University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
#14/15 UMass Lowell
No. 8 Hockey Resumes Action Against No. 14/15 UMass Lowell This Weekend
February 20, 2020 | Hockey
The Minutemen will open the home-and-home against the River Hawks in Lowell on Friday.
| University of Massachusetts Hockey Game Notes | |
| Games 30-31 | #8 Massachusetts Minutemen (18-9-2, 11-6-2 HEA) vs. #14/15 UMass Lowell River Hawks (15-9-5, 9-6-4 HEA) |
| Dates | Times | Friday, February 21, 2020 - 7:15 p.m. Saturday, February 22, 2020 - 7 p.m. |
| Locations | Friday: Lowell, Mass. (Tsongas Center - 6,496) Saturday: Amherst, Mass. (Mullins Center - 8,096) |
| Series History | UMass Lowell leads 48-28-7 |
| Live Statistics | Friday: Sidearm Saturday: Sidearm |
| Watch Live | Friday: CBS All-Access Saturday: NESNplus | CBS All-Access |
| Listen (Radio) | WHMP AM 1400/1240 FM 101.5/107.5 |
| Listen (Online) | WHMP Streaming Player | TuneIn App (mobile devices) |
| Game Notes | Massachusetts | UMass Lowell | Hockey East |
| Team Records | Massachusetts | UMass Lowell |
| @UMassHockey | @UMassAthletics | |
| UMass Hockey | UMass Athletics | |
| Tickets | Friday | Saturday |
| Game Promotions | Saturday: Miracle 40th Anniversary Celebration UMass gloves (limited quantities) | Student giveaway: stainless steel water bottles (limited quantities), iPhone drawing (courtesy of North 116 Flats) Postgame skate - Presented by Texas Roadhouse |
Quick Hits: No. 8 UMass Sweeps Weekend Against No. 10 Providence
- Led by two third period goals from senior co-captain Niko Hildenbrand on Friday night and a four-point effort from junior John Leonard on Saturday, No. 8 University of Massachusetts hockey swept its home-and-home with No. 10 Providence two weekends ago, defeating the Friars 3-1 at Mullins on Friday and 5-1 on the road on Saturday.
- Just 5:32 into the first period in Friday's contest, freshman Reed Lebster put UMass on the board, sweeping home a feed from sophomore Anthony Del Gaizo and freshman Matthew Kessel from the slot for his seventh goal of the season, tying him with Kessel for the lead among the Minutemen rookies.
- Before the close of the second, though, Providence managed to level the score at 1-1.
- However, 3:23 into the third period, Hildenbrand put the Minutemen back on top, 2-1, tipping home a shot from freshman Zac Jones for his fourth of the year. Sophomore Bobby Trivigno earned an assist on the play, as well.
- Then, less than three minutes later, Hildenbrand added an insurance tally to give UMass a two-goal cushion as he buried a tap pass from Trivigno and Leonard at the net front at 5:55.
- The Minutemen out-shot Providence 36-15 on the night, including a smothering 17-3 in the first period. UMass was 0-for-3 on the power play in the contest, but was perfect on the penalty kill as the Friars went 0-for-2 with the man advantage.
- Providence goaltender Michael Lackey totaled 33 saves in the contest, while Filip Lindberg made 14 stops for the Minutemen.
- Hildenbrand's multi-goal effort was his second of the season and fourth of his career and Trivigno's pair of helpers marked his fourth multi-point game of the season and seventh of his career.
- On the back of a career night for Leonard on Saturday, which included his first career hat trick, No. 8 Massachusetts hockey upended Providence, 5-1 at Schneider Arena.
- Leonard opened the scoring 13:11 into the first period, splitting a pair of Friars to skate in on Lackey alone for the tally. Freshman Zac Jones and sophomore Colin Felix both collected assists on the play.
- Then at the 14:53 mark in the second period, Leonard picked up a shorthanded goal to bring the score to 2-0. After receiving the puck from Felix, Leonard circled through the neutral zone before entering the Providence end and ripping a wrister from the slot that tucked inside the right post.
- Before the close of the frame, junior Oliver Chau increased the lead to 3-0, beating out an icing and banking the puck off a Friar and past Lackey from the corner at 18:37. Felix and goaltender Matt Murray were credited with the assists.
- Providence cut its deficit to 3-1 with Jack Dugan and Michael Callahan setting up Tyce Thompson's power-play strike 8:49 into the third.
- However, Leonard was there once again to quell any hopes of a Friars' rally, skating end-to-end and beating a defender before kicking the puck to his stick blade to finish off his hat trick at 14:33 with assists from Jones and sophomore Ty Farmer.
- Senior Jack Suter then capped the scoring at 16:03 with a power-play goal set up by Leonard and Jones, redirected past Lackey at the doorstep.
- Providence edged UMass in shots, 22-20, while the Minutemen were 1-for-4 on the power play and the Friars went 1-for-6. Murray totaled 21 saves for UMass and Lackey logged 15 stops for Providence.
- Leonard's three goals brought his season total to 20, becoming UMass' first 20-goal scorer since 2009-10. He also broke the program single-season record for goals scored by a junior, surpassing UMass Hall of Famer Thomas Poeck's 17 in 2002-03. Felix and Jones contributed three assists apiece, both setting new career single-game bests.
- On the back of that weekend, Leonard was recognized as NCAA Hockey's No. 1 Star of the Week, Hockey East Player of the Week and UMass Student-Athlete of the Week.
- Jones was honored as the Hockey East Co-Rookie of the Week after logging four assists over two games against the Friars.
Two Minutemen In The Hobey Race
- Junior forwards Mitchell Chaffee and John Leonard are among 79 nominees for the 2020 Hobey Baker Memorial Award. The list of candidates was announced on January 16, coinciding with the start of the Hobey Baker fan voting, which is now live and will run until Sunday, March 8.
- Phase two of fan voting will commence on March 18 following the announcement of the top-10 nominees. The Hobey Hat Trick finalists will be revealed on April 2 with the winner being named on April 10 at the Frozen Four in Detroit, Michigan.
Setting The Standard
- Part of a program-transforming recruiting class that arrived on campus in 2017, the current Minuteman junior class has already seen the highest three-year wins total in program history at 66 and counting.
- Mitchell Chaffee and John Leonard are the top career point producers of that class and are well on their way re-writing the UMass record book. Among Minutemen who played their entire careers in Hockey East, Leonard has scored the most goals through his junior year with 49 to date followed by Greg Mauldin (48) and Chaffee (47).
- In UMass' Hockey East era, only James Marcou (130) has scored more points in three seasons in the Maroon and White than Chaffee and Leonard.
- Out of the entire NCAA Division I junior class, Chaffee and Leonard trail only Arizona State's Johnny Walker (58) in career goals and are tied for fifth in career points (95).
And The Beat Goes On
- Despite the loss of two NHL caliber defenseman 2019 Hobey Baker winner Cale Makar and Hockey East All-Star Mario Ferraro, both of whom are currently patrolling NHL bluelines for the Colorado Avalanche and the San Jose Sharks, the Minutemen's defensive corps is still among the national leaders in point production this season.
- UMass' defensemen have scored 18 goals, which is tied for seventh nationally, while the squad's 77 points by defensemen ranks seventh, as well. Minutemen blueliners average 11.55 shots per-game, which leads the nation.
- Individually, freshman Matt Kessel leads all rookie defensemen nationally with seven goals and is UMass' top goal scorer from the blueline. Among all defensemen across Division I hockey, Kessel is tied for eighth in goals.
Finishing Strong
- The Minutemen have been a strong third period team this season, currently tied for first in the nation with eight game-winning goals in the final stanza and a nation's best +27 rating though 29 games. UMass is averaging 1.48 goals per-game in the third, which ranks third nationally. The squad has scored 46.2% of its goals in the third with 43 of 93 coming in the frame.
