#15 Minutemen Clash With UConn In First Hockey East Matchup

Games 6-7	#15 Massachusetts Minutemen (3-2-0, 0-0-0 HE) vs. UConn Huskies (3-2-0, 0-1-0 HE) #15 Massachusetts Minutemen (3-2-0, 0-0-0 HE) vs. UConn Huskies (3-2-0, 0-1-0 HE)
Dates \| Times	Friday, October 25, 2024 \| 7:00 p.m. Sunday, October 26, 2024 \| 7:00 p.m.
Location	Amherst, Mass (Mullins Center) \| Storrs, Conn. (Toscano Family Ice Forum)
Series History	Massachusetts leads 45-18-5
Live Statistics	StatBroadcast \| StatBroadcast
Watch Live	ESPN+
Listen (Radio)	WHMP FM 101.5, AM 1400
Listen (Online)	WHMP Streaming Player \| App: Download The Varsity Sports Network on your mobile device
Game Notes	Massachusetts \| UConn
Team Records	Massachusetts \| UConn
Game Program	UMass vs. UConn - Oct. 25
Twitter	@UMassHockey \| @UMassAthletics
Instagram	UMass Hockey \| UMass Athletics
Tickets	UMass \| UConn

LAST TIME OUT
- UMass split its home and home series with Sacred Heart last weekend with each team winning the road game of hte series.
- On Saturday freshman defenseman Francesco Dell'Elce scored his first two goals of his collegiate career and added an assist for a three-point night, helping No. 15/17 Massachusetts to a 6-1 win at Sacred Heart.
- After a scoreless first, Dell'Elce opened up the scoring with a power-play goal through a screen after collecting the puck from Ryan Lautenbach and Daniel Jencko 2:20 into the second period.
- Dell'Elce added another exactly seven minutes later, banging home a rebound into an open net from Dans Locmelis and Cole O'Hara.
- Sacred Heart cut its deficit in half at the 16:26 mark of the second period when Marcus Joughin set up Mikey Adamson for a power-play goal.
- Junior Lucas Mercuri gave UMass back its two-goal lead 3:50 into the third period with a redirect of a shot from O'Hara at the top of the crease. Lautenbach earned an assist on the play, as well, his second of the night.
- Just 65 seconds later, Jack Musa scored from the high slot off a pass from Dell'Elce on the half wall.
- Cam O'Neill then pushed the margin to 5-1, tucking in a puck at the doorstep after Kenny Connors and Jencko won a battle for possession below the goal line at 6:29.
- O'Hara capped the scoring with his NCAA-leading ninth point of the season and third point of the night, a power-play goal on a tic-tac-toe setup from Aydar Suniev and Connors at 12:53.
- Sacred Heart finished with a 21-20 edge in shots on goal. UMass went 2-for-5 with the man advantage, while the Pioneers were 1-for-4.
- Michael Hrabal totaled 20 saves in net for the Minutemen and Cullen DeYoung stopped 14 for Sacred Heart.
- On Friday UMass fell in its home opener, 4-3, to the Pioneers after falling short of a comeback bid in the third period.
- The Minutemen opened the scoring when Linden Alger picked a corner from the perimeter after collecting a pass from O'Hara off a faceoff win from Locmelis just 1:08 into the first period.
- Sacred Heart managed to tie the score at 1-1 at the 8:40 mark as Jake Hewitt and Cole Galata sprung Charles Tardif on the rush and he buried a wrister from the left faceoff dot.
- Late in the second period, the Pioneers took the lead, 2-1. Reid Pabich connected with a rebound from Gabe Blanchard and Marcus Joughin mid-air and batted it into an open net at 14:53.
- Sacred Heart added another before the intermission. Pabich collected an outlet pass from Mikey Adamson and centered the puck for a Paul Minnehan tip in from the slot, 18:21 into the frame.
- The Pioneers then opened the third with Adamson firing a shot past a screened Michael Hrabal with Jake Bongo and Felix Trudeau earning the assists 26 seconds into the period.
- UMass later trimmed its deficit to 4-2 with O'Neil redirecting a Lucas Ölvestad shot from the point at the 10:09 mark, which Connors picking up the secondary helper.
- The Minutemen added another with an extra attacker on and less than two minutes to play when Locmelis and Lautenbach set up Owen Murray for the score at the back post.
- UMass continued to threaten as the clock wound down but was unable to find the equalizer despite outshooting Sacred Heart, 36-20 on the night. The Minutemen were 0-for-3 on the power play, which included an extended 5-on-3, and went 2-for-2 on the penalty kill.
- Hrabal totaled 16 saves in net for UMass and Cullen DeYoung stopped 33 between the pipes for the Pioneers.

