#6/7 Massachusetts Set Square Off With UMass Lowell For Hockey East Championship At Mullins Saturday

University of Massachusetts Hockey Game Notes
Game 25	Hockey East Championship - #6/7 Massachusetts Minutemen (15-5-4) vs. UMass Lowell River Hawks (10-8-1)
Date \| Time	March 20, 2021 - 7:00 p.m.
Location	Amherst, Mass. (Mullins Center)
Series History	UMass Lowell leads 49-31-7
Live Statistics	Sidearm
Watch Live	NESN SportsLive CBS Sports App
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
Team Records	Massachusetts \| UMass Lowell
Twitter	@UMassHockey \| @UMassAthletics
Instagram	UMass Hockey \| UMass Athletics

Last Time Out: #6/7 Massachusetts Earns Spot In Hockey East Championship Game With 5-2 Win Over #14 Providence
- No. 2-seed and No. 6 nationally-ranked University of Massachusetts hockey earned its first appearance in the Hockey East Championship Game since the 2003-04 season with a 5-2 victory over fifth-seeded and 14th-ranked Providence at the Mullins Center on Wednesday evening.
- The Minutemen improved to 15-5-4 overall and extended the team's current undefeated streak to nine games (6-0-3), tying a program record.
- The UMass second line forward and defensive pairing provided eight of the team's 12 points, including three goals and five assists. Bobby Trivigno paved the way with three points on a goal and two assists. Marc Del Gaizo and Zac Jones added a goal and assist each while Matthew Kessel notched a pair of helpers.
- Trivigno's final assist of the evening gave the Setauket, New York, native the 30th point of his junior season, while Jones' second assist gave him 20 points in 24 games played this campaign.
- Filip Lindberg made 20 saves in net, including eight during the pivotal third period when the Minutemen broke open a one-goal game. He improved to 6-1-4 in net with the victory.
- Massachusetts needed less than a minute to put one into the back of the net. Josh Lopina set the tone with his eighth goal of the year only 52 seconds into the contest, firing home a no-look pass from Kessel below the goal line with Trivigno earning the secondary assist on the play.
- The Friars shook off their early deficit with back-to-back goals during the first period. Brett Berard erased the deficit exactly six minutes into play with a wrap-around tally before Parker Ford's power-play one-timer gave Providence a 2-1 advantage 8:14 into the contest.
- With the team now down one midway through the first period, Jones provided a jolt of energy for the Minutemen picked a corner with traffic in front off a dish from Kessel and Trivigno at the 11:46 mark, knotting the score at 2-2.
- After Providence put 11 shots on goal in the first period, the Minutemen locked the Friars up defensively and limited the visitors to just 11 more on-target attempts over the final two frames. This total included just three in the second period as Massachusetts moved back in front for good.
- The early offense continued in the second frame as Massachusetts took its lead back just 82 seconds into the stanza. Jones pinched in at the left point and found Trivigno alone in front as he picked up his 10th tally of the season with a rocket past goaltender Jaxon Stauber.
- Senior George Mika gave the Minutemen some breathing room with an insurance tally 9:32 into the third, streaking into the offensive zone and picking up the puck from Del Gaizo and Colin Felix before potting UMass' fourth of the night.
- Del Gaizo closed out the scoring with an empty net goal at the 19:18 mark for his third goal in the past four games.
- Massachusetts outshot Providence, 27-22 while the Friars won 32 of the game's 57 faceoffs. Providence also converted the lone power play opportunity of the game for either squad.

Playoff Primer
- Saturday's contest will mark the first on-campus Hockey East Championship game since 1991.
- UMass is 10-1 all-time in the postseason at the Mullins Center with its lone loss coming to Vermont in the First Round in Game 2 of a best-of-three in 2018, 4-3 in overtime.
- The Minutemen have appeared in the Hockey East title game once before, a heartbreaking 2-1 triple overtime loss to Maine on March 20, 2004 at the FleetCenter in Boston.
- Massachusetts and UMass Lowell have met in the postseason just once before, a best-of-three Quarterfinal series at the Mullins Center in 2004, which the Minutemen swept in two games, 6-3 and 3-1.

UMass Collects Host Of Postseason Awards from Hockey East
- Five University of Massachusetts hockey student-athletes were named Hockey East All-Stars, the league announced on March12. Junior for-ward Bobby Trivigno earned his first career honor as a First Team All-Star, while junior goaltender Filip Lindberg and sophomore defenseman Zac Jones were tabbed Second Team All-Stars and junior defenseman Marc Del Gaizo and sophomore defenseman Matthew Kessel received Third Team All-Star nods.
- It marked the second highest total of league all-stars in program history, trailing only 2018-19's total of six.
- Lindberg became just the second UMass goaltender to garner a Hockey East All-Star selection, joining Jonathan Quick who earned a spot on the second team in 2006-07.
- Del Gaizo is a third team Hockey East All-Star for the second time in his career after first collecting the award as a freshman in 2018-19.
- Jones and Kessel both earned their first career accolades. Jones was an all-rookie honoree last season as a freshman.
- Freshman Josh Lopina was named the Co-Hockey East Rookie of the Year and to the Hockey East All-Rookie Team. He is the first player in pro-gram history to earn a Rookie of the Year nod and the fifth Minuteman to earn an all-rookie accolade during head Coach Greg Carvel's tenure, joining Jones (2019-20), Del Gaizo (2018-19), Mario Ferarro (2017-18) and Cale Makar (2017-18).
- As a team the Minutemen took home the 2020-21 Charlie Holt Team Sportsmanship Award. Established in 1992, the Charles E. Holt Sportsmanship Award, named after the former University of New Hampshire head coach, is given to the team which receives the lowest average penalty minutes per-game over the course of regular season Hockey East play. The Minutemen have garnered the award for the third time in program history, previously receiving the distinction in 2001-02 (11.8 PIM/gm) and 2006-07 (10.8 PIM/gm).
- During the 2020-21 regular season, UMass averaged a league-low 9.5 penalty minutes per-game over 22 contests. The Minutemen had a league-high 174 penalty minutes through the first 15 games (11.6 PIM/gm), but took just 18 penalties over the final seven games of the regular season, a 5.14 PIM/gm average, 3.16 less than any other team in the league from January 22 to the conclusion of the regular season.

Three Minutemen Named Walter Brown Award Semifinalists
- Three University of Massachusetts hockey student-athletes have been named semifinalists for the 69th Walter Brown Award, presented annually to the best American-born college hockey player in New England, the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston announced on March 2.
- Sophomore defensemen Zac Jones, Matthew Kessel and junior forward Bobby Trivigno were among the 19 candidates for the 2021 honor. UMass was tied with Boston College for the most nominees from one school.
- The Gridiron Club will announce the finalists and winner of the 69th Walter Brown Award on March 21, following league playoffs and before the start of NCAA Tournament play.

Lindberg Rakes In Hockey East Honors
- After stellar weekends against #18 Providence and #16 UMass Lowell, junior goaltender Filip Lindberg collected Hockey East Defensive Play-er of the Week back-to-back weeks to end the month of January. He was then tabbed the Hockey East Goaltender of the Month for January on February 4.
- Lindberg started four of nine games for UMass in January and went 2-0-2 with a shootout win and a shootout loss, all against ranked foes.
- He posted the best goals-against average (0.48) and save percentage (.980) in the nation in January, letting up just two goals on 98 shots over 250 minutes of action and logged two shutouts last month to lead the league.
- The Espoo, Finland native did not allow more than one goal in any of his four starts. In back-to-back overtime games against #18 Providence, Lindberg allowed just one goal in 130:00 of work and secured a shootout win for the Minutemen, denying each of the Friars' five shot attempts.
- He posted his second shutout of the month with 16 saves in a 5-0 win over #16 UMass Lowell and followed up with 28 stops in a 2-1 victory against the River Hawks in Lowell, UMass' first win in the Tsongas Center since 2011.
- Lindberg then repeated as Hockey East Goaltender of the Month for February after going 2-0-0 last month with a pair of road wins against ranked opponents.
- He stopped 59 of 62 shots for a .952 save percentage and a 1.44 goals-against average in the month of February.
- The Espoo, Finland native made 30 saves in an 8-1 win at #14 Providence and followed up with a 29 save performance in a 3-2 victory at #1/2 Boston College.
- He is now 6-0-3 since returning from injury in mid-January with a .952 save percentage and a 1.18 GAA during that span.
- Currently Lindberg leads Hockey East with a 1.59 goals-against average and a .937 save percentage, tied for first nationally in save percent-age, second in GAA.

Strictly Numbers
- Sophomore Matthew Kessel leads all defensemen nationally in goals (9) goals per-game (0.38), and power-play goals (5). He is tied for fifth in points (20) and tied for seventh points per-game (0.83) by defensemen.
- Sophomore Zac Jones is tied for second nationally in goals by defensemen (8), tied for second goals per-game by defensemen (0.33), tied for fifth in points by defensemen (20) and tied for seventh in points-per game (0.83) by defensemen.
- Redshirt senior Carson Gicewicz is tied for ninth nationally in goals per-game (0.54) and tied for 10th in goals (13).
- Junior Bobby Trivigno is tied for ninth nationally in points (30), tied for ninth in points per-game (1.25), tied for eighth in assists (20) and seventh in assists per-game (0.83).
- Freshman Josh Lopina is tied for eighth nationally in points among freshmen (20), ninth nationally in points per-game among freshmen (0.83), tied for 10th in goals, tied for 13th in goals per-game (.33), tied for 11th in assists (12) and tied for 13th in assists per-game (0.50).

Special Teams Success
- As of March 18, UMass' penalty kill ranks second (90.2%) in the nation, first in Hockey East, and its power play sits 10th nationally (23.4%) while the squad is tied for ninth in the nation in shorthanded goals with three. The Minutemen lead the nation in combined special teams at 56.5%. UMass is a net +14 on special teams this season, tops in Hockey East.
- To date, 25 of the team's 85 goals have come in special teams situations, 29.4% of the squad's scoring.
- UMass has 22 power-play goals through 24 games, compared to 16 in 34 games in 2019-20 and is 10th in the nation in power-play goals.

Quick Draw
- One of the Minutemen's biggest strengths thus far has been the team's success over the faceoff dots. As of March 18, UMass is fifth nationally with a 54.2% faceoff percentage, 799 of 1474. Individually, Carson Gicewicz ranks 13th (59.1%, 55 of 93).
- Josh Lopina ranks 13th nationally in faceoffs wins (261), 50 more than the next closest rookie.

Immediate Impact
- UMass' newcomers have combined for 78 of the team's 229 points through 24 games or 34.1% of the scoring. Five newcomers have provided a combined 33 of UMass' total of 85 goals or 38.82%.
- Four of the team's top 10 providers through 24 games are new additions to the Minutemen roster for 2020-21 with redshirt senior Carson Gicewicz leading the team in goals (13) and sixth on the team in points (19), while freshman Josh Lopina also has 20 points to date (8g, 12a), tied for second on the team, and junior Garrett Wait follows with 16 points (8g, 8a).
- Freshman Aaron Bohlinger rounds out the team's top-10 scorers with 10 points on 10 assists.

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 24 games this season, the Minutemen blueliners lead the nation in points per-game (3.17) and goals per-game (.96) by defensemen, goals (23), tied for second in power-play goals (7), third in shots on goal per-game (11.50), tied for third in power-play points (24), third in points (76), tied for fourth in assists (53) and sixth in power-play assists (17),
- The Minutemen currently rank second in the nation in scoring defense, first in Hockey East at 1.88 goals per-game.

Home Is Where The Wins Are
- UMass is 44-9-3 in its last 56 games at the Mullins Center and went 29-5-1 over the previous 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 10-2-2 at home this season, tied for fourth in the nation for home victories and ranks sixth in winning percentage at .786.
- 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 (.932) and goals-against average (1.71), 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), while Lindberg ranks second in career shutouts with eight.
- Murray entered the season tied for fourth among active NCAA netminders in shutouts, ninth in saves (1,527) and fourth in wins.

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.
- Del Gaizo is currently the program's all-time leader in career plus-minus at +57.

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. The squad has been nationally ranked in 66 straight poll weeks since October 22, 2018 after previously not being ranked in either poll since February 2010.
- 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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