- Individually, 12 of John Leonard's 20 goals have been third period tallies, which is good for the national lead, two have been game winners.
- UMass has outscored its opponents 43-16 in the third period this season.
Stingy Goalie
- For the second time in his career, Matt Murray was selected as the Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week on Dec. 9 after posting two wins in a weekend sweep of Maine.
- Murray stopped 43 of 45 shots over the two games for a .956 save percentage and a 1.00 goals against average, not allowing an even strength goal to the Black Bears.
- Currently the St. Albert, Alberta native is 10-5-0 on the year with a 1.80 goals against average and a .921 save percentage. He currently ranks sixth nationally in goals against average, second in Hockey East to teammate Filip Lindberg, is 18th nationally in save percentage and ninth in winning percentage (.667).
Here's Johnny
- John Leonard was selected as the Co-Hockey East Player of the Week on November 4 for the second time in his career and first time this season. He was also named NCAA Hockey's No. 3 Star of the Week.
- Leonard led the No. 3 Minutemen to a weekend sweep of No. 10 Northeastern on Nov. 1-2 with a pair of multi-goal games, scoring four goals on eight shots, which included a power-play goal and a game winner. The Amherst native also won 16 of 28 faceoffs (57.1%) against the Huskies.
- Leonard became the first player in UMass' Division I history to post three consecutive multi-goal games as he previously scored twice in a 4-1 win over American International on Oct. 25.
- In the Friday matchup against the Huskies, Leonard helped UMass overcome a 2-0 deficit to pick up the squad's first win at Matthews Arena since 2014 as the Minutemen defeated Northeastern 6-3. In the 4-2 victory on Saturday, Leonard broke a 2-2 deadlock in the third period with his seventh goal of the season.
- Leonard is currently tied for second in the nation in goals per-game (0.71), and tied for second in goals at 20. In Hockey East he is tied for 17th in points (27), first in goasl, tied for first in game-winning goals (4) and third in shots on goal (113) through 28 games.
Shots!
- Through 29 games, UMass leads the nation in shots on goal margin per-game at +9.31 and is second in shots on goal margin (+270). The Minutemen allow the fourth fewest shots on goal per-game than any team in the nation with an average of 24.21.
- UMass has allowed 30 or more shots on goal only five times this season (at Northeastern on Nov. 1, a 6-3 win, and both losses at Denver, its loss to Boston College and a 3-1 win at Vermont) and has held opponents under 20 shots on eight occasions through 29 games. In comparison, the Minutemen allowed 19 or fewer shots six times in 41 games last season and were 6-0-0 in those contests.
Mr. Jones And Me
- Freshman defenseman Zac Jones was selected as the Hockey East Rookie of the Week as well as one of the UMass Student-Athletes of the Week on Oct. 21 following a big weekend against Union. The Glen Allen, Virginia native totaled five points on a goal and four assists and was +4 over the three games in a 2-1-0 week, which included his second and third multi-point games of the season.
- Jones registered a goal and two assists in a 6-1 victory over Union in game one and was +2. He followed up with a two-assist effort and helped UMass' defense post a 5-0 shutout, only allowing the Dutchmen 15 shots on goal in the Saturday night matchup.
- In UMass' Hockey East era (1994-95 to present), there have been just 20 occasions where a Minuteman has recorded seven or more points through the first five games of a season. Among that group are four NHLers and four All-Americans. Jones became the first rookie defenseman in that span to reach seven points in five games or less.
- Jones is currently the top scoring defenseman for the Minutemen. Through 27 games thus far this season as he has registered 18 points on three goals and 15 assists with a +11 rating. He ranks eighth in Hockey East in defenseman scoring.
Right Back Where We Started
- UMass ended the 2018-19 season ranked third nationally in scoring offense (3.68), tied for seventh in scoring defense (2.02), third in scoring margin (1.66), first in power play percentage (28.5%), fifth in penalty kill percentage (86.9%) and first in combined special teams (57.9%).
