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If you missed the show Tuesday night, check out the podcast of the January 13, 2015 episode of the Bud Light UMass Hockey Show from The Hangar in Amherst on WHMP. Host Adam Frenier, head coach John Micheletto, and player guests Troy Power and Brandon Montour look back at last weekend's games vs. Maine and preview the upcoming home-and-home series against New Hampshire.
Listen to the podcast of the January 6, 2015 edition of the Bud Light UMass Hockey Show live from The Hangar in Amherst featuring head coach John Micheletto, defenseman Marc Hetnik, and goalie Henry Dill previewing a pair of home games vs. Maine.
Listen to the podcast of the December 2, 2014 edition of the Bud Light UMass Hockey Show live from The Hangar in Amherst featuring head coach John Micheletto and player guests Frank Vatrano and Mike Busillo recapping Quinnipiac and previewing this weekend's two-game set against Hockey East rival Notre Dame.
Listen to the podcast of the November 18, 2014 edition of the Bud Light UMass Hockey Show live from the Blue Room in Chicopee featuring head coach John Micheletto and player guests Steven Guzzo and Ben Gallacher previewing matchups against Boston College and Vermont.
With UMass hockey coming off a bye weekend, Ross Gienieczko took time to spotlight the team's involvement in Movember in an effort to raise awareness for men's health issues such as prostate cancer.
Ross Gienieczko has a preview of UMass' hockey's Friday matchup with AIC in today's Daily Collegian. Finally back at the Mullins Center following a six-game road trip, the Minutemen will be taking on the Yellow Jackets tomorrow night at 7 p.m.
Read: Minutemen prepare for Friday matchup with non-conference foe American International College
In today's Daily Hampshire Gazette, Matt Vautour takes a look at the play of freshman goaltender and current Hockey East Rookie of the Week Henry Dill, while also previewing UMass hockey's weekend at Maine and giving a mention to the start of "Movember".
Read: Freshman goalie Henry Dill off to fast start for UMass hockey team
Listen to the podcast of the October 28, 2014 edition of The Bud Light UMass Hockey Show on WHMP live from The Hangar Pub & Grill in Amherst. Head coach John Micheletto and player guests Oleg Yevenko and Shane Walsh discuss last weekend's games at Northeastern and Boston College and preview this weekend's two-game Hockey East series at Maine with hosts Brock Hines and Adam Frenier.
On Tuesday Anthony Chiusano spoke with UMass hockey coach John Micheletto and freshman goaltender Henry Dill about the rookie's recent success in net for the Minutemen as Dill has made three straight starts for UMass and is the reigning Hockey East Rookie of the Week.
Read: Dill taking advantage of playing time in net for UMass hockey
In case you missed it, UMass picked up its first Hockey East win of the season last night at Northeastern, defeating the Huskies, 3-2 at Matthews Arena.
Several news outlets had coverage of the victory:
Boston Herald: UMass stops Northeastern
USCHO.com: Auvenshine's third-period goal gives Massachusetts a win over Northeastern
Daily Collegian: UMass Hockey Downs Northeastern, 3-2
Also, check out the highlights and Coach Micheletto's postgame press conference below:
In today's Daily Hampshire Gazette, Matt Vautour has a preview of UMass hockey's weekend matchups at Northeastern and Boston College.
Read: UMass hockey confident heading to Boston for weekend matchups with NU, BC
In today's Daily Collegian, Jason Kates has a piece on UMass hockey senior forward Zack LaRue who was named one of the Minutemen's alternate captains last Friday.
Read: UMass hockey's LaRue ready for increased responsibility
Matt Vautour has a preview in advance of tonight's UMass hockey season opener against Boston University at the Mullins Center at 7 p.m.
Read: UMass ready to drop puck vs Boston University, Hockey East, 2014-15 season
Listen to the podcast of the October 7, 2014 edition of The Bud Light UMass Hockey Show on WHMP live from The Hangar Pub & Grill in Amherst. Head coach John Micheletto and player guests Troy Power and Steven Iacobellis discuss preseason practice and preview the season opener against Boston University with hosts Brock Hines and Adam Frenier. Visit our hockey radio information page for the complete radio show schedule.
On Monday at Hockey East Media Day in Boston, Matt Vautour spoke with UMass head coach John Micheletto about the beginnings of a hockey rivalry between UMass and UConn.
Read: Hockey East notebook: UMass, UConn ready build on rivalry
Check out the preview of UMass hockey's first round Hockey East Tournament matchup at Vermont. The Minutemen will take on the Catamounts tomorrow night, Mar. 7, at 7:05 p.m. on NESN.
Nick Canelas of the Daily Collegian has a story examining UMass hockey's senior class and the value it associates with this season's Hockey East Tournament.
Cameron McDonough of the Daily Collegian has a preview of this Friday's Hockey East Tournament matchup between UMass and Vermont.
Check out the podcast of last night's Bud Light UMass Hockey show, featuring Brock Hines with head coach John Micheletto and player guests senior co-captain Conor Sheary and redshirt freshman Frank Vatrano.
The final Bud Light UMass Hockey Show of the 2013-14 season will air tonight, March 4, live from the Hangar Pub & Grill on University Drive in Amherst at 7 p.m.
Brock Hines will be joined by head coach John Micheletto as well as player guests senior co-captain Conor Sheary and redshirt freshman Frank Vatrano with a look ahead to the Hockey East Tournament, which will open for the Minutemen this Friday night at Vermont.
Fans can submit questions for Coach Micheletto to answer on air via the Ask The Coach Page or through Twitter by tweeting @UMassSportsNet. Listen over the air on WHMP (AM 1400/1240, FM 96.9), online, or on mobile devices through the TuneIn Radio app.
Nick Canelas of the Daily Collegian has a feature story on Frank Vatrano who will be eligible to play for the UMass hockey team this week as the Hockey East Playoffs begin at Vermont. Vatrano had to miss the regular-season due to transfer rules.
Off the ice, Conor Sheary is pretty unassuming.
"He's a real mellow guy," teammate Michael Pereira said. "He comes off as a quiet and humble and nose-to-the-grindstone type kid. But when he gets down to the rink, he means business."
Notoriously competitive and difficult to play against, Sheary has attracted a lot of attention on the ice lately in what's been an otherwise down year for Massachusetts. He posted an eight-game point streak from Jan. 24 to Feb. 21, totaling five goals and five assists. Over that span, he also strung together a five-game goal streak despite facing two of the top goalies in college hockey, Northeastern's Clay Witt and Massachusetts-Lowell's Connor Hellebuyck, twice each.
"He's just continued to will our team to keep moving forward and stay in games," head coach John Micheletto said. "He's scored some big goals during that stretch."
Read more: Fighting To the End - Sheary a Bright Spot for Massachusetts
Lauren Rose previews the weekend's Hockey East matchups with Providence with head coach John Micheletto.
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It's probably been barely noticed, but when analyzing the reasons for the 6-15-3 record of the University of Massachusetts hockey team, the strength of its schedule is a contributing factor.
Even including the home loss to American International Jan. 14, the Minutemen's strength of schedule is ranked fifth nationally of all 59 Division I teams. They trail only New Hampshire, with the strongest slate, followed by Minnesota, Notre Dame, and Minnesota-Duluth in the latest Ratings Percentage Index as posted by U.S. College Hockey Online.
Additionally, UMass has played 15 of its 24 games away from the Mullins Center. Its home mark is 3-5-1, but 3-9-1 on the road, and 0-1-1 on neutral ice (UConn Hockey Classic).
"We're never going to make excuses, but we're pretty battled- tested for this time of year," UMass coach John Micheletto said.
Read more: Battle-tested UMass hockey looks to surge in final nine games
The tournaments, the nonconference games and the exhibitions are over.
For the next five weeks, beginning Friday and going until the end of the regular season, the University of Massachusetts will play nine games, all against conference foes, to determine its position in March's Hockey East tournament.
It starts with this weekend's home-and-home series with Merrimack -- Friday at the Mullins Center, Saturday at Lawler Arena in North Andover. Both games are at 7 p.m.
"We've been stressing every time out, no matter who we play, at home or on the road, every league game matters," UMass coach John Micheletto said. "We've tried to create that sense of urgency without creating a sense of panic. The difference is there's nothing but league games mixed in the rest of the way. There's a sprint to the finish line mentality, but I don't know that we're looking at it as any more important or less important than we have with games in the past."
Read more: UMass enters final stretch of Hockey East schedule
With the Minutemen coming off a bye weekend last weekend before resuming Hockey East play against Merrimack, Nick Canelas takes a look at the team's preparations during the 10-day layoff in today's Daily Collegian.
