Pivotal Series Against #16/15 UMass Lowell Awaits #17/14 Massachusetts Hockey

Games 33-34	#17/14 Massachusetts Minutemen (17-12-3, 8-9-3 HE) vs. #16/15 UMass Lowell River Hawks (15-12-3, 8-10-2 HE) #17/14 Massachusetts Minutemen (17-12-3, 8-9-3 HE) at #16/15 UMass Lowell River Hawks (15-12-3, 8-10-2 HE)
Dates \| Times	Thursday, February 27, 2025 \| 7:00 p.m. Saturday, March 1, 2025 \| 6:05 p.m.
Locations	Thursday: Amherst, Mass. (Mullins Center) Saturday: Lowell, Mass. (Tsongas Center)
Series History	UMass Lowell leads 50-38-9
Live Statistics	Thursday: StatBroadcast Saturday: Sidearm
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 \| UMass Lowell
Team Records	Massachusetts \| UMass Lowell
Twitter	@UMassHockey \| @UMassAthletics
Instagram	UMass Hockey \| UMass Athletics
Tickets	Thursday \| Saturday

LAST TIME OUT
- No. 16 University of Massachusetts hockey took four of six points against New Hampshire last weekend, tying the Wildcats 3-3 on Friday with a 1-0 shootout loss before defeating UNH on Saturday at the Mullins Center, 3-1.
- On Friday UMass held a 2-0 lead through two periods, but New Hampshire rallied to score three times in the third and took the shootout point.
- The Minutemen opened the scoring 4:22 into the contest. After sophomore Dans Locmelis started the rush up the ice, freshman Daniel Jencko sent a centering pass to Aydar Suniev that Suniev poked home at the top of the crease.
- Suniev struck again in the second period, rocketing a one-timer from the top of the right faceoff circle into the upper corner of the UNH net off a feed from freshmen Francesco Dell'Elce and Larry Keenan at the 8:02 mark.
- The Wildcats took one of the goals back 4:36 into the third. Cy LeClerc caused a turnover in the UMass end and found Robert Cronin alone in the slot for the finish.
- The Minutemen regained their two-goal cushion by converting on the power play at the 10:54 mark. Sophomore Jack Musa buried a tic-tac-toe setup from Suniev and junior Cole O'Hara.
- Moments later however, UNH responded with a power-play goal of its own. Ryan Conmy beat goaltender Michael Hrabal through a screen with Alex Gagne and LeClerc collecting the assists 12:48 into the period.
- Just 27 seconds later, the Wildcats came up with the equalizer as Kristaps Skrastins flung a puck towards the net that tucked under the crossbar from Colton Huard and Connor Sweeney.
- UNH won the shootout, 1-0, with LeClerc being the only shooter to convert for either side.
- The Wildcats ended the night with a 31-21 advantage in shots and went 1-for-4 on the power play, while UMass was 1-for-2.
- Hrabal finished with 28 saves for the Minutemen and Jared Whale turned aside 18 for UNH.
- Suniev logged three points for UMass with two goals and an assist, Musa and O'Hara both extended their point streaks to nine straight after finding their way onto the scoresheet.
- On Saturday, the Minutemen rallied from a one-goal deficit to claim a 3-1 victory. It also marked head coach Greg Carvel's 166th victory of his UMass tenure, tying him with Don "Toot" Cahoon as the program's all-time wins leader.
- UNH opened the scoring 6:38 into the second period when Conmy cleared the puck up the ice for Nick Ring who beat his man one-on-one to go in alone on Hrabal for the finish.
- UMass responded shortly after to tie the score at 1-1. After O'Hara made a play to keep the puck in the offensive zone, he tapped it over to Lucas Olvestad. Olvestad's initial shot was stopped by Whale, but the puck trickled through for Owen Murray to tap into the empty net at the 7:18 mark.
- O'Hara followed up with the go-ahead goal for the Minutemen just 56 seconds later, winning a battle along the half wall in the defensive zone and creating an odd-man rush with his speed through the neutral zone before electing for the shot instead of the pass, which resulted in his team-leading 18th goal of the year.
- Senior Ryan Lautenbach completed the scoring in the closing seconds of the third, tucking in an empty net goal from a defensive zone clear by classmate Lucas Mercuri.
- UNH finished the night with a 36-19 shot advantage and went 0-for-3 on the power play, while the Minutemen were 0-for-1.
- Hrabal totaled 35 saves in net for UMass and Whale had 16 stops for the Wildcats.

