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University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
#18 Providence
#8 Massachusetts Hockey Readies For #18 Providence
January 21, 2021 | Hockey
The Minutemen will host the Friars on Friday afternoon before playing in Providence on Saturday.
| University of Massachusetts Hockey Game Notes | |
| Games 16-17 | #8 Massachusetts Minutemen (9-5-1, 9-5-1 HE) vs. #18 Providence Friars (5-5-2, 5-5-2 HE) |
| Dates | Times | Friday, January 22, 2021 - 3 p.m. Saturday, January 23, 2021 - 7 p.m. |
| Locations | Friday: Amherst, Mass. (Mullins Center) Saturday: Providence, R.I. (Schneider Arena) |
| Series History | Providence leads 49-29-6 |
| Live Statistics | Friday: Sidearm Saturday: Sidearm |
| Watch Live | Friday:Â SportsLive Saturday: NESN+ |Â SportsLive (Outside New England) 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 | Providence |
| Team Records | Massachusetts | Providence |
| @UMassHockey | @UMassAthletics | |
| UMass Hockey | UMass Athletics | |
Last Time Out: #8 UMass Drops Pair To BU
- No. 8 Massachusetts hockey dropped a tough pair to Boston University in its last series, falling 4-2 in Amherst on Sunday and 4-3 in overtime in Boston this past Monday.
- On Sunday UMass held a 2-1 lead through one period of play, but Boston University managed to score three unanswered to snap the Minutemen's seven-game winning streak.
- Boston University jumped out to a 1-0 lead 8:47 into the first when Jamie Armstrong caused a turnover behind the UMass net and found Dylan Peterson streaking in alone for a quick, close-range strike.
- The Minutemen tied the score up at 1-1 at the 14:26 mark of the opening stanza as junior Ty Farmer lifted one over the shoulder of Terriers goaltender Drew Commesso from the top of the crease off a feed from Josh Lopina for his first tally of the season.
- UMass pulled in front in the final minute of the frame with redshirt senior Carson Gicewicz burying his ninth of the season from the slot on the power play with senior Oliver Chau and sophomore Zac Jones collecting the assists at 19:15.
- The Terriers evened the score at 2-2, 8:01 into the second period with Logan Cockerill finishing off a breakaway by sliding the puck under senior Matt Murray.
- BU then took a 3-2 advantage into the locker room after two courtesy of David Farrance picking a corner on the power play at 13:24 after collecting a puck from Domenick Fensore off the half wall.
- Cockerill capitalized on another turnover to pot a shorthanded goal for his second tally of the contest at the 5:54 mark of the third period to give Boston University a two-goal cushion.
- UMass finished with a 35-17 advantage in shots, while both teams went 1-for-6 on the power play. Murray made 13 saves for the Minutemen and Commesso totaled 33 stops for the Terriers.
- On Monday, the Minutemen held a 3-1 lead heading into the third, but Boston University, propelled by a five-minute power play, rallied to defeat UMass in overtime, 4-3.Â
- BU was on the board early when Peterson took a puck from Cade Webber and Nick Zabaneh and drove to the net for the score at the 5:03 mark of the first period.
- The Minutemen responded with the equalizer 13:07 into the stanza as sophomore Cal Kiefiuk redirected a puck from classmate Eric Faith along the half wall past goaltender Commesso for his fourth of the season.
- Gicewicz netted his team-leading 10th of the year at the 4:31 mark in the second period, banging the puck home at the doorstep from Chau and Jones. The helper for Jones extended his point streak to a career-best eight games.
- Senior Jake Gaudet gave UMass a two-goal edge later in the frame, tipping home a shot from the point by Colin Felix at 15:09. Chau collected the secondary helper for a two-point night.
- Just 35 seconds into the third period however, Gaudet was given the gate after a contact to the head penalty and Fensore promptly took advantage of the five-minute power-play for the Terriers at the 50 second mark, set up by Farrance and Jay O'Brien.
- Then six minutes into the period, Luke Tuch forced a turnover behind the UMass net and found Wilmer Skoog alone in front for the one-timer that tied the score at 3-3.
- Despite the Minutemen outshooting BU 20-10 in the third, the Terriers' defense held firm and Farrance went on to score the game winner from Zabaneh and Fensore on a breakaway 2:18 into overtime.
- UMass finished with a 47-32 shot advantage and went 0-for-3 on the power play, while Boston University was 1-for-7. Commesso totaled 44 saves for the Terriers and Murray had 28 stops for the Minutemen. Â
Strictly Numbers
- Redshirt senior Carson Gicewicz is tied for second in the nation in goals with 10. He recently capped a five-game goal scoring streak, which tied the UMass record for consecutive games with a goal as he put up seven in that span and has currently scored in each of the past two games. He is tied for 10th nationally in goals per-game (.67) and has surpassed his previous career high of nine goals in 37 games as a freshman at St. Lawrence in 2016-17.
- Junior Bobby Trivigno is tied for fourth in the nation with 18 points (5g, 13a), tied for 17th in points per-game (1.20). He is tied for second nationally in assists (13), 13th in assists per-game (.87).Â
- Sophomore Matthew Kessel leads all defensemen nationally in goals (8), is tied for fourth in points (14), third in goals per-game (.53) and ninth in points per-game (0.93).Â
- Sophomore Zac Jones sits tied for second nationally in points by defensemen (15) and goals by defensemen (5). He is tied for fifth in assists (10), tied for fourth in points per-game (1.00) and tied for sixth in goals per-game (0.33).
- Senior Matt Murray became the UMass career leader in wins by a goaltender with his shutout over UNH on Jan. 6, passing Gabe Winer's '06 total of 50. Murray is sixth all-time in program history in career saves with 1904.
Special Teams Success
- As of January 21, UMass' penalty kill ranks sixth (90.4%) in the nation, first in Hockey East, and its power play sits ninth nationally (25.4%) while the squad is tied for second in shorthanded goals with three.
- To date, 21 of the team's 54 goals have come in special teams situations, 38.9% of the squad's scoring.
- UMass has 18 power-play goals through 15 games, compared to 16 in 34 games in 2019-20. The Minutemen have put up 13 power-play goals in the past 10 games.
Quick Draw
- One of the Minutemen's biggest strengths thus far has been the team's success over the faceoff dots. As of January 21, UMass leads the nation among the 51 teams that have played at least one game this season with a 57.0% faceoff percentage.
- Individually, Philip Lagunov ranks 16th nationally (60.2%, 65 of 108), while Carson Gicewicz (58.7%, 37 of 63) ranks 27th, Anthony Del Gaizo (58.1%, 18 of 31, ) ranks 31st, Jake Gaudet ranks 36th (58.1%, 134 of 234) and Josh Lopina ranks 39th (57.0%, 172 of 302). Lopina is sixth nationally in faceoff wins (172), 70 more than the next closest rookie.
Immediate ImpactÂ
- UMass' newcomers have combined for 46 of the team's 148 points through 15 games or 31.1% of the scoring. Five newcomers have provided a combined 22 goals of UMass' total of 54 or 40.7%.
- Two of the team's top-six point providers through 15 games are new additions to the Minutemen roster for 2020-21 with redshirt senior Carson Gicewicz leading the team in goals (10) and tied for third on the team in points (14), while freshman Josh Lopina has 12 points to date (5g, 7a).
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 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.
- Through 15 games this season, the Minutemen blueliners lead the nation in goals by defensemen (14), power-play goals (6), power-play as-sists (15), power-play points (21) and shots on goal (196), while ranking second in assists (37), points (52), goals per-game (.93) and third in points per-game (3.40).
Home Is Where The Wins Are
- UMass is 41-9-1 in its last 51 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. UMass is 7-2-0 at home this season, tied for first in the nation for home victories.
- 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 in 2018-19.
- Lindberg is currently the program's all-time career leader in save percentage (.927) and goals-against average (1.86), while Murray ranks third (.915) in save percentage and second in goals-against average (2.21) in school history. Murray is also the program all-time leader in career wins (51) and shutouts (11).
- Murray 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 in the top-15 every week.
- 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.
- Linden Alger's father Richard played for UMass in the program's inaugural Division I season (1993-94) and then played the next two campaigns at Boston University (1995-97).