O'HARA COPS WEEKLY HONOR
- Junior forward Cole O'Hara was selected as the Hockey East Player of the Week on Oct. 14 for his first weekly honor of his career from the league.
- The Richmond Hill, Ontario native led UMass in scoring at the Ice Breaker Tournament where the Minutemen went 1-1-0 with an 3-2 overtime loss to #15/16 Omaha and a convincing 5-1 win over Air Force and earned a spot on the Ice Breaker All-Tournament Team.
- O'Hara registered an assist against Omaha and then followed up with a career high three-point night against Air Force, which included two goals—the game-winning power-play goal and an empty net goal. He also registered one block against the Falcons.

FIRE ON ICE
- Three Minutemen are riding career-high streaks entering the weekend against UConn. Kenny Connors leads the way with a six-game point streak dating back to the 2023-24 season, accumulating nine points (1g, 8a) during this time. - Cole O'Hara's five-game point streak has also amounted to nine total points (3g, 6a) while Cam O'Neill's two goals in two games have led to career-high streaks in both points and goals.

CHART-TOPPERS
- Through five games, four Minutemen have worked their way into the top 10 of numerous offensive categories. Forward Dans Locmelis ranks seventh in the nation in faceoffs won with 58, giving the Minutemen the advantage off the draw
- Forward Cole O'Hara is tied for the national lead in points with nine, while teammates Aydar Suniev and Kenny Connors come in at 10th with seven apiece—most of Suniev's point production results from his nation-leading five goals through five games.
- The UMass offense has made its presence known to begin the year - Massachusetts ranks second in the nation in team assists with 38, second in the nation in team points with 59, and eighth in the nation in goals per game with 4.20.

WELCOME ABOARD
- Both Lucas Ölvestad and Joey Musa scored their first points as Minutemen at the Ice Breaker Tournament in a 5-1 victory over Air Force.
- Ölvestad broke the ice for UMass 2:44 into the second period, scoring his second career goal and first in 35 collegiate games.
- Musa later assisted on a Nick VanTassell goal to put the Minutemen up 4-0 in the third period.
- Both players joined the program as transfers this past offseason and have made an immediate impact on the scoresheet.

STATE OF THE U
- University of Massachusetts hockey has youthful roster in its ninth season under head coach Greg Carvel in 2024-25 as the squad is comprised of 16 returning letterwinners and 12 newcomers, which includes 17 freshmen and sophomores.
- UMass saw the bulk of its roster turnover on its back end from a year ago, losing three experienced blueliners to graduation and juniors Scott Morrow and Ryan Ufko to professional hockey. Morrow and Ufko provided almost 20% of the team's points last season with Morrow leading UMass in scoring with 30 points (6g, 24a) and Ufko chipping in 26 points (10g, 16a) which was good for third on the team. Linden Alger returns for a fifth season and will provide a veteran presence on the Minutemen's back end after serving as Ufko's partner on UMass' No. 1 "D" pairing last season. Junior Owen Murray, who was a regular in the lineup as a sophomore and provided 10 points (2g, 8a) a year ago should see yet another bump in his ice time in 2024-25. To help recoup its defensive losses, the Minutemen have added transfer Lucas Ölvestad who is fresh off a National Championship with Denver. UMass has also added 2023 Red Wings' fourth round draft pick Larry Keenan, highlighting a group of five freshmen blueliners.
- The Minutemen return seven of their top nine scorers from last season, including Jack Musa and Aydar Suniev who put up 29 and 25-point seasons respectively as freshmen in 2024-25 and tied for the team lead in goal scoring with12 apiece. In total, UMass brings back 11 members of its forward group from a year ago and adds four newcomers, including graduate transfer Joey Musa.
- In net Michael Hrabal returns for his sophomore campaign after starting 29 of 37 games as a freshman. He will be backed up by classmate Jackson Irving and freshman James Norton.