MOST IMPROVED
- Junior forward Cole O'Hara enters this weekend's games tied for first in the nation in points with 45.
- O'Hara has blown past his previous career high for a season and is +27 past his 2023-24 total for points (18), a greater jump in point production than any player in the top-10 nationally, more than doubling the next-closest player.

THE EAGLE HAS LANDED
-UMass' victory over unanimous No. 1 ranked Boston College is their first victory over a number one opponent since back-to-back victories over Denver during the 2022-23 season. The victory is their ninth over a number one ranked team.
- The win marked the first time the Minutemen have taken down the Eagles since February 26th 2021, where they won to a score of 3-2 against the then-No.1 ranked team in the country as well.

NO ORDINARY LEAGUE
-The Minutemen continue to light up the lamp this season, taking over the scoresheets in conference play. Cole O'Hara leads the way, ranking third in points with 25 (9g, 16a). Other Minutemen with double-digit points in league play include Lucas Mercuri (4g, 12a) and Jack Musa (8g, 8a) tied for 18th in the league with 16. Aydar Suniev's return to the score sheet has him on the rise with 14 (8g, 6a) while Kenny Connors makes the list with 12 points (6g, 6a).
-As a team, UMass ranks third in save percentage throughout league play at .922. The power play, dominant all season, is scoring 11 power play goals at a 19.0% success rate, good for fourth in Hockey East. The penalty kill ranks fourth, killing the man-advantage 85.0% of the time.
- UMass has scored a season high of five goals in conference play four times, all against different opponents- UConn, Merrimack, Northeastern, and Providence College. They have also posted shutouts twice on the season, once against Boston University and again against Northeastern.

KEEPING THE GOAL LIGHTS ON
- With an empty net goal against Boston College on 2/14, Kenny Connors set a new program record for the most consecutive games with a goal with six. Connors recorded seven goals during that span, including a two goal performance against Merrimack. The streak is tied for the third-longest in college hockey this season.

A HAT TRICK OF HAT TRICKS
- Three three-goal games courtesy of Jack Musa, Cole O'Hara and Aydar Suniev make the Minutemen one of only three teams nationally to have three different players record a hat trick during the 2024-25 season.
- UMass is just one of five teams with three hat tricks on the year.

HOT ONES
- The third-longest active point streak in the nation currently belongs to junior Cole O'Hara at 10 straight, one away from matching the UMass record of 11consecutive games with a point, currently held by Tim Turner (11/26/02-1/11/03)
- During that 11-game span, O'Hara has posted 18 points on nine goals and nine assists.

AND THE AWARD GOES TO…
- Junior forward Cole O'Hara and sophomore forward Aydar Suniev are among 90+ nominees for the 2025 Hobey Baker Memorial Award. The list of candidates was announced on January 22, coinciding with the start of the Hobey Baker fan voting, which is live and will run through Sunday, March 9 at midnight. Phase two of fan balloting will come from the list of Top Ten Hobey Baker finalists beginning March 19 and closing March 30. The fans' vote accounts for a percentage of the total ballot in each phase in selecting this year's award recipient.
- Sophomore forward Jack Musa has been named one of 26 semifinalists for the 73rd Walter Brown Award, the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston announced February 4. The slate of nominees for the award, which is presented annually to the best American-born college hockey player in New England, includes 19 forwards, three defensemen and four goaltenders.

CHASING HISTORY
- Cole O'Hara currently has 45 points (18g, 27a) through 32 games, tying him for15th on UMass' all-time single-season list. He is two points away from breaking into the top 10.
- O'Hara's 45 points through 32 games is the fastest pace in UMass' Division I history as Division I single-season record holder James Marcou put up 43 points in 32 games en route to finishing with 51 points in 36 games in 2009-10, the only Minuteman in the program's DI history to break 50 points in a season.
- Hobey Baker Top-10 Finalist Bobby Trivigno had 43 points through 32 games in 2021-22.

THE WILD, WILD EAST
The Minutemen will finish their 2024-25 regular season with four matchups, all against Hockey East opponents. All opponents currently rank 14th or higher in the Pairwise rankings with UMass Lowell sitting at 14th and Maine sitting at fourth.

NEXT IN LINE
- Defenseman Francesco Dell'Elce has risen up 2025 Entry Draft boards as of late, slotting in at 91st among North American skaters per NHL.com. Dell'Elce has 19 points on six goals and 13 assists and is +10 through 28 games as the Minutemen's top scoring defenseman.

GOT YOUR (NU)MBER
- Since the beginning of the 2019-20 season, the Minutemen have emerged victorious in 11 of their 14 matchups against Northeastern, including an eight game winning streak. UMass has outscored the Huskies 45-28 during that span including two shutouts and six of the eleven victories coming with a two goal margin of victory or greater.

TWICE AS NICE
- Michael Hrabal continued his stellar play against the Northeastern Huskies that saw Hrabal stop 77 of 79 shots faced, good for a .975 save percentage and a 1.02 goals against average. Collecting his second shutout of the season, the netminder was also recognized as Hockey East's Defender of the Week, his second honor this season. Hrabal's shutout marked the second in as many games for the Minutemen, who outscored their opponents 13-0 during the two games.

RAPID FIRE
- The Minutemen's three goals in 49 seconds in the second period against Robert Morris on January 4 marked the quickest three goals in program history.
- The previous record was set on December 1, 2017 with three goals by George Mika, Jack Suter and Mitchell Chaffee in 1:18 against UConn.

MORE HARDWARE FOR HRABAL
- Sophomore goaltender Michael Hrabal earned Bronze at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship after helping his native Czechia defeat Sweden, 3-2, in a 14-round shootout in the Bronze Medal game at Canadian Tire Centre on January 5.
- Hrabal is the first two-time medal winner from UMass after also helping Czechia to Bronze in 2024. In total, seven individuals from UMass have collected eight medals at the IIHF World Junior Championship. Current junior Kenny Connors and Ryan Ufko were part of a Bronze Medal winning Team USA squad in 2023. Goaltender Filip Lindberg captured Gold with Finland in 2020 and Cale Makar took home Gold with Canada in 2018, while that same tournament Director of Equipment Operations Josh Penn earned a Bronze medal on staff with Team USA. Stephen Werner was the first Minuteman to collect a medal at the World Junior Championship, winning gold with the United States in 2004.
- Hrabal started six of seven of Czechia's games in the tournament, posting a 3-2 record with a .919 save percentage and a 2.45 goals-against average over 366:45 in net, totaling 169 saves. He helped the Czechs reach the Semifinal Round with 29 saves on 32 shots in a 4-3 victory over Canada in the quarterfinals.
- In the Bronze Medal game, Hrabal 32 shots through three periods and overtime and then denied 12 of 14 shootout attempts to help seal the medal-clinching win over Sweden, earning Player of the Game recognition. He was selected as one of Team Czechia's Top-Three Players of the Tournament by the team's coaches for a second straight year, as well.
- Freshman Daniel Jencko also competed in the 2025 World Junior Championship and put up four points (2g, 2a) in five games for Slovakia, helping the squad reach the tournament's Quarterfinal round.

IRVING EARNS FIRST CAREER WEEKLY HONOR
- Sophomore Jackson Irving was selected as the Hockey East Stop It Goaltending Goaltender of the Week on January 6, marking the third time this season that a Minuteman has earned a weekly award and the first career weekly honor for Irving.
- The Newbury, Massachusetts native started in both games at the Desert Hockey Classic for UMass and posted a 1.51 goals against average and a .946 save percentage with 53 saves on the weekend over 119 minutes.
- Irving made 31 saves on 34 shots in a 4-2 loss to #16 Cornell in game one. In game two, he posted his first career win, first career shutout and had his first career assist in an 8-0 win over Robert Morris, stopping all 22 shots he faced.