Check out head coach John Micheletto and redshirt-freshman Frank Vatrano's comments from yesterday's postgame press conference:
The Bud Light UMass Hockey Show returns tonight, airing live from The Hangar Pub and Grill on University Drive in Amherst from 7-8 p.m. In addition to head coach John Micheletto, Brock Hines and Adam Frenier will be joined by player guests co-captains Conor Sheary and Troy Power.
Lauren Rose previews the Minutemen's weekend matchups at Colgate with UMass head coach John Michleletto.
Nick Canelas previewed UMass' weekend matchups at Colgate this Saturday and Sunday:
The Massachusetts hockey team had little time to relish in its victory over Notre Dame on Saturday - its first win in over a month - because its next big test was only a couple days away.
Final exam week.
It's a particularly stressful time for students. Late nights studying and 10-page papers lead to little sleep over the course of the week, and the only thing keeping them sane is the five-week break that follows.
Student-athletes are no exception, and it has made for a particularly big challenge for UMass coach John Micheletto as his team tries to prepare for its weekend series at Colgate.
The Minutemen held all optional practices this week, and as of Wednesday had yet to have full participation on the ice. But through years as a coach and as an educator, Micheletto knew he had to plan ahead.
"I guess we're just trying to deal with it head on," he said. "My experience over the years is it's gonna be different so you better embrace it and talk about it and understand what the difficulties and obstacles are gonna be. That's how we've dealt with it and are gonna continue to deal with it."
Nick Canelas of the Daily Collegian has a story today on UMass hockey's win over No. 11 Notre Dame on Saturday night. Adam Phillips scored the game-winning goal with less that three minutes left in the 3rd period.
On the back of hockey's NLI signing announcement yesterday, Nick Canelas had this piece today on the coaching staff's recruiting efforts:
The Massachusetts men's hockey team had a rare weekend off after their series with Boston College ended on Friday. While the players used it as an opportunity to get some much-needed rest, UMass coach John Micheletto hit the recruiting trail.
Micheletto had little time to digest the Minutemen's hard-fought, 2-2 tie with the Eagles on Friday night. As soon as the team bus returned to Amherst, the second-year coach had his mind set on a 7 a.m. flight out of Hartford, Conn. on Saturday morning.
With practices all week and multiple games during the weekend, it's not often that Micheletto has the chance to do some in-season recruiting. But as a former director of recruiting at Vermont, the experience was certainly nothing new for him.
"It's what you do," Micheletto said. "We gotta take advantage of those weekends. When you're a head coach, you don't get out as much as you used to. So when you're off Saturday and Sunday and you have an opportunity to get somewhere, you gotta take advantage of it."
Be sure to join us tonight at the Hangar Pub & Grill for the Bud Light UMass Hockey Radio Show at 7 PM. Brock Hines will be joined by head coach John Micheletto along with assistant coach Joey Gasparini.
If you can't make it by the Hangar, you can listen live on WHMP (96.9 FM, 1440 AM, 1240 AM), online at http://player.liquidcompass.net/WHMPAM or on mobile devices using the Tune-In App.
Dan Malone had this preview of UMass hockey's weekend with UNH on MassLive.com, taking a look at the Minutemen coming off a three-point weekend and the Wildcats' early season struggles:
On the outside, the home-and-home series, which opens Friday at the Whittemore Center in Durham, N.H., before returning to the Mullins Center Saturday, is a bit of an anomaly.
The Wildcats, traditionally one of Hockey East's strongest and most consistent teams, were picked in the preseason to finish third in the conference. But after a challenging opening month that's featured matchups with five of the top 16 teams in the nation, including No. 1 Minnesota and No. 2 Michigan twice, New Hampshire's record sits at just 1-5-1 overall and 0-2 in the league.
For UMass coach John Micheletto, it's a strange thing to see. But he knew better than to judge the Wildcats by their record alone, saying it "isn't indicative of the talent that they have or the coaching that they've got."
Read more: UMass hockey looks to carry momentum into home-and-home series with UNH (with video)
Nick Canelas has this preview of UMass hockey's home and home weekend with UNH, which begins tonight in Durham, N.H. with a 7:30 p.m. contest that will be televised on WBIN and Fox College Sports.
Massachusetts hockey coach John Micheletto had high expectations for his first line going into the season.