- Currently the Minutemen sit 17th in the nation in scoring offense (3.21), fourth in scoring defense (1.90), seventh in scoring margin (1.31) and 10th in penalty kill percentage (85.6%).
The Kids Are Alright
- Freshmen Zac Jones, Cal Kiefiuk and Reed Lebster all scored in UMass' season opening win over RPI, marking the first time in the Minutemen's Division I era that three rookies have scored their first collegiate goals in an opener.
- Two more freshmen found their way onto the scoresheet for the first time at Northeastern in the Minutemen's Hockey East opener with Matt Kessel scoring the squad's lone goal, set up by Jeremy Davidson's first collegiate assist. Over the two-game series against Union that followed, freshmen combined for 10 of the squad's 21 points, led by a five-point weekend for Jones
- In total, freshmen have combined for 59 of UMass' 237 points over the squad's 29 games thus far, including 25 of 93 goals. Entering this weekend's series against UMass Lowell, UMass ranks 16th in the nation in freshmen scoring with 2.03 points per-game and 11th in goals per-game by freshmen, as well, at 0.86.
Senior Year Sutes Him
- With four goals and 13 assists through 28 games, including his second, third and fourth multi-point games of his career, senior Jack Suter has already set new career highs in helpers and points, more than doubling his previous career best in points, seven in 26 games as a sophomore. He is currently tied for fifth on the team in points with 17, is tied for third in assists and ranks tied for fourth in the nation in plus-minus at +22.
Home Is Where The Wins Are
- UMass is 31-7-1 in its last 39 games at the Mullins Center, 26-5-1 in its last 32 at home. 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.
We're Bringing Scoring Back (Yeah)
- Despite the loss of their top two point scorers from last season in Hobey Baker winner Cale Makar (49 points) and senior Jacob Pritchard (47 points), the Minutemen have no shortage of returning offense.
- UMass brings back its leading goal scorer in 2019 First Team All-American Mitchell Chaffee who led the Minutemen with 18 in 2018-19, two 40-point scorers in Chaffee (42) and junior John Leonard (40) and three more 20-point scorers: Marc Del Gaizo (29), Bobby Trivigno (28) and Jake Gaudet (22).
- In total the Minutemen return 105 goals, which alone would have put them 29th of 60 teams in 2018-19 overall. UMass finished third in the nation goals last season with 151, the highest total in the program's Hockey East era and its third-highest total all-time.
Year Three For 21
- Junior co-captain Mitchell Chaffee is coming off a breakout sophomore season in 2018-19 which saw him garner CCM/AHCA Hockey First-Team All-America honors and earn the title of Hockey East Scoring Champion, in addition to receiving the Herb Gallagher Award (New England's best forward) and earning New England All-Star and Hockey East First-Team All-Star recognition.
- In Hockey East action, Chaffee totaled 31 points over 23 league contests for an average of 1.35 points per-game. The Rockford, Michigan native also led Hockey East in assists in league play with 22, to go along with his nine goals. He became the second Hockey East Scoring Champion in program history.
- Overall Chaffee registered 42 points over 40 contests on a team-high 18 goals with 24 assists and a plus/minus rating of +21. He finished fourth overall in Hockey East in points, third in goals, tied for eighth in assists, tied for sixth in power-play points (14), tied for third in power-play goals (7) and tied for sixth in plus/minus. He amassed 12 multi-point games, as well.
- Thus far in a UMass uniform over two-plus seasons Chaffee has seen action in 108 games and has logged 47 goals and 48 assists for 95 points. His career points total ranks him tied for 15th on UMass' all-time points list while he is tied for ninth in the program's record book for career goals.
- After notching his 39th and 40th career goals against Boston University, Chaffee matched Greg Mauldin (2001-04) for the quickest to 40 career goals in the program's Hockey East history as Mauldin scored his 40th in his 89th career game, as well.
