saturday: Lowell, Mass. - Tsongas Center (6,496)
Series History	Yale leads: 15-7-0 \| UMass Lowell leads: 45-27-7
Live Statistics	Friday: Presto Sports \| Saturday: SideArm
Watch Live	Friday: Eleven Sports ((DirecTV: 623 (HD), Verizon FiOS: 597 (HD), AT&T U-verse: 1665), Ivy League Digital Network) \| Saturday: GoRiverHawks.tv
Listen (Radio)	WHMP AM 1400/1240 FM 96.9/107.5
Listen (Online)	WHMP Streaming Player \| TuneIn App (mobile devices)
Game Notes	Massachusetts \| Yale \| UMass Lowell
Team Records	Massachusetts \| Yale \| UMass Lowell
Twitter	@UMassHockey \| @UMassAthletics \| @Yale_Hockey \| @RiverHawkHockey
Instagram	UMass Hockey \| UMass Athletics
Tickets	Friday \| Saturday
Game Promotions	None

Quick Hits: UMass Ends First Half With 2-1 Win At Union
- UMass scored power-play goals in the first and second periods to pick up a 2-1 win over No. 19 Union on the road at Frank L. Messa Rink on Dec 10.
- The victory was UMass head coach Greg Carvel's 100th of his career and gave the Minutemen the program's highest first half wins total (9) since the 2009-10 season.
- After Union scored on the power play midway through the first period, UMass came up with the equalizer 9:58 into the frame, tying the score at 1-1 with a power-play goal of its own. Freshman Oliver Chau cleaned up a rebound from a Mario Ferraro shot for his team-leading seventh goal of the season. Freshman Mitchell Chaffee earned an assist on the play, as well, extending his point scoring streak to seven straight games.
- UMass then took the lead with another power-play tally, the only goal of the second period. Freshman Jake Gaudet knocked in his second of the season at the top of the crease from Chaffee and Ferraro at the 12:27 mark.
- The teams played a scoreless third as sophomore Ryan Wischow stopped all 12 shots he saw in the frame, contributing to his total of 31 for the contest. He improved to 6-2-0 on the year with the victory.
- UMass was 2-for-4 on the power play and held the Dutchmen to a 1-for-5 clip with the man advantage.
- Chaffee and Ferraro both had multi-point nights with a pair of assists apiece, their fourth and second multi-point games of the season, respectively. Gaudet's game winner marked the first of his career.

Dude, Where's Makar?
- Freshman defenseman Cale Makar is currently not with the Minutemen as he became the first UMass player to wear the Team Canada jersey at the IIHF World Junior Championship and is off representing his country at the 2018 WJC in Buffalo, New York.
- Heading into Thursday night's semifinal matchup against the Czech Republic, Makar is currently riding a three-game goal scoring streak and has six points in five games on three goals and three assists, including two power-play tallies.
- Should Team Canada take home a medal at the tournament, Makar would become the first Minuteman to do so since Stephen Werner won Gold with Team USA in 2004.

Going Streaking
- After picking up a pair of assists on the power play at #19 Union in UMass' last game before the break, freshman Mitchell Chaffee extended his current point streak to seven straight games, the longest streak for a member of the Minutemen since the 2014-15 season.
- During the seven-game stretch, Chaffee has posted nine (4g, 3a) of his 13 points on the season and a +8 rating. It also included a three-game goal scoring streak (Nov. 24 to Dec. 1).
- Chaffee is currently second on the team in scoring with 13 points through 16 games on six goals and seven assists. He ranks eighth in Hockey East in freshman scoring (0.81 points per-game). He is 10^th national in goals among freshmen and ninth in goals per-game (0.38).

Top Of The Class
- As a team, UMass leads the nation in freshmen scoring in goals (29), assists (48), points (71), game winning goals (5), goals per-game (1.81), assists per-game (3.00) and points per-game (4.81).
- The Minutemen are 13 points ahead of Minnesota State (64) and seven goals ahead of Clarkson (22) for the national lead in those categories with four fewer games played on the year.

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 27 after leading UMass to a weekend sweep of Quinnipiac. It marked Wischow's first weekly honor of his career.
- Wischow, who was 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.
- 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.

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 Oct. 16.
- Leonard helped UMass to a 2-0-0 weekend 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 15 points on the season on seven 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.
- He currently ranks fourth in the nation among freshmen in points per-game (0.94), tied for fifth in goals (7), tied for 10th in points (15), fourth in goals per-game (0.44) and tied for eighth in power-play points (7).
- In Hockey East, Chau is the league leader in freshmen scoring at 0.94 points per-game.

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.

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, suited up for the Maroon and White for the first time this past 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. He passed his freshman year total of six points 14 games into the season and currently has two goals and five assists on the year through 16 games.
- 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 is in his final year of collegiate eligibility.
- 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 third 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, 29 of 46 UMass goals on the season have been scored by freshmen, including 21 of the last 29 goals.
- Freshman Philip Lagunov's assist on Niko Rufo's goal at Union on Oct. 13 marked his first collegiate point. All 11 freshman skaters have at least one point through UMass' first 16 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).
- Junior Brett Boeing scored his first in a UMass uniform on Dec. 5 at UConn.

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.

Scoreboard

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Austin Albrecht

Brett Boeing

Marco Bozzo

Mitchell Chaffee

Oliver Chau

Josh Couturier

Mario Ferraro

Jake Gaudet

Philip Lagunov

John Leonard

Cale Makar

George Mika

Matt Murray

Niko Rufo

Ryan Wischow

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics