Another Midweek Matchup Awaits #8 UMass Hockey With UNH At Mullins Wednesday

University of Massachusetts Hockey Game Notes
Game 13	#9 Massachusetts Minutemen (8-3-1, 8-3-1 HE) vs. New Hampshire Wildcats (2-2-1, 2-2-1 HE)
Date \| Time	Wednesday, January 6, 2021 - 3:30 p.m.
Locations	Amherst, Mass. (Mullins Center)
Series History	New Hampshire leads 91-26-12
Live Statistics	Sidearm
Watch Live	SportsLive \| 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 \| New Hampshire
Team Records	Massachusetts \| New Hampshire
Twitter	@UMassHockey \| @UMassAthletics
Instagram	UMass Hockey \| UMass Athletics

Last Time Out: #9 UMass Sweeps #10/13 Northeastern
- No. 9 University of Massachusetts hockey won both games of a home-and-home against Northeastern last weekend, defeating the Huskies in Boston last Friday night, 4-3 before winning 5-3 in Amherst on Saturday.
- Northeastern opened the scoring 7:07 into the contest shortly after a successful UMass penalty kill. Jordan Harris' blast from the point found its way past senior Matt Murray to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead.
- The Minutemen managed to tie the score at 1-1 before the first intermission, converting their first power play opportunity of the day. Redshirt senior Carson Gicewicz tapped home a loose puck from junior Bobby Trivigno and senior Oliver Chau at the 13:38 mark.
- UMass converted on another man advantage opportunity 9:54 into the second as junior Garrett Wait drove out of the corner and roofed a shot over Connor Murphy from freshman Josh Lopina and sophomore Cal Kiefiuk to put the Minutemen in front, 2-1.
- Northeastern leveled the score at 2-2 at the 6:38 mark of the third period when Ty Jackson's shot from below the goal line deflected past Matt Murray.
- The Huskies then took a 3-2 lead at 9:17 on Harris' second of the night, a blast from the perimeter.
- UMass answered almost immediately, however. Just 32 seconds later, Lopina crashed the net to put back a rebound from sophomores Matthew Kessel and Zac Jones to knot things up at 3-3.
- Chau then scored to put the Minutemen back in front for good at the 14:43 mark, cleaning up a rebound in the crease off a shot by sophomore Eric Faith after junior Marc Del Gaizo kept the puck in at the blue line.
- UMass finished the evening with a 30-27 shot advantage and went 2-for-6 on the power play, while Northeastern was 0-for-5.
- Sophomore Jerry Harding began the scoring in Saturday's matchup just 2:33 into the contest as Anthony Del Gaizo and Philip Lagunov found Harding alone in the slot for his first collegiate goal.
- Then, with the teams skating 4-on-4, Kessel drew a penalty shot at the 5:35 mark and converted.
- Jones then expanded the lead to 3-0 before the intermission, dancing across the blueline and a puck towards the net that found its way through traffic at the 17:26 mark. Kessel and Lopina earned the assists on the play.
- Gicewicz brought the score to 4-0 at the start of the second, redirecting in a shot from senior Jake Gaudet and Wait, 1:46 into the period.
- Northeastern took one of the goals back moments later. Zach Solow connected for a one-timer on the power play at 3:32.
- Aidan McDonough later notched the Huskies' second power-play goal of the night 3:17 into the third period to trim their deficit to 4-2.
- Northeastern went on to make it a one-goal game with just over five minutes to play in the third with Dylan Jackson knocking the puck in from the top of the crease.
- Wait later sealed the victory with an empty net goal from Lopina and Trivigno in the final minute of play.
- UMass out-shot Northeastern 37-19 on the night. The Huskies were 2-for-5 on the power play, while the Minutemen were 0-for-3.
- Massachusetts once again dominated in the faceoff circle, winning 32 of 57 (56.1%) draws, led by Lopina's 13 for 19 (68.4%) effort.
- Murray made 16 saves en route to his 50th career win, matching Gabe Winer's program record for career victories by a goaltender. Huskies' netminder Connor Murphy totaled 32 stops in the contest.

Strictly Numbers
- Redshirt senior Carson Gicewicz is in a five-way tie for the national lead in goals with eight. He has an active five-game scoring streak, which ties the UMass record and has seven goals in that span. He is tied for 13th nationally in goals per-game (.67).
- Junior Bobby Trivigno is tied for second in the nation with 16 points (4g, 12a), tied for eighth in points per-game (1.33). He is second nationally in assists (12), tied for second in assists per-game (1.00). Trivigno currently has an active six-game point scoring streak, a new career high, and has 11 points (3g, 8a) during that stretch.
- Sophomore Matthew Kessel leads all defensemen nationally in goals (6), points (12) and power-play goals (3), he is tied for second on goals per-game (0.50) and tied for fifth in points per-game. He takes an active six-game point streak into Wednesday's game with 10 points (5g, 5a) in that span.
- Sophomore Zac Jones sits second nationally behind Kessel in goals by a defenseman with five. He is sixth in points (10), fourth in goals per-game (.42) and 15th in points per-game (.83).
- Senior Matt Murray is one win away from breaking the UMass career record for wins as he is currently tied with Gabe Winer '06 with 50. Murray is sixth all-time in program history in career saves with 1842.

Special Teams Success
- As of January 5, UMass' penalty kill ranks fourth (90.9%) in the nation and its power play sits tied for 10th nationally (25%) while the squad is tied for the national lead in shorthanded goals with three.
- To date, 17 of the team's 45 goals have come in special teams situations, 37.7% of the squad's scoring.
- UMass has 14 power-play goals through 12 games, compared to 16 in 34 games in 2019-20. The Minutemen have put up eight power-play goals in the past five 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 5, UMass ranked second in the nation among the 50 teams that have played at least one game this season with a 57.6% faceoff percentage, tops in Hockey East, trailing only Quinnipiac (58.8%).
- Individually, Carson Gicewicz (62.2%, 28 of 45) ranks 17th nationally, while Philip Lagunov (60.2%, 62 of 103) ranks 22nd and Josh Lopina (58.9%, 139 of 236) ranks 31st. Lopina is fourth nationally in faceoff wins (139), 67 more than the next closest rookie.

Immediate Impact
- UMass' newcomers have combined for 43 of the team's 124 points through 12 games or 34.7% of the scoring. Five newcomers have provided a combined 20 goals of UMass' total of 25 or 44.4%.
- Three of the team's top-eight point providers through 12 games are new additions to the Minutemen roster for 2020-21 with redshirt senior Carson Gicewicz pacing the squad in goals (8) and second on the team in points (12), while freshman Josh Lopina has 11 points to date (5g, 6a) and junior transfer Garrett Wait has six points (4g, 2a).

And The Beat Goes On
- 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.
- 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).
- 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.
- 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 12 games this season, the Minutemen blueliners lead the nation in: points by defensemen (41), goals (11), assists (30), goals per-game (0.92), power-play goals (4), power-play assists (11) and power-play points (15), while ranking second in points per-game (3.42).

Home Is Where The Wins Are
- UMass is 40-8-1 in its last 49 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 6-1-0 at home this season, tied with Minnesota for the most home wins in 2020-21 thus far.
- 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.
- 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 (.916) in save percentage and second in goals-against average (2.19) in school history. Murray is currently tied with Gabe Winer (2002-06) for the program record in career wins with 50.
- Murray holds UMass' career shutout record with 10 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.
- 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.
- 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 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.
- 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).

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