- Chaffee is currently tied for 39th nationally in points per-game (1.00), ranks tied for 16th in goals per-game (0.55) and is tied for 14th nationally in goals with 16.
- Chaffee is one of two First Team All-Americans from 2018-19 to return to college in 2019-20, the only other being goaltender Hunter Shepard of Minnesota Duluth.
- When Chaffee picked up the game-winning goal at Vermont on January 17 it marked his eighth of his career to tie the all-time UMass career mark. He shares the record with Will Ortiz (2006-10), Chris Capraro (2002-07), Stephen Werner (2002-06) and classmate John Leonard.
Leno Leads The Way
- Junior John Leonard entered 2019-20 as UMass' active leader in career scoring with 68 career points on 29 goals and 39 assists.
- Last season he became the 20th player in program history to post a 40-point season and was named a Hockey East Second Team All-Star.
- The Amherst native ranked fourth on the team and fifth in Hockey East in scoring in 2018-19, tied for sixth in the league in goals (16), tied for eighth in assists (24), finished third in Hockey East with 18 power play points and tied for third in power-play goals (7).
- In Hockey East play last season, Leonard was third in Hockey East in points with 29 on 11 goals and 18 assists. He also tied for fifth in league action in assists, tied for third in goals and tied for third in power-play points (13).
- Leonard scored in each of UMass' three wins in the NCAA Tournament last season, finishing the tournament with four points (3g, 1a).
Name A More Iconic Duo
- The Minutemen have returned arguably the top goaltending tandem in the country as both sophomore Filip Lindberg and junior Matt Murray finished the 2018-19 season among the NCAA leaders, including both ranking in the top 15 nationally in goals-against average and winning percentage.
- Murray was the NCAA statistical champion for winning percentage 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.
- 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. He is the top returning goaltender in the nation statistically in both categories for 2019-20. The Espoo, Finland native ranked fourth nationally in winning percentage (.733) with a record of 11-4-0 and tied for 10th nationally in shutouts with four.
- As a rookie, 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).
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.
- 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.
Full Wagon
- In 2018-19, 87,776 fans came through the turnstiles at the Mullins Center for UMass hockey, the third-highest attendance total in program history. UMass ranked 12th in the nation and had the highest average attendance (4,876) last season of any team east of State College, Pennsylvania.
- The sellout against No. 8 Quinnipiac on Dec. 8, 2019 was the fourth sellout in program history at the Mullins Center and first since Feb. 5, 2010 against Boston College. The crowd of 8,412 set a new Mullins Center attendance record for hockey. Overall (including both away and neutral site games), it was the 19th largest crowd to ever witness a UMass hockey game.
- The 2018-19 campaign marked the first time the Minutemen had multiple home sellouts in the same season in program history.
- UMass packed the stands even on the road. There was a total of 10 sold out/capacity crowds in Hockey East arenas last season and the Minutemen played in eight of those games.
- Five of the top-20 largest crowds to ever witness a UMass hockey game occurred during the 2018-19 season: the National Championship game vs. Minnesota Duluth (13,624 – 6th), the National Semifinal vs. Denver (13,051 – 9th), the Hockey East Semifinal vs. Boston College (11,572 – 10th), and home matchups against Quinnipiac (8,412 – 19th) and Boston University (8,389 – t-20th).
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 have opened a season ranked in either poll.
- 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.
Get Out The Red Pen
- The Minutemen re-wrote the UMass record book in 2018-19 with the team breaking program records for wins overall (31), Hockey East wins (18), home wins (17), road wins (11) and tied the all-time mark for wins over ranked opponents (10).
- UMass posted the longest win streak in program history in 2018-19 (nine games), which is also the program's longest unbeaten streak.
- The Minutemen were the most improved team in the country for a second straight year, going from five wins in head coach Greg Carvel's first year to 17 wins in 2017-18 (+12) to 31 wins in 2018-19 (+14).
- UMass also set a new program record for power-play goals (43), penalty kill percentage (86.9%), games played (41) and goals-against average (1.98).
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.