HATS OFF, AYDAR
- Netting three goals in the 2024-25 season opener, Aydar Suniev recorded his first career hat trick, passing his previous single-game high of two goals and the first hat trick by a UMass forward since the 2021 NCAA Tournament (Carson Gicewicz vs Bemidji State 3/27/21). The feat is also the first in a season opener by a Minuteman since Austin Plevy in a 6-3 win over Colorado College on 10/9/15.

CARVEL'S FAST-150
- The 2024-25 season is already making waves around Amherst as Greg Carvel collects his 150th win at UMass with a victory over Bentley (10/5/24). His continued success through only 289 games put him in the Massachusetts record books next to Don "Toot" Cahoon, reaching the milestone 87 games quicker.
- Cahoon, the program's all-time wins leader recorded his 150th win in his 376th game and his 166th win in his 434th. Only 15 wins away, Carvel is closing in on Cahoon as the program's all-time wins leader.

ALL EYES ON U
- Three Minutemen make The Hockey News "Top 100 NCAA Players to Watch in 2024-25" with Michael Hrabal (29), Aydar Suniev (73), and Kenny Connors (100).
- Hrabal's size, sky-high potential, and solid freshman season have set eyes on him as the season kicks off.
- Suniev receives praise for his intelligence and skill, while Connors could be in store for a strong junior season.

SUMMER SUCCESS
- Following his 2023-24 season with the Minutemen, Dans Locmelis took the ice for Latvia in the Olympic Games Qualification this summer, posting a goal and an assist in three games to help his nation earn a spot in the upcoming 2026 Winter Olympics.

RAIN OR SHINE
- Among players returning to the Minutemen for the 2024-25 season, five players played in all 37 games during the 2023-24 season: Kenny Connors, Ryan Lautenbach, Lucas Mercuri, Jack Musa, and Cole O'Hara.

THE MORE THE MERRIER
- In the first-ever meeting between the two teams, the Minutemen set a program record for the most goals scored against a Division I program in an 11-2 win over Alaska Anchorage on December 8, 2023.
- Among the top scorers for the Minutemen, Aydar Suniev led the way with five points with fellow linemates Jack Musa and Dans Locmelis collecting two and three points, respectively.
- Jackson Irving also made his colligate debut, stopping all six shots faced in 8:50 of game time. - Suniev's five points marked the most points by a UMass freshman in a single game in the program's DI era.

NUMBER FOUR IS MONTOUR
- After posting 33 points (8g, 25a) during the 2023-24 season, UMass hockey alumnus Brandon Montour hoisted his first career Stanley Cup, the fourth Minuteman to do so and the seventh Stanley Cup for a Minuteman overall.
- Moutour, a second-round selection of the Anaheim Ducks in 2014, spent the 2014-2015 season with the Minutemen, earning Hockey East All-Rookie team honors after scoring 20 points (3g, 17a) in 21 games.

ON THE RISE
- Among the tenured Minutemen returning for the 2024-25 season, the following players posted career highs during the 2023 campaign:
- Linden Alger (C), 2g, 4pts, +5
- Ryan Lautenbach (A), 10g, 14a, 24pts, +2
- Lucas Mercuri (A), 9g, 16a, 25pts
- Owen Murray, 2g, 7a, 9pts
- Cole O'Hara, 7g, 18pts

HRA-BALLIN'
-The second-highest Minutemen ever selected in the NHL Entry Draft at 38th overall, Michael Hrabal's highly anticipated freshman season landed him on the Hockey East Second Team All-Star squad, the first UMass goalie to do so in their rookie campaign.
- Over 29 games played, Hrabal posted a 2.62 GAA and a .912 save percentage with a 16-12-1 record. He was named Hockey East's Goaltender of the Week three times during the 2023 season (10/23, 11/20, 2/12).
- Hrabal was named a Top 3 Player for Czechia during the 2023-24 World Junior Championships. Entering the 2024 season, Elite Prospects named Hrabal the fourth-ranked prospect of the Utah Hockey Club and the 11th-ranked NHL-affiliated goaltender.

GRADE-A
- Among UMass' 22 Hockey East All-Academic Team recipients from the 2023-24 season, 12 return to the squad this season with Jackson Irving, Kennedy O'Connor, Linden Alger, Cam O'Neill, Lucas Mercuri, Ryan Lautenbach, Aydar Suniev, Kenny Connors, Owen Murray, Michael Cameron, Bo Cosman and Michael Hrabal.
- Transfers Lucas Ölvestad and Joey Musa were also named to their respective conferences' all-academic teams.

