Hockey East Play Opens For #16 Minutemen With Home-And-Home Vs. Merrimack

University of Massachusetts Hockey Game Notes
Games 5-6	#16 Massachusetts Minutemen (3-1-0, 0-0-0 HEA) vs. Merrimack Warriors (2-3-0, 1-0-0 HEA)
Dates \| Times	Friday, October 26 - 7 p.m. \| Saturday, October 27 - 7 p.m.
Locations	Friday: Amherst, Mass. (Mullins Center - 8,373) \| Saturday: J. Thom Lawler Rink (2,549)
Series History	Merrimack leads 42-41-7; Last meeting: Feb. 6, 2018 in Amherst (W, 5-2)
Live Statistics	Friday: SideArm (UMass) \| Sidearm (Merrimack)
Watch Live	Friday: UMass Sports Network (Blacked out in NESN coverage area) / TV: NESNPlus & joined in progress on NESN Saturday: Merrimack Sports Network
Listen (Radio)	WHMP AM 1400/1240 FM 101.5/107.5
Listen (Online)	WHMP Streaming Player \| TuneIn App (mobile devices)
Game Notes	Massachusetts \| Merrimack \| Hockey East
Team Records	Massachusetts \| Merrimack
Twitter	@UMassHockey \| @UMassAthletics
Instagram	UMass Hockey \| UMass Athletics
Tickets	Friday \| Saturday
Game Promotions	Friday: Scare N' Skate - wear costume for discounted admission (no masks), postgame skate, concourse Trick or Treat

Quick Hits
- The Minutemen made a trip to Columbus last weekend to face then-No. 1 ranked Ohio State and split the weekend series with the Buckeyes, taking game one, 6-3. Ohio State scored two late goals in game two including an empty netter to take that contest, 3-1 last Saturday.
- UMass opened up Friday's matchup with a 3-0 lead. The Buckeyes managed to close the gap to one on two occasions, before freshman Bobby Trivigno's second of the night and an empty net goal from sophomore Cale Makar sealed the win with less than five minutes to play in the contest.
- Four Minutemen had multi-point nights in the victory over the Buckeyes, led by Makar's second multi-point (1g, 2a) game of the season. Trivigno's two goals were the first two tallies of his career and marked his second straight multi-point game.
- Senior Brett Boeing (1g, 1a) and junior captain Niko Hildenbrand (2a) also had multiple points in Friday's win. Hildenbrand's was his second of his career and Boeing's was his third in a UMass uniform. Dating back to the end of the 2017-18 season, Boeing has seven points (3g, 4a) in his last eight games, nearly half of his UMass career total (15 points in 53 games).
- Sophomores John Leonard and Philip Lagunov both scored in the win, each notching their first goals of the season.
- The following night, UMass' streak of not trailing its opponents to start the 2018-19 campaign came to an end at 238 minutes and 38 seconds as No. 1 Ohio State broke a 1-1 tie with 1:22 remaining in the third period and added an empty net goal to take the second game of the weekend series, 3-1 on Saturday evening at Value City Arena.
- Sophomore Mitchell Chaffee scored the lone goal of the contest for the Minutemen, his team-leading fourth of the season. Makar and Trivigno earned the assists.
- Trivigno's helper in Saturday's contest capped a three-point weekend for the freshman who now has at least one point in every game of his collegiate career thus far.
- For a second straight weekend, sophomore Matt Murray (Friday, ) and freshman Filip Lindberg (Saturday, 36 saves) split the netminding duties.

It's Been A While…
- UMass is back in the national rankings this week, coming in at No. 16 in the USCHO poll. The last time the Minutemen were ranked was in the USCHO poll released on Feb. 15, 2010.
- UMass' six goals in the 2018-19 opener vs. Rensselaer were the most for the Minutemen in a season opener since 2015-16 and the most in a home opener since 2008-09 (a 9-4 win over Providence).
- Also in the season opener vs. RPI, the Minutemen finished the night with four power-play goals, going 4-for-7 with the man advantage. The last time UMass accomplished such a feat was against Michigan State at the Mullins Center on Oct. 20, 2013.

Down Goes No. 1
- UMass' 6-3 win last Friday night on the road against then-No. 1 Ohio State marked the Minutemen's fifth-ever win in program history over a No. 1-ranked team and second-ever on the road. The last time in both instances came at No. 1Boston University on Feb. 10, 2012.
- The Minutemen's other three wins against No. 1 teams were: 11/5/11 vs. Boston College (5-1), 11/14/08 vs. Boston University (5-1) and 1/28/95 vs. Maine (4-2).

Picking Up Where He Left Off
- Sophomore Mitchell Chaffee opened up the 2018-19 season with three goals in the two-game series vs. Rensselaer (Oct. 12-13), which included the game winner in the second contest vs. the Engineers, helping him earn co-UMass Student-Athlete of the Week (10/15) honors.
- The two tallies on Oct. 13 at Rensselaer marked his seventh multi-point game of his career and second career multi-goal effort.
- Chaffee currently leads the Minutemen with four goals in four games after tying for the team lead in goals last season with 13 in 39 contests. He enters the weekend tied for the Hockey East lead in goals and goals per-game (4, 1.00), tied for fourth nationally.

Makar Making Presence Known
- Sophomore Cale Makar wasted little time making his presence known to UMass' opponents to start the season as he had a single game career-high with four points on two goals and two assists in the season opener vs. Rensselaer on Oct. 12.
- That performance marked the first time a UMass skater had a four-point game since Oct. 16, 2015 and first time UMass defenseman had four points in a game since Nov. 18, 2006, when Mike Kostka contributed four assists in an 8-1 win over UConn at the Mullins Center.
- Makar earned Hockey East Player of the Week honors on Oct. 15 for the first time in his career after his four-point game against the Engineers and repeated as the league's Player of the Week after four-point weekend at then-No. 1 Ohio State, which included three points (1g, 2a) in the Minutemen's 6-3 victory over the top-ranked Buckeyes.
- Entering the weekend, Makar is currently tied for third in the NCAA in points per-game (2.00) and tied for 11^th in assists per-game (1.25). He leads Hockey East in points (8), is tied for third in goals (3) and tied for first in assists (5).

Notable Firsts
- All seven UMass freshmen skaters made their collegiate debuts against Rensselaer on Oct. 12, while goaltender Filip Lindberg made his debut on Saturday, Oct. 13, at RPI and had 20 saves en route to his first career win.
- In addition, graduate transfer Jacob Pritchard made his UMass debut in the Friday night contest against RPI (10/12) and had the first three points of his career come in the opening period, with a goal and two assists.
- Defenseman Marc Del Gaizo notched his first career goal and first career assist in the season opener on Oct. 12 vs. RPI.
- Defenseman Ty Farmer and forward Anthony Del Gaizo also had their first career tallies come in the RPI series, Farmer's on Friday and Del Gaizo's opened the scoring on Saturday.
- Forward Bobby Trivigno's first career point came in UMass' 6-1 win over RPI on Oct. 12 and followed up with his first career multi-point game on Oct. 13 at RPI. He had another multi-point game at #1 Ohio State on Oct. 19, scoring the first two goals of his career vs. the Buckeyes.
- Defenseman Colin Felix had an assist on Oct. 13 at RPI for his first collegiate point.

Building Blocks From 2017-18
- In 2017-18, the Minutemen posted a 12-win improvement from 2016-17, marking the biggest one-year turnaround in program history and in Division I hockey this past season. UMass' 17 wins from a season ago were the most for the program since 2009-10 (18) and seventh-best for a season in program history.
- UMass' nine Hockey East wins in 2017-18 were the most for the program since 2012-13 and tied for seventh-most in program history.
- The top-three nationally-ranked recruiting class assembled by Carvel and his staff heading into 2017-18 lived up to its billing as UMass led the nation in freshmen scoring by a wide margin. The class' 67 goals were the most by a freshman class in UMass' Hockey East era and second all-time in assists (102) and points (169), as well.
- Among other milestones set by Carvel's Minutemen last season, the program hosted and won its first postseason series since 2007 and posted four wins over ranked opponents, including three over top-10 teams.

The Gang's All Here
- UMass returns all five of its top five point producers from a season ago in sophomores John Leonard (28 pts), Mitchell Chaffee (24 pts), Oliver Chau (24 pts), Mario Ferraro (23 pts) and Cale Makar (21 pts) who all led the Minutemen as freshmen.
- In total, UMass returns 215 of 281 points from a season ago (76.5%) and 78 of its 104 goals (75%).

Here's Johnny
- After a stellar freshman campaign in 2017-18, Minutemen forward John Leonard was selected in the sixth round, 182nd overall, by the San Jose Sharks in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. Leonard became 27th NHL draft pick in program history and the fourth Minuteman drafted by the San Jose Sharks.
- The Amherst, Massachusetts native was the first UMass player since Justin Braun in 2007 (San Jose, 7th round/201st overall) to be selected following his freshman season in Amherst.
- Leonard joined classmate Mario Ferraro as the second San Jose draft pick on the current UMass roster as Ferraro was selected 49th overall in 2017.
- Leonard led UMass in scoring in 2017-18 with 28 points on 13 goals and 15 assists over 33 games. He was tabbed the Hockey East Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Month for March, which was his fourth award of the season after previously being named Hockey East Rookie of the Week twice and Player of the Week once during his freshman campaign.
- Leonard helped the Minutemen to their first Hockey East Tournament series win since 2007 with four points on two goals and two assists in UMass' 2018 Hockey East Opening Round series against Vermont. He had multi-point games in both of UMass' victories over UVM, which included leading UMass' third period comeback in game one and a highlight reel goal in the Minutemen's 5-1 series-clinching victory that was a SportsCenter Top 10 play.

O Captain My Captain
- In April, Niko Hildenbrand was tabbed as UMass' captain for the 2018-19 season, while sophomores Cale Makar and Mario Ferraro will wear the "A"s for the Minutemen.
- As a sophomore in 2017-18, Hildenbrand nearly doubled his freshman year point production, finishing seventh on the squad in scoring with 17 points on eight goals and nine assists over 36 games.
- The Vacaville, California native was +4 with one shorthanded tally and two game winners to his credit and blocked 35 shots while posting four multi-point games.

He's Coming Back!
- Electing to return to UMass for his sophomore season, defenseman Cale Makar is the first NHL draft pick to play multiple years of college hockey after being selected in the top-10 of the NHL Entry Draft since James van Riemsdyk went on to play three seasons at New Hampshire after being selected second overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in 2007.
- Makar, the No. 4 overall pick by the Colorado Avalanche in 2017, was named a co-recipient of the 2018 George C. Carens Award from the New England Hockey Writers Association as co-rookie of the year, a Hockey East Third Team All-Star and to the Hockey East All-Rookie team following his freshman season with the Minutemen in 2017-19.
- Makar totaled 21 points in his freshman campaign over 34 games on 5 goals and 15 assists to finish fifth on the squad in scoring. The Calgary, Alberta native ranked second for the Minutemen in plus minus at +9 and contributed two power-play goals, one shorthanded goal and one game winner with three multi-point games to his credit.
- He was selected as Hockey East Rookie of the Week on Jan. 15 after a three-point weekend against Vermont and finished with 13 points (4g, 9a) in 20 league games. Makar finished ninth in defenseman scoring in Hockey East and ranked seventh nationally in scoring among freshmen defensemen at 0.62 points per-game.

Super Mario
- Sophomore Mario Ferraro will serve as an alternate captain for the Minutemen alongside 2017-18 defensive partner Cale Makar. Ferraro, a 2018 Hockey East All-Rookie Team selection, broke Brandon Montour's record for points by a freshman defenseman in UMass' Hockey East era, logging 23 points on four goals and a team-best 19 assists as the Minutemen's top scoring defenseman in 2017-18.
- Seeing action in all 39 games, the King City, Ontario native was +5 with six multi-point games, two power-play goals and one game winner. Over 24 Hockey East contests, he totaled 14 points on two goals and 12 assists. Ferraro finished tied for sixth in Hockey East in defenseman scoring and tied for ninth in freshman scoring.

Murray Makes His Mark
- Freshman goaltender Matt Murray is coming off of a solid freshman campaign in which he broke the UMass single season shutout record previously set by Jonathan Quick in 2006-07 and Markus Helanen in 2000-01 with four on the year.
- Murray saw 58.1% of the squad's minutes in net and posted a 2.70 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage over 1,376 minutes over 24 games. Both his GAA and save percentage from 2017-18 rank 10^th in program history for a single season and were the best by a UMass netminder since 2008-09.
- The St. Albert, Alberta native was tabbed the Hockey East Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week on Jan. 22, was honored as the Hockey East Player of the Week on Feb. 12, and picked up his third different Hockey East weekly award of the 2017-18 season on Feb. 26 when he was selected as the Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week.

League Things And Other Tibits
- Freshmen Anthony and Marc Del Gazio's father Anthony played college hockey at Merrimack (1983-84). They are the fourth set of siblings to play for the Minutemen in the program's modern era (James Marcou 2007-10 and Michael Marcou 2008-12; Jeff Turner 1997-2001 and Tim Turner 1999-2003; Mike Warner 2000-04 and Tim Warner 2001-05).
- Freshman Bobby Trivigno is the second member of his family to play in Hockey East, following in the footsteps of his sister Dana who was a standout forward and former captain for Boston College where she put up 138 points in 148 career games for the Eagles (2012-16).
- Freshman Filip Lindberg first started playing goal after receiving his first set of hand-me-down pads from former Merrimack goaltender and fellow Finland native Rasmus Tirronen who played for the Warriors from 2011-15.

Welcome Home T.J.
- Former UMass captain T.J. Syner has returned to his alma mater to join head coach Greg Carvel's staff as a volunteer assistant coach for 2018-19. The Springfield, Massachusetts native, who played for the Minutemen from 2008-12, has rejoined the program following seven seasons in the professional hockey ranks.
- Syner saw action in 135 games over his four-year collegiate career, totaling 37 goals and 60 assists for 97 points to rank 14th all-time on UMass' career scoring list and is tied for 10th in career assists.
- As a senior in 2011-12, Syner served as a team captain and led the Minutemen with 37 points (13g, 24a) en route to a Hockey East All-Conference Honorable Mention nod.
- Upon completion of his collegiate eligibility, Syner began his professional career with the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League and split time between the AHL and ECHL's Reading Royals from 2011-14, winning a Kelly Cup championship with Reading in 2012-13.
- He went on to play three more ECHL seasons with the Utah Grizzlies (2014-16) and the Worcester Railers (2017-18) and spent the 2016-17 season overseas with Val Gardena HC (AlpsHL) and Coventry Blaze (EIHL). Syner logged 203 points over 282 career ECHL games on 80 goals and 123 assists.

Scoreboard

Hockey East Play Opens For #16 Minutemen With Home-And-Home Vs. Merrimack

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Players Mentioned

Brett Boeing

Mitchell Chaffee

Oliver Chau

Anthony Del Gaizo

Marc Del Gaizo

Ty Farmer

Colin Felix

Mario Ferraro

Niko Hildenbrand

Philip Lagunov

John Leonard

Filip Lindberg

Cale Makar

Matt Murray

Jacob Pritchard

Bobby Trivigno

Scoreboard

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