SERENITY NOW!
- The Minutemen defeated Boston University 4-0 in their first shutout of the Terriers in program history, and their largest margin of victory since 2013 on December 7. The game featured three power-play goals as a result of 48 penalty minutes taken by the Terriers, as well as five goals disallowed-three against the Minutemen and two against the Terriers, all as a result of goaltender interference.

I AM > I WAS
- Linden Alger has surpassed his career-high totals in goals, assists, and points (3g, 6a - 9p), while also shooting at a career-high 9.1%.
- Kenny Connors has continued to heat up during the second half of the season, now matching a career high in assists with 17 set during his freshman season. He trails career-high in goals by one.
- Bo Cosman's two helpers are a career high in points and assists (2a).
- 28 games through the 2024-25 campaign, Michael Hrabal is playing some of the best hockey of his college career, with a career high GAA of 2.45 and a save percentage of .925.
- Jackson Irving continues to impress, posting a 1.5 GAA on the season to go with an outstanding .943 save percentage through five games. He also has a shutout on the season.
- Dans Locmelis has posted a career-high 26 points this season vs. 14 points (7g, 7a) in 30 games as a freshman last season.
- Lucas Mercuri's nine goals tie a career high, while his 17 assists and 26 points are are both career highs, previously set at 16a, 25p last season.
- Owen Murray's four goals set a career high previously set in 2023-24 (2). He has also surpassed his career high in points with 11.
- With 15 goals on the season, Jack Musa has surpassed his freshman total of 12, accompanied by a healthy jump in his shooting percentage, up to 19.7% on the year.
- Kennedy O'Connor's five assists surpass his previous high during the 2022-23 season (2a).
- Cole O'Hara has dominated the score sheet thus far, setting a career high in goals while also setting new marks in assists and points (18g, 27a - 45p). O'Hara's previous bests were seven goals and 18 points in 37 games in 2023-24 and 13 assists in 32 games in 2022-23. His shooting percentage has jumped over 10%, up to 20.9% and is an exceptional +18 on the season.
- Lucas Olvestad's three goals and 14 assists thus far have set a new career-highs, while surpassing his previous point total (six in 32 games) with 17.
- Aydar Suniev continues to make waves, surpassing totals from his freshman campaign (14g, 13a - 27p). Accomplished in 11 less games than the previous season, Suniev's 16 goals and 14 assists for 30 points come in part from an improved shooting percentage, 16.8%, and an impressive +7 on the season.
- Nick VanTassell's 2g and 2a have yielded a new career-high in points with four, while also shooting at 11.1% on the year.

CAN U SEE US NOW?
- Three Minutemen have landed on College Hockey News' Top 50 Hobey Tracker: Cole O'Hara leads the way at fifth, up to his highest of the season. Francesco Dell'Elce's outstanding freshman year makes him one of three first year players on the list at 43, sophomore Jack Musa sits at 46.

HOME AWAY FROM HOME
- Since the 2018-19 season, UMass is 14-6-2 against Providence College, while all other opponents are 26-58-15 against the Friars in that span.
- The Minutemen are 7-2-1 in their last 10 matchups at Schneider Arena, an improvement from 0-10-1 in their previous 11 games dating back to the 2017-18 season.

"GREEN" BLUE LINE
- UMass is just one of nine teams in the nation with four or more freshman defensemen on its roster for 2024-25, trailing only Northern Michigan's seven and Alaska's five.
- The Minutemen have dressed at least three freshman defensemen in 28 of 32 games this season, dressing four on six occasions. The only team to dress three or more freshmen blueliners more times than UMass this season is Air Force (35 times in 36 GP).

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 then 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.

HOW DO YOU DUERR?
- Freshman forward James Duerr collected the first three points of his college career against Vermont on Nov. 8, netting two goals and an assist, factoring in on all three UMass goals on the evening.