YOUNG N' MIGHTY
- Despite entering the 2024 season as the seventh youngest program in college hockey with average age of 21.4 years old, UMass ranks second in tallest teams coming in at an average height of 6'1.3".
- With only two seniors on the roster, the Minutemen have the second fewest in the NCAA and are tied for eighth in total underclassmen with 17 freshmen and sophomores.

THE AMHERST PIPELINE
- The Minutemen were well represented in the NHL during the 2023-24 season ranking tied for fourth-most with North Dakota in number of alumni playing in the NHL last season with 15.
- The Minutemen are tied for ninth nationally with nine draft picks on the 2024-25 roster.
- UMass was named the top developmental program in NCAA Men's College Hockey by The Hockey News in August 2021.

GOING BACK TO THEIR ROOTS
- Sophomore Jack Musa and his older brother Joey Musa have reunited for Joey's final season of eligibility after Joey previously played three seasons at Dartmouth. The duo was most recently teammates in 2020-21 with the Odessa Jackalopes of the NAHL.
- Despite coming to Amherst from Orange Park, Florida, the Musa brothers have family ties to Western Mass. as their father, Joe Musa is a Springfield native who played college hockey at Division III Western New England (1990-92).

ALGER, LAUTENBACH AND MERCURI TO LEAD MINUTEMEN IN 2024-25
- Graduate student defenseman Linden Alger has been named captain for 2024-25, while senior forwards Ryan Lautenbach and Lucas Mercuri will serve as alternate captains.
- Alger, who announced he would be returning for a fifth season with the Minutemen this past spring, appeared in 66 games over his previous four years in Amherst, including a career-best 35 in 2023-24. He is +5 for his career and has six points on four goals and two assists, four of which came last season. The four-time Hockey East All-Academic Team honoree is the first Massachusetts native (Centerville) to wear the "C" for UMass since Conor Sheary (Melrose) did so as a senior in 2023-14.
- Lautenbach entered his senior year coming off his most productive campaign of his collegiate career in 2023-24, which saw him post 24 points on 10 goals and 14 assists, including a team-best three shorthanded tallies and one game winner. The Brighton, Michigan native has seen action in 107 career games to date with 17 goals and 36 assists for 53 points. He is a two-time Hockey East All-Academic Team member.
- Mercuri, a 2020 sixth round draft pick of the Carolina Hurricanes, has appeared in 113 of a possible 114 games over his career in a UMass uniform and has compiled 57 career points on 10 goals and 37 assists with a +3 rating, five power-play goals and five game winners. The Montreal, Quebec native posted new career highs in goals (9), assists (16) and points (25) as a junior over 37 games with three power-play tallies and three game winners. He has been named to the Hockey East All-Academic Team twice in his career thus far.

MILESTONE WATCH
- Greg Carvel is 12 away from career win No. 250. He needs 15 wins this season to pass Don "Toot" Cahoon (166 wins) to become the all-time wins leader at UMass.
- Ryan Lautenbach is two away from moving up into a tie for third all-time for career shorthanded goals, currently with three. Five individuals are tied for third with five with Stephen Werner (2002-06) being the most recent entry into the top-three.
- Michael Hrabal (19 wins) is one away from cracking the top-10 in program history in career wins by a goaltender. Director of Player Development Steve Mastalerz (2011-15) is currently 10th with 20 career wins.

IN CARVEL WE TRUST
- Head coach Greg Carvel, in his ninth season of his UMass tenure, has led the Minutemen to five 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 and 2023-24 (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.
- Among active Division I Men's head coaches, Carvel is second in wins for coaches with tenures of 14 years or less, trailing only Mike Hastings (Wisconsin, 326). Carvel is in his 14th year as a head coach and currently has 238 wins.
- Under head coach Greg Carvel, the Minutemen are 7-3 in the NCAA Tournament with two trips to the National Final (2019 and 2021) and one National Championship (2021) and have made four NCAA Tournament appearances under Carvel.
- UMass is 21-39 all-time in the Hockey East Tournament, 11-8 under Carvel and 9-3 since 2019 with consecutive Hockey East Tournament titles in 2021 and 2022, the first two in program history.
- Overall under Carvel (Hockey East and NCAA Tournament) UMass' postseason record is 18-11 with two Hockey East Championships, two Regional Championships and one National Championship.

FILL THE BILL
- UMass finished its home slate ranked 13th nationally in attendance and 11th average attendance (5,544) over 17 home games on the year.
- The attendance vs. No. 6 Michigan tied the program's Mullins Center attendance record at 8,412 after packing the building with 7,361 fans the night before against the Wolverines, good for 17th-most all-time. That weekend series against Michigan set a new non-conference weekend series attendance record with a combined total of 15,773 coming through the doors at Mullins on Oct. 13 and 14.
- Most recently, UMass drew 7,737 fans against Maine on Feb. 3, 6,342 against UConn on Feb. 10, 8,412 against Boston College on Feb. 16 and 6,089 on Feb. 23 vs. New Hampshire. It matched a program record of four straight home crowds of 6,000+, first set in 2007 (3/2, 3/3, 3/9, 3/10). Then for the home regular season finale, 6,289 fans came out to the Mullins center to break the record with a fifth-straight home crowd of 6K+.
-The streak of 6K+ attendances condinued for the Minutemen in their 2024-25 home opener with a crowd of 6,022 vs. Sacred Heart on Oct. 18.

PROSPECTS APLENTY
- The Massachusetts roster features nine NHL draft picks across eight different franchises. UMass returns Dans Locmelis (Boston, 2022 fourth round), Michael Hrabal (Arizona, 2023 second round), Cam O'Neill (Ottawa, 2022 fifth round), Aydar Suniev (Calgary, 2023 third round) and Nick VanTassell (Ottawa, 2023 seventh round) for a second season, while Kenny Connors (Los Angeles, 2022 fourth round) and Lucas Mercuri (Carolina, 2020 sixth round) are in their fourth years with the Minutemen, respectively.
- Incoming freshman Larry Keenan was selected in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft by the Detroit Red Winds in the fourth round (117th overall).

MINUTEMEN FROM NEAR AND FAR
- UMass' 2024-25 roster is comprised of student-athletes from seven different countries.
- There are three different Canadian provinces (Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec) represented and nine different states (Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey and Pennsylvania).
- Springfield native Kennedy O'Connor is the closest to home at 27 miles, while Aydar Suniev is the furthest from home (Kazan, Russia) at 4,844 miles.

HOME IS WHERE THE WINS ARE
- UMass went 85-29-10 at the Mullins Center over the past five-plus seasons (2018-present) for a .726 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.

BLOODLINES AND FAMILY TIES
- Jack and Joey Musa are the sixth set of brothers to wear the Maroon & White in the program's modern era, the fifth duo to play together at UMass. The other five sets of brothers are: Anthony Del Gaizo (2018-22) and Marc Del Gaizo (2018-21), Taylor Makar (2021-24) and Cale Makar (2017-19), 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 1994-95 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.
- Lucas Ölvestad's father, Jimmie, played for the Tampa Bay Lightning from 2001-2003 and Lucas was actually born in Tampa during his father's NHL tenure. Jimmie Ölvestad went on to have an extended pro career with Djurgårdens IF back home in Sweden.
- Owen Murray's great uncle, Dallas Smith, played for the Boston Bruins from 1966 to 1977.
- Jackson Irving's father, Father, Bruce, was a goaltender at Cornell.
- Cam O'Neill's brother Colin played hockey at UMass Lowell (2016-18) and his brother Jason played hockey at Providence (2017-21).
- Freshman Larry Keenan's grandfather Larry Keenan played in the NHL for the Toronto Maple Leafs (1961-62), St. Louis Blues (1967-71), Buffalo Sabres (1970-72) and Philadelphia Flyers (1971-72).
- Freshman James Duerr's brother Sam plays hockey at Bentley.

Scoreboard

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Players Mentioned

Linden Alger

Michael Cameron

Kenny Connors

Bo Cosman

Anthony Del Gaizo

Marc Del Gaizo

Francesco Dell'Elce

James Duerr

Michael Hrabal

Jackson Irving

Larry Keenan

Ryan Lautenbach

Dans Locmelis

Cale Makar

Taylor Makar

Lucas Mercuri

Scott Morrow

Owen Murray

Jack Musa

Joey Musa

James Norton

Kennedy O'Connor

Cole O'Hara

Cam O'Neill

Aydar Suniev

Ryan Ufko

Nick VanTassell

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics