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University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
#2 Boston College
Top-10 Clash Awaits #7 Massachusetts Hockey This Weekend With #2 Boston College
November 25, 2020 | Hockey
The Minutemen will play a non-conference home-and-home against the Eagles beginning on Friday in Chestnut Hill.
| University of Massachusetts Hockey Game Notes | |
| Games 3-4 | #7 Massachusetts Minutemen (1-0-1, 0-0-0 HE) vs. #2 Boston College (0-0-0, 0-0-0 HE) |
| Dates | Times | Friday, November 27, 2020 - 6Â p.m. Saturday, November 28, 2020 - 4:30 p.m. |
| Locations | Friday:Â Chestnut Hill, Mass. (Kelley Rink) Saturday: Amherst, Mass. (Mullins Center) |
| Series History | Boston College leads 67-16-4 |
| Live Statistics | Friday: Sidearm Saturday: Sidearm |
| Watch Live | Friday: NESNÂ | SportsLive (outside New England)Â | CBS Sports App Saturday: NESN+ | SportsLive (outside New England)Â | CBS Sports App Hockey East Streaming Information |
| Listen (Radio) | WHMP AM 1400/1240 FM 101.5/107.5 |
| Listen (Online) | WHMP Streaming Player | TuneIn App (mobile devices) |
| Game Notes | Massachusetts | Boston College | Hockey East |
| Team Records | Massachusetts | Boston College |
| @UMassHockey | @UMassAthletics | |
| UMass Hockey | UMass Athletics | |
Last Time Out: #7 UMass Goes 1-0-1 Against UConn In Opening Weekend
- No. 7 UMass went 1-0-1 in its season opening home-and-home non-conference series against UConn last weekend, winning Friday's contest 5-1 while playing to a 2-2 tie on Saturday at Mark Freitas Ice Forum. After the teams played through a scoreless newly-adopted 3-on-3 overtime in Saturday's contest, the Huskies won a four-round shootout, 2-1. Due to the uncertainty of the 2020-21 schedule, the shootout may become impactful in the Hockey East standings should the series be deemed conference matchups retroactively.
- In Friday's matchup UMass saw newcomers contribute five points in the squad's season-opening 5-1 win. The victory also marked the 75th of Coach Carvel's tenure at UMass, his 151st game with the Minutemen.Â
- UMass opened the scoring with a power-play goal 5:26 into the first as sophomore Cal Kiefiuk tapped home the puck at the right post with freshmen Josh Lopina and Aaron Bohlinger picking up the assists. The goal marked Kiefiuk's first since November 29, 2019 at Quinnipiac and first career power-play goal after seeing his 2019-20 campaign cut short due to a season-ending injury in mid-February. The helpers were the first collegiate points for Lopina and Bohlinger.Â
- The Huskies leveled the score before the intermission, though. Kale Howarth finished off behind the net feed from Jonny Evans to tie things up at 1-1 at the 14:18 mark.Â
- Junior transfer Garrett Wait managed to put the Minutemen back on top early in the second with his first goal in a UMass uniform, firing the puck home from the slot off a heads-up pass from senior Oliver Chau. Bohlinger collected his second helper of the night on the play for a two-point effort in his collegiate debut and he was tabbed the Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week this past Monday.
- Midway through the third, freshman Oliver MacDonald added an important insurance goal to give the Minutemen some breathing room at 3-1. The rookie flung the puck past Tomas Vomacka at the net front off a cross-ice pass from juniors Colin Felix and Bobby Trivigno 10:01 into the stanza.
- Sophomore Zac Jones cleaned up a rebound from Trivigno at 17:29 to stretch the advantage to 4-1 as UMass capitalized on a UConn turnover in its own zone.
- Chau then capped the scoring with a power-play goal from junior Marc Del Gaizo and sophomore Eric Faith 18:51 into the period, Faith's first collegiate point. Chau's goal and assist gave him his 14th career multi-point game. It was his seventh career power-play goal, UMass' active career leader in that category.
- The Minutemen out-shot the Huskies 46-22 in the contest and went 2-for-6 on the power play, while UConn was 0-for-5 with the man advantage. Senior Matt Murray made 21 saves in net for UMass and Vomacka finished the evening with 41 stops for UConn.
- On Saturday in Storrs, UMass led 2-0 after two periods, but UConn scored twice in the third to rally for a 2-2 tie.
- The Minutemen wasted little time getting on the board as Trivigno found sophomore Matthew Kessel streaking in alone at the left faceoff dot for a quick strike on the power play just 3:25 into the contest. Kessel's power-play goal was his second of his career. Chau also earned an assist on the tally, his third point of the weekend against the Huskies which helped him earn Hockey East Player of the Week recognition this past Monday.
- Senior Philip Lagunov then pushed the advantage to 2-0 at the 12:40 mark, knocking the puck home in front for his first of the season from Wait and Jones. The goal was Lagunov's first since Dec. 7, 2019, coming in his first game back since his 2019-20 season ended with surgery this past February.
- UConn halved its deficit 9:53 into the third period when Carter Turnbull put in a rebound from Vladislav Firstov and Yan Kuznetsov off Filip Lindberg's pad.
- The Minutemen then managed to successfully kill a lengthy 5-on-3 despite being down two defensemen to injury only to have the Huskies score the equalizer shorthanded with two minutes to play in regulation. Cassidy Bowes set up Brian Rigali on a 2-on-1 for UConn's second tally.
- It appeared that junior Colin Felix had an OT winner for the Minutemen, but the goal was called back and the teams finished knotted at two through 65 minutes of play.
- Chau opened the shootout with a goal for UMass, but was the only Minuteman to convert his attempt. Firstov responded for UConn and Howarth scored in the final of four rounds to clinch it for the Huskies.Â
- UConn edged UMass in shots, 37-36 and went 0-for-7 on the power play while the Minutemen were 1-for-5. Lindberg made 35 stops in net for UMass and Vomácka finished with 34 saves for UConn.
NewMass At A Whole New Level
- Entering his fifth season in 2020-21, UMass head coach Greg Carvel has taken the program to new heights during his first four seasons in Amherst. In addition to the program's first Hockey East Regular Season Championship and National Runner-Up finish in 2019, the Minutemen's wins totals over the past three years are all top-nine in the program's 90+ season history: 2018-19 (1st, 31), 2019-20 (tied 2nd, 21), 2017-18 (tied 9th, 17). With the team's 21-win campaign last year on the back of a 31-win season in 2018-19, it marked the first time UMass has had 20+ wins in back-to-back seasons in program history.
- The Minutemen's total of 52 wins over the past two seasons is second-most nationally behind Minnesota State (63), one ahead of Minnesota Duluth (52). UMass' 69 wins over the last three seasons tied for fourth nationally behind Minnesota State (92), Minnesota Duluth (76), Clarkson (72) - tied with Cornell.Â
- UMass has had eight Hockey East All-Star selections over the past two seasons, the most of any Hockey East team.
And The Beat Goes OnÂ
- From current NHLers 2019 Hobey Baker winner, 2020 Calder Trophy winner Cale Makar and 2019 Hockey East All-Star Mario Ferraro, UMass' hallmark has been its talent on the blueline during head coach Greg Carvel's tenure.Â
- UMass' defensemen have scored 21 goals last season, which ranked eighth nationally, while the squad's 90 points by defensemen ranked ninth. Minutemen blueliners averaged 12.06 shots per-game, which led the nation in 2019-20.
- Individually, Matt Kessel led all rookie defensemen nationally last season with seven goals and is UMass' top returning goal scorer from the blueline for 2020-21. He was selected in the fifth round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft (150th overall) by the St. Louis Blues this fall. He is one of three draft picks patrolling the UMass blueline this season along with 2019 New York Rangers third round pick Zac Jones (68th overall) and 2019 Nashville Predators fourth round pick Marc Del Gaizo (109th overall).Â
- Jones, a Hockey East All-Rookie Team selection in 2019-20 in UMass' top returning point scorer (23 points). He was the top scoring rookie defenseman in Hockey East last season, Jones finished the year 16th in the nation in freshman scoring at .72 points per-game, third for the Minutemen overall with three goals and 20 assists and was +12 on the year. The two-time Hockey East Rookie of the Week became the first UMass defenseman during the program's Division I era to post 20 assists in his rookie season.Â
- As a team, UMass was sixth in the nation in scoring defense (1.97) in 2019-20 after ranking seventh (2.02) the season prior. The 2019-20 squad set a program record for the fewest goals allowed in a season, 67.
Shots!
- UMass finished second in the nation in shots on goal margin per-game at +9.91 and fourth in shots on goal margin (+337) in 2019-20. The Minutemen allowed the fourth fewest shots on goal per-game nationally last season with an average of 24.44.
- UMass allowed 30 or more shots on goal only seven times during the 2019-20 and held opponents under 20 shots on 10 occasions in 34 games. In comparison, the Minutemen allowed 19 or fewer shots six times in 41 games in 2018-19 and were 6-0-0 in those contests.
Home Is Where The Wins Are
- UMass is 35-7-1 in its last 43 games at the Mullins Center and went 29-5-1 over the past two seasons (2018-19 and 2019-20) for an .842 winning percentage. This stretch included a 16-game unbeaten streak (15-0-1) began on Jan. 11, 2019 against Vermont and came to an end on Nov. 30, 2019 with a 2-1 loss to Quinnipiac.
- The Minutemen's home winning percentage the last two years ranked second nationally behind only Minnesota State's .918. UMass' home wins total from October 2018 to March 2020 was good for third nationally, trailing only Minnesota State (39) and North Dakota (30).
Name A More Iconic Duo
- The Minutemen have returned arguably one of the most experienced goaltending tandems in the country in junior Filip Lindberg and senior Matt Murray. Both finished the 2019-20 campaign among the NCAA leaders, including both ranking in the top 10 nationally in goals-against average (Murray seventh, Lindberg eighth), while Murray finished 10th in winning percentage (13-6-0, .684) and Lindberg ranked 15th in the nation in save percentage (.927) last season.
- Murray was the NCAA statistical champion for winning percentage in 2018-19 with a record of 20-5-0, a mark that also surpassed a program record for wins previously held by former Minuteman and NHL veteran Jonathan Quick.Â
- Lindberg, who started all four of UMass' NCAA Tournament games in 2018-19, ended his freshman campaign second in the nation with a 1.60 goals-against average and a .934 save percentage. The Espoo, Finland native ended his rookie season fourth nationally in winning percentage (.733) with a record of 11-4-0 and tied for 10th nationally in shutouts with four.
- As a freshman in 2018-19, Lindberg set a new program single-season record for goals-against average and tied Murray's record for single-season shutouts. His save percentage was the highest by a UMass netminder since 1969-70, second all-time.
- Murray and Lindberg tied the program's shutout record (5) from 1913-14 and served as the backbone of a UMass defense that allowed the fewest goals in the team's Division I era (83).
- Lindberg is currently the program's all-time career leader in save percentage (.931) and goals-against average (1.76), while Murray ranks third (.916) in save percentage and second in goals-against average (2.23) in school history. Murray is currently third all-time in career wins (43), two behind Paul Dainton (2007-11)'s total of 45 and seven away from matching Gabe Winer's record (50).Â
- Murray holds UMass' career shutout record with eight to his credit. He entered the season tied for fourth among active NCAA netminders in shutouts, ninth in saves (1,527) and fourth in wins.
- Lindberg entered the season fifth among active goaltenders nationally in career save percentage and third in goals-against average.
Watch Out For Marc Del Gaizo
- While many know Marc Del Gaizo for scoring the overtime game winner that sent UMass into the 2019 National Championship game, that was merely the exclamation point on one of the best rookie seasons by a Minuteman defenseman in program history.Â
- Del Gaizo received Hockey East Third Team All-Star and Hockey East All-Rookie Team accolades and earned an All-CHN Rookie Team nod, as well.
- One of seven Minutemen to see action in all 41 games, Del Gaizo ranked 17th in the nation for points per-game by a freshman (0.71), and third in Hockey East with 29 points on 13 goals and 16 assists.
- The Basking Ridge, New Jersey native tied for third in the nation in plus minus at +31, tied for ninth in Hockey East in power-play points (14), power-play goals (6) and ranked fourth in defenseman scoring.
- Del Gaizo was the first rookie defenseman in Hockey East history to score 10 goals in league play, which tied for fifth overall on the Hockey East list for goals by a defenseman in a single season all-time.Â
- Though hampered with injuries through much of the first half of the 2019-20 season, the now junior assistant captain still managed to put up 15 points in 22 games last season on four goals and 11 assists and was +9.
Top Of The Charts
- UMass entered the 2019-20 season ranked No. 4 in the USCHO.com poll and No. 5 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's College Hockey Poll, which was the first time the Minutemen opened a season ranked in either poll. Thus far in 2020-21, the Minutemen have been ranked No. 7 each week to begin the year.
- History was made on Dec. 3, 2018 as the Minutemen earned their first No. 1 national ranking in program history, sitting at the top of the USCHO.com poll with 26 first-place votes and 964 points. UMass was ranked for 20 straight weeks to end the 2018-19 season, and earned a No. 2 ranking in the final polls.
- UMass entered the national rankings on Oct. 22, 2018 coming in at No. 16 in the USCHO.com poll. The last time the Minutemen were ranked prior to October 2018 was in the USCHO.com poll released on Feb. 15, 2010.
- On November 5, 2018, UMass moved up to No. 9 in the USCHO.com Poll and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's College Hockey Poll in the No. 9 spot as well, the highest ranking for the Minutemen since November 30, 2009 (No. 9).
- UMass surpassed all previous highs in rankings on Nov. 12, 2018 when the squad was sitting at No. 4 in both polls.
- Previously the highest ranking in program history came in the USCHO.com poll on Dec. 31, 2007 at No. 5. The Minutemen spent six weeks in the top-10 during the 2007-08 season.
- After sitting in the No. 4 spot for two weeks, UMass improved upon its all-time highest ranking, moving up to No. 3 in both polls on Nov. 26, 2018.
- The Minutemen earned their first-ever top-10 ranking (No. 9) on Nov. 10, 2003 and ranked as high as No. 7 that season.
- UMass collected its first-ever national ranking on Jan. 6, 2003. (No. 15 USCHO.com poll/No. 14 USA Today/American Hockey Magazine Poll).
- On Jan. 14, 2019, UMass received its first No. 1 ranking in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll.
League Things And Other Tidbits
- 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).
- 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).
- 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.
- Matthew Kessel is the third member of his family to play college hockey. His brother Will played at Western Michigan from 2011-15 and captained the Broncos in 2014-15, while his brother Peter plays at Holy Cross and is in his junior season with the Crusaders.