CHART-TOPPERS
- Aydar Suniev is tied for 17th nationally in goals (12th in goals per-game at 0.59). He ranks 23rd in points per-game (1.11). He ranks 33rd in the nation in game-winning goals (3), and 31st in power play goals with five, tied with teammate Cole O'Hara.
- Jack Musa's three game-winning goals are also tied for 33rd in the nation, and a hat trick against UConn has helped propel him up to a tie for 25th in goals with 15. Musa also ranks 35th in the country in goals per game with .47.
- O'Hara climbs to fourth in the nation in assists with 27 and tied for first in points with 45(18g, 27a). He also ranks fifth in assists per-game at 0.84 and first in points per-game with 1.41. O'Hara is tied for 21th in the nation with 18 goals and 14th in goals per game at .56. His snipe against New Hampshire on 2/22 marked his fourth game-winning goal of the season, 14th most in the nation.
- Michael Hrabal is tied for 11th nationally in wins with 15, 12th in shutouts with two and 13th in save percentage (.925).
- Lucas Mercuri's prowess in the faceoff dot has him nationally ranked, coming in at 24th in faceoffs won with 312.
- Cole O'Hara, Jack Musa and Aydar Suniev all rank tied for fifth in the nation with one hat trick apiece.
- The UMass offense continues to impress, ranking ninth in scoring offense with 3.41 goals per game, ninth in team assists with 193 and 10th in team points with 302. The success of the power play has brought the Minutemen up to seventh at 25.5%, with the 14th-most power-play goals, 24. The team ranks 12th in scoring margin at .94. The penalty kill has steadily improved, up to 83.8% and good for 12th in the nation. Additionally, their scoring defense has risen to 17th best in the nation at 2.47 goals per-game.

SAVES GALORE: 44
- With a career-high 44-save performance in a victory over AIC on November 2, Michael Hrabal picked up the third 40+ save performance of his college career, topping his previous best of 41 saves against Denver in the 2024 NCAA Regional Tournament and a 40-save game against Boston College earlier in the 2023-24 season.

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 began by waves around Amherst as Greg Carvel collected 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 one win away, Carvel is closing in on Cahoon as the program's all-time wins leader.

ALL EYES ON U
- Three Minutemen have made 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 collegiate 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.

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 an 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 +11 for his career and has 14 points on six goals and eight 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 134 career games to date with 22 goals and 42 assists for 64 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 140 of a possible 141games over his career in a UMass uniform and has compiled 80 career points on 27 goals and 53 assists with six 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 needs one win 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 (31 wins) currently ranks fifth for career wins by a goaltender in UMass history. He needs seveb wins to match Pat Flaherty for fourth.

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. Most recently, he collected his 250th victory as a collegiate head coach on February 7, 2025 against UConn.
- 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, 337). Carvel is in his 14th year as a head coach and currently has 252 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 in 2023-24.
- 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.
- 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 continued for the Minutemen in their 2024-25 home opener with a crowd of 6,022 vs. Sacred Heart on Oct. 18 and a sellout crowd of 8,412 against UConn on Oct. 25.
- UMass had the 19th largest crowd in Mullins Center history on February 15, as 7,606 fans were in attendance to see the Minutemen take on Boston College.

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.
- Freshman Larry Keenan was selected in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft by the Detroit Red Wings in the fourth round (117th overall).

MINUTEMEN FROM NEAR AND FAR
- UMass' 2024-25 roster is composed 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 has gone 92-34-11 at the Mullins Center over the past five-plus seasons (2018-present) for a .711 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

Pivotal Series Against #16/15 UMass Lowell Awaits #17/14 Massachusetts Hockey

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Players Mentioned

Linden Alger

Michael Cameron

Mitchell Chaffee

Kenny Connors

Bo Cosman

Anthony Del Gaizo

Marc Del Gaizo

Francesco Dell'Elce

James Duerr

Michael Hrabal

Jackson Irving

Larry Keenan

Ryan Lautenbach

Filip Lindberg

Dans Locmelis

Cale Makar

Taylor Makar

Lucas Mercuri

George Mika

Owen Murray

Jack Musa

Joey Musa

Kennedy O'Connor

Cole O'Hara

Cam O'Neill

Lucas Olvestad

Aydar Suniev

Jack Suter

Bobby Trivigno

Ryan Ufko

Nick VanTassell

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics