University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
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Union
Homestand Continues For #6 Massachusetts Hockey With Two Against Union This Weekend
October 19, 2022 | Hockey
The Minutemen will host the Dutchmen on Friday and Saturday, October 21-22, at 7 p.m. at the Mullins Center.
| Games 4-5 | #6 Massachusetts Minutemen (2-0-1) vs. Union Dutchmen (2-3-1) |
| Dates | Times | Friday, October 21, 2022 & Saturday, October 22, 2022Â | 7:00 p.m, |
| Location | Amherst, Mass. (Mullins Center) |
| Series History | UMass leads (10-3-1) |
| Live Statistics | Friday | Saturday |
| Watch Live | Friday:Â ESPN+Â | Saturday:Â ESPN+ International Stream |
| Listen (Radio) | WHMP FM 101.5, AM 1400/1240 |
| Listen (Online) | WHMP Streaming Player | App: Download The Varsity Sports Network on your mobile device |
| Game Notes | Massachusetts | Union |
| Team Records | Massachusetts | Union |
| @UMassHockey | @UMassAthletics | |
| UMass Hockey | UMass Athletics | |
| Tickets | Friday | Saturday |
LAST TIME OUT
- No. 13/14 University of Massachusetts hockey scored two goals while killing a major penalty in the opening five minutes of play to help propel the squad to a 4-2 victory over No. 1 Denver on Friday night at the Mullins Center and then blanked the Pioneers on Saturday night, 3-0, to complete the weekend sweep.
- Just 38 seconds into Friday's contest, senior Cal Kiefiuk was assessed a five-minute major and game misconduct for hitting from behind, putting UMass' penalty kill to the test early.
- The Minutemen responded with a shorthanded 2-on-1 as freshman Kenny Connors finished off a feed from senior Reed Lebster at the 3:33 mark for his first collegiate goal.
- Moments later, still shorthanded, Massachusetts doubled its lead. Sophomore Scott Morrow knocked home a puck from sophomores Ryan Lautenbach and Lucas Mercuri on the rush at 4:51.
- The Minutemen pushed their advantage to 3-0 before the first intermission. Freshman Tyson Dyck cleaned up a rebound from Cole O'Hara and Connors to notch his first career goal at 12:33. The helpers marked O'Hara's first collegiate point and Connor's first collegiate assist.
- Lebster added a power play tally for UMass to open the second after sophomore Ryan Ufko and Morrow at the points found him in the slot for the finish.
- With a power play opportunity midway through the third, Denver elected to pull goaltender Magnus Chrona for a 6-on-4. As result, Carter Mazur converted for the Pioneers off a feed from Jack Devine and Tristan Broz 13:19 into the frame.
- The Pioneers crept closer with another extra attacker goal at 15:48 with Casey Dornbach and Massimo Rizzo setting up Shai Buium at 15:48.
- Backed by a 45-save performance from sophomore goaltender Luke Pavicich, the Minutemen defense withstood Denver's response and came away with the victory despite the 47-15 shot advantage for the Pioneers.
- UMass finished the night 1-for-1 on the power play and went 3-for-4 on the penalty kill. Lebster, Connors and Morrow all posted multi-point efforts with a goal and assist apiece.
- On Saturday Pavicich turned aside all 30 shots he faced en route to the 3-0 shutout victory for the Minutemen, the sophomore's first collegiate shutout.
- For a second straight night, UMass jumped out to an early lead. Kiefiuk fed Morrow at the right point and Morrow threaded a shot through traffic along the ice for his second of the weekend at the 37 seconds into the game.
- With the second period winding down, graduate student Matt Koopman doubled the lead for UMass, putting back his own rebound from the slot 16:52 into the stanza for his first tally as a Minuteman. Senior Jerry Harding and senior Eric Faith earned assists on the play.
- Kiefiuk later cemented the victory with an empty netter off a blocked shot by Ufko 18:08 into the third.
- Denver finished the night with a 30-24 shot advantage and both teams were 0-for-2 on the power play for the evening.
PAVICICH & MORROW HONORED BY HOCKEY EAST
- Sophomores Luke Pavicich and Scott Morrow both earned weekly awards following the Minutemen's weekend sweep of No. 1 Denver. Pavicich was tabbed the Hockey East Player of the Week and Morrow received Defender of the Week recognition.
- Pavicich picked up both victories in net for UMass, stopping 75 of 77 shots against the top-ranked Pioneers. The Clarence Center, New York, native had 45 saves in Friday's 4-2 win with both goals allowed coming in shorthanded situations. He followed up with a 30-save shutout, his first of his career, as UMass completed the weekend sweep of Denver with a 3-0 victory. On the week, Pavicich registered a 1.00 goals against average and a .974 save percentage over 119:53 in net.
- Morrow scored in both games of a weekend sweep of Denver including a shorthanded goal while killing a five-minute major on Friday. He also dished an assist in that contest for a multi-point night. The Darien, Connecticut native followed up by scoring the game winner in Saturday's 3-0 shutout, UMass' first-ever shutout of a No. 1-ranked team. Morrow finished with three points on the weekend (2g, 1a), took seven shots and was +3.
PACKING 'EM IN
- Massachusetts drew a combined 13,612 fans over its two home games against Denver last weekend, marking the largest combined attendance for a weekend series against a non-conference opponent in program history, surpassing the total of 12,358 who came through the turnstiles at the Mullins Center to see the Minutemen face Michigan State on Oct. 18-19 in 2013.
- The only two weekend attendance marks to surpass the Denver weekend total were March 9-10, 2007 when 15,181 strong were in the building to see UMass face Maine in the Hockey East Tournament and 14,439 one week earlier as the Minutemen closed out the regular season against the Black Bears in front of 14,439 on March 2-3, 2007.
DOWN GOES NO. 1
- UMass' two wins over then-No. 1 Denver last weekend marked the Minutemen's seventh and eighth-ever wins in program history over a No. 1 ranked team with Saturday's 3-0 victory being the first shutout of a No. 1 ranked foe. In program history. The last time Massachusetts topped a No. 1 ranked team prior to this season came at No. 1/2 Boston College, 3-2 in overtime on February 26, 2021.
- UMass' first-ever win over a non-league foe ranked No. 1 was a 6-3 victory at Ohio State on October 19, 2019, in Columbus. The Minutemen's other four wins against No. 1 teams were: 2/10/12 at Boston University (3-2), 11/5/11 vs. Boston College (5-1), 11/14/08 vs. Boston University (5-1) and 1/28/95 vs. Maine (4-2).
BAY STATE, OL' BAY STATE
- UMass has five Massachusetts natives on the roster this season: Mikey Adamson (Quincy), Kennedy O'Connor (Springfield), Linden Alger (Centerville), Matt Koopman (Marblehead) and Jerry Harding (Canton), the most for a Minuteman squad since the team had eight Massachusetts natives in 2013-14.
SETTING THE SCENE
- 2022-23 marks the seventh season of the Greg Carvel era at UMass. The Minutemen underwent several staff changes in the offseason as Tom Upton signed on as an assistant coach, coming to Amherst from the USHL, Nolan Gluchowski was elevated into an assistant coach role and former UMass forward Jacob Pritchard has returned as a volunteer assistant coach.
- Seventeen players from UMass' 2022 Hockey East Championship squad are back for 2022-23—10 forwards, five defensemen and two goaltenders. The Minutemen return 50 of their 117 goals from last season, 42.7%, and 47.2% of their points (150 of 318).
IN CARVEL WE TRUST
- Under head coach Greg Carvel, the Minutemen are 7-2 in the NCAA Tournament with two trips to the National Final (2019 and 2021) and one National Championship (2021) and have made three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances under Carvel.
- UMass is 20-37 all-time in the Hockey East Tournament, 10-6 under Carvel and 8-1 since 2019 with back-to-back Hockey East Tournament titles, the first two in program history.
- Overall under Carvel (Hockey East and NCAA Tournament) UMass' postseason record is 17-8 with two Hockey East Championships, two Regional Championships and one National Championship.
- Carvel, seven seasons into his UMass tenure, has led the Minutemen to four consecutive seasons of 20+ wins, including a program-record 31 wins in 2018-19, the second-highest wins total in program history (22 in 2021-22), 21 wins in 2019-20 (tied-third) and 20 wins in 2020-21 (tied-fifth).
- Carvel won his 100th game at the helm for the Minutemen on November 6, 2021 at Providence. He earned his 200th career victory on March, 12, 2022 vs. the Friars in the Hockey East Quarterfinals.
- As of the start of the 2022-23 campaign, UMass trailed only Minnesota State (152), Minnesota Duluth (113) and Quinnipiac (112) for most wins over the past five seasons with 111.
THE PREMIERE DEVELOPMENTAL PROGRAM IN COLLEGE HOCKEY
- In August of 2021, Massachusetts Hockey was named the top developmental program in NCAA Men's College Hockey by The Hockey News.
- In the Greg Carvel era, 12 Minutemen have signed NHL contracts, including eight individuals who came to UMass undrafted. Five additional players have signed AHL deals.
- Carvel mentored 2019 Hobey Baker winner Cale Makar who has since gone on to win the Calder Trophy, the Norris Trophy and the Conn Smythe Trophy while leading the Colorado Avalanche to a Stanley Cup in 2022. Makar is one of three Hobey Baker Top-10 Finalists Carvel has coached at UMass, including John Leonard and Bobby Trivigno.
-Â Under Carvel, Minutemen have earned seven All-America honors, 19 Hockey East All-Star nods and six New England All-Star recognitions. He has coached the program's first two Hockey East Players of the Year in Makar and Trivigno and its first Hockey East Rookie of the year in Josh Lopina.
- Massachusetts was tied for seventh on the list of schools who produced the most 2021-22 NHLers with 13.
- UMass is one of 10 schools with 10 or more alumni on NHL rosters to start the 2022-23 season, with 10. Michigan (21), Boston College (20), Boston University (18), Minnesota (18), North Dakota (15), Wisconsin (15), Denver (12), Minnesota Duluth (12) and Notre Dame (10) make up the remainder of the group.
SENIOR TRIO TO LEAD MINUTEMEN IN 2022-23
- UMass has named senior forward Eric Faith as team captain for 2022-23. His classmates, forwards Reed Lebster and Jerry Harding, will serve as the assistant captains for the defending Hockey East Champions.
- Faith has logged 12 points over three-plus seasons with the Maroon & White on three goals and nine assists including two game winners over 70 contests and is a key asset for the Minutemen over the faceoff dots. He appeared in a career-high 32 games as a junior in 2021-22 and is a native of Carp, Ontario.
- Lebster has 38 career points over 85 games on 22 goals and 16 assists, with five power-play goals, three game winners and is +17. The Grand Rapids, Michigan, native saw action in 36 of 37 contests last season and registered a career high 18 points on nine goals and nine assists to finish sixth in the squad in points and fifth in goals.
- Harding, a Canton, Massachusetts native, has played in 58 games over three seasons after transferring from Providence following his freshman year. He has tallied three goals and five assists for eight points in a UMass uniform.
PROSPECTS APLENTY
- The Massachusetts roster features 10 NHL draft picks, the most in program history, which is tied for eighth nationally and tied for third in Hockey East. Six of the 10 draftees are newcomers to the squad for 2022-23, including a pair of transfers in senior forward Josh Nodler (Calgary, 2019 fifth round) and junior goaltender Cole Brady (New Jersey, 2019 fifth round) along with freshmen forwards Tyson Dyck (Ottawa, 2022 seventh round), Kenny Connors (Los Angeles, 2022 fourth round) and Cole O'Hara (Nashville, 2022 fourth round), and freshman defenseman Noah Ellis (Vegas, 2020 sixth round).
- The four returning draftees are all sophomores: Scott Morrow (Carolina, 2021 second round), Taylor Makar (Colorado, 2021 seventh round), Lucas Mercuri (Carolina, 2020 sixth round) and Ryan Ufko (Nashville, 2021 fourth round).
BLUELINERS BACK
- The Minutemen return three individuals on the blueline who saw significant time in the lineup last season, led by 2022 First Team All-American and First Team Hockey East All-Star Scott Morrow. Morrow, the first rookie in program history to earn All-America recognition, is one of just four First Team All-Americans returning to college hockey in 2022-23.
- He will look to build on an impressive freshman campaign which saw him finish second for UMass in scoring with 33 points on 13 goals and 20 assists, appearing in all 37 games. He ended the season tied for sixth among the nation's freshmen in goals (13), seventh in points (33) and 11th in points per-game (.892). He was third among rookie defensemen in points per-game, second in goals and points and fifth in assists (20).
- Among all defensemen nationally, Morrow finished eighth in points per-game, tied for fourth in goals and fifth in points. He finished his rookie campaign +11 and contributed three power-play goals and three game winners. The Darien Connecticut native became the fourth defenseman in program history to reach the 30-point plateau and first to do so as a freshman, later joined by classmate Ryan Ufko. Morrow's 13 goals tied for fourth-most by a defenseman in a single season in program history, with the only Minutemen defensemen to score more in a single season being UMass Hall of Famer Thomas Poeck (twice) and Hobey Baker winner Cale Makar (16 in 2018-19).
- Morrow was Hockey East's top scoring rookie and led all defensemen in league play with 23 points over 24 games. He tied for seventh with 11 goals and tied for sixth in points per-game (9.583), first among rookies and first among defensemen in both categories.
- Ufko was a Hockey East Honorable Mention All-Star and a Hockey East All-Rookie Team honoree last season and finished second on the squad in assists with 26 over 37 games to go along with five goals for 31 points, good for third on the Minutemen roster. He led Hockey East in league play with 19 assists in 24 games and tied for sixth in scoring in league action with 22 points as he also netted three goals.
- Ufko finished tied for the national lead among rookie defensemen in assists and third among rookie defensemen in points. He contributed three power-play goals and one shorthanded goal and posted a +5 rating on the year.
- Junior Aaron Bohlinger missed time due to injury last season but still managed to put up 13 points (2g, 11a) over 30 games, including the overtime game winner over UConn in the Hockey East title game. Two of his three career goals are championship clinchers as he also had the game winner for the Minutemen in the 2021 National Championship vs. St. Cloud State.
NEXT STOP: AMHERST, MA
- The Minutemen have five players on their 2022-23 roster who began their collegiate careers at other institutions before electing to transfer to UMass, including four new arrivals for this season.
- 6-5, 181-pound left catch goaltender Cole Brady, a 2019 fifth round draft pick of the New Jersey Devils (127th overall), comes to UMass as a transfer out of Arizona State and will be a junior for the Minutemen this fall. Over two years with the Sun Devils, Brady appeared in 25 games with 23 starts and posted a 3.60 goals-against average and a .905 save percentage with one shutout. He had 30+ saves in 17 games and recorded 40+ saves on five occasions.
- 5-10, 180-pound, left-shot forward Matt Koopman joins the Minutemen as a graduate transfer following four years at Providence. Koopman saw action in 113 games with the Friars and posted 32 points on 15 goals and 17 assists and was +7. As a freshman, he was part of the Providence squad that reached the 2019 Frozen Four.
- 5-11, 193-pound, left-shot defenseman Elliott McDermott comes to UMass following two seasons at Colgate and has junior eligibility this season. McDermott appeared in 62 games over two seasons at Colgate and registered 19 points on four goals and 15 assists. The Kingston, Ontario native was a two-time ECAC Hockey All-Academic Team and Raider Academic Honor Roll member.
- 5-10, 195-pound, right-shot forward Josh Nodler, a 2019 fifth round (150th overall) draft pick of the Calgary Flames, joins the Minutemen after playing three seasons at Michigan State and is a senior for UMass this season. Nodler appeared in 99 games over three seasons with the Spartans and registered 34 points on 13 goals and 21 assists with five power-play goals and two game winners. The Oak Park, Michigan native won 54.1% of his faceoffs as a junior, good for second on the team, while taking a squad-best 573 draws. Nodler earned Academic All-Big Ten honors in 2020-21 and 2021-22, won the team's Amo Bessone Award, honoring athletic and academic achievement along with community involvement in 2020-21 and was an AHCA Krampade All-American Scholar in 2019-20, while also earning the team's Rookie of the Year award.
- The transfer portal has been kind to the Minutemen in recent memory—St. Lawrence transfer Carson Gicewicz led UMass in with 17 goals in 2020-21 with four coming at the NCAA Regional. Minnesota transfer Garrett Wait scored the overtime game winner against Minnesota Duluth to send UMass to the 2021 National Championship game and finished with 17 points (9g, 8a) in his first season with the Minutemen and put up 25 points (13g, 12a) as a senior. Providence transfer Jerry Harding has brought a physical presence to the UMass and is now wearing a letter as a senior.
- In the Minutemen's 2018-19 run to the National Championship game, St. Lawrence transfer Jacob Pritchard logged 47 points in 41 games that season, including seven power-play goals.
MINUTEMEN MAKING RETURN TO FRIENDSHIP FOUR
- Massachusetts hockey will make its return to Belfast, Northern Ireland as a participant in the 2022 Friendship Four. The Minutemen, who first played in the tournament in 2016, will be joined by UMass Lowell, Dartmouth and Quinnipiac in the four-team field.
- UMass will face UMass Lowell in the opening round on Friday, November 25, at 7 p.m. GMT (2 p.m. EST) and will play either Dartmouth or Quinnipiac in either the third-place game (3 p.m. GMT/10 a.m. EST) or Championship (7 p.m. GMT/2 p.m. EST) on Saturday, November 26 at SSE Arena in Belfast.
- The Friendship Four was born in Belfast in 2015, marking the start of a highly popular international ice hockey tournament that continues to grow to this day. The tournament was devised and has been developed by The Odyssey Trust, to promote education, social welfare, and community integration in Northern Ireland, building on the sister cities agreement between Belfast and Boston. The tournament last took place in Belfast in 2019 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. UMass took on Vermont and St. Lawrence in its first trip to the Friendship Four in 2016 during Carvel's first season in Amherst.
2022 POST-HOLIDAY PLANS SORTED
- The Minutemen will compete in the 2022 Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on December 28-29. UMass will join Clarkson, Lake Superior State and Wisconsin in the four-team field.
- Semifinals of the second annual Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off will take place on Wednesday, December 28 with the Championship game and third-place game on Thursday, December 29. The Minutemen will open the Tournament against Clarkson and will play either Lake Superior State or Wisconsin in the consolation/championship round.
HOME IS WHERE THE WINS ARE
- UMass have gone 69-19-5 at the Mullins Center over the past three-plus seasons (2018-present) for a .769 winning percentage. This stretch included a 16-game unbeaten streak (15-0-1) that began on Jan. 11, 2019 against Vermont and came to an end on Nov. 30, 2019 with a 2-1 loss to Quinnipiac.
CHARTING SUCCESS
- The Minutemen have been nationally ranked in 96 straight poll weeks since October 22, 2018 after previously not being ranked in either poll since February 2010, currently sitting at No. 6 in both the USCHO.com poll a the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's College Hockey poll, the team's highest ranking since October 4, 2021.
- For the first time in program history, the Minutemen were No. 1 in both the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's College Hockey preseason polls in 2021-22, in addition to being selected as the preseason favorite in Hockey East. UMass entered the 2019-20 season ranked No. 4 in the USCHO.com poll and No. 5 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll, which was the first time the Minutemen opened a season ranked in either poll. The Maroon & White debuted at No. 10 in the 2022-23 preseason polls.
- 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.
BLOODLINES AND FAMILY TIES
- Taylor Makar and his brother Cale (2017-19) are the fifth set of brothers to wear the Maroon & White in the program's modern era. The other four sets of brothers are: Anthony Del Gaizo (2018-22) and Marc Del Gaizo (2018-21), 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.
- 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). Kennedy O'Connor's father, Thomas, was a teammate of Alger's at UMass in 1993-94 and played with the program through 1998 before going on to a professional career with the Wheeling Nailers (1998-99) and Augusta Lynx (2000-01) of the ECHL and the Syracuse Crunch (1998-99) and Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins (1999-00) of the AHL. O'Connor's sister, Kayla, was a college hockey player as well, playing at Trinity from 2014 to 2018.
- Scott Morrow's uncle, Scott (1988-92), and dad, Steve Morrow (1988-91), both played college hockey at New Hampshire.
- Owen Murray's great uncle, Dallas Smith, played for the Boston Bruins from 1966 to 1977.
- Michael Cameron's brother, Matt, plays college hockey at Niagara and is entering his junior season with the Purple Eagles.
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