Seniors Conor Sheary, Michael Pereira and Branden Gracel were placed on the same line midway through last season and immediately jelled, finishing the season as the Minutemen's top three leading scorers and accounting for 35 percent of the team's point production.
Micheletto didn't just expect the trio to pick up where it left off; his intentions were for it to be even better.
"We hope they do more than they did last year," Micheletto said in the preseason.
Read More: UMass hockey looks to improve depth heading into UNH
Mark Chiarelli of the Daily Hampshire Gazette has a preview of the weekend's hockey series against Maine.
Dick Baker of the Springfield Republican has a story on Ben Gallacher who transferred to UMass from Ohio State. Gallacher is one of four Minutemen who hail from Calgary.
The Bud Light UMass Hockey Radio Show returns this Tuesday, Jan. 8, and will be broadcast live from Fathers & Sons in West Springfield starting at 7 p.m. on WHMP (AM 1400/1240/FM 96.9), also available streaming online and via the TuneIn app.
This week's show will feature player guests Steven Guzzo and Shane Walsh, a preview of this weekend's home-and-home with Providence, a recap of the Ledyard Classic tournament victory and more.
Click here to submit a question for head coach John Micheletto
Congratulations to John Micheletto for earning his first head coaching victory as the UMass hockey team defeated Connecticut, 4-1, last night in front of a record-breaking crowd at the Mullins Center. The 7,123 attendance figure was the largest turnout for a home opener in program history.
Several media outlets had coverage of the game:
Boston Globe: New UMass hockey coach aims for change
Daily Hampshire Gazette: UMass hockey takes down UConn 4-1 in season opener
Springfield Republican: UMass hockey gets 4-1 win over UConn in opener
Daily Collegian: UMass hockey takes season-opener against UConn
Harry Plumer also had this column on Micheletto
Check out the highlights and postgame interviews as well:
College Hockey News released its team-by-team preview yesterday. Here is the UMass portion:
Massachusetts Minutemen
Head Coach: John Micheletto
2011-12 Record: 13-18-5, 9-14-4 Hockey East (8th)
Who's Back: Jr. F Mike Pereira (17-17-34), Jr. F Conor Sheary (12-23-35), Jr. F Branden Gracel (7-14-21) Jr. D Joel Hanley (7-18-25), Jr. Conor Allen (7-7-14), Soph. G Kevin Boyle (8-7-4, 3.00, .895)
2012-13 Outlook: Again this season, the story of the Minutemen is their junior class. With a deep and wide talent breadth, this group forms the nucleus from all four sets of forwards to the blue line.
John Micheletto begins his first season as coach after Don "Toot" Cahoon retired over the summer. Having seen this primary core of Minutemen three times a year for the past two seasons, the UMass coach had an impression of his new team before even stepping on campus.
"I've always been impressed with their speed and their work ethic," Micheletto said. "Those things continue to impress me. You never know how coachable or receptive guys are going to be when you're on the outside. That's one thing that's really struck me. Their sponges. They're wide-eyed. They're assimilating information into their everyday work habits. Those things are good to see. I shouldn't be surprised, because I've always admired their work ethic. To see it first hand has been great, but you never really know until you're there."
Coach Micheletto is also mentioned in Joe Meloni's "Hockey East: What To Watch, 2012-13"
With the season opener just one week away, College Hockey News has rolled out its season preview coverage, which includes a Q&A with UMass head coach John Micheleletto.
John Micheletto spent the last nine seasons at Vermont as recruiting coordinator and an assistant coach to Kevin Sneddon. In his time, he helped the Catamounts in their transition to Hockey East in the 2005-06 season, while overseeing NCAA Tournament teams. Now, he takes over Massachusetts, his first collegiate head coaching job. Micheletto brings with him former Vermont player and assistant Joey Gasparini, while inheriting Len Quesnelle from former coach Don "Toot" Cahoon's staff. Quesnelle is entering his ninth season as an assistant coach for the Minutemen.
The 46-year-old Micheletto takes over at UMass after Cahoon stepped down this summer following 12 seasons in Amherst. Micheletto inherits a team that went 13-18-5 last season, good for eighth in Hockey East. But with only three seniors on the squad and four losing seasons in its last five, UMass is picked to finish ninth in the preseason polls.
In his time at Vermont, 12 different Catamounts were drafted to the NHL, including Viktor Stalberg of the Chicago Blackhawks. Micheletto was also an integral part of the Catamounts' appearance in the 2009 Frozen Four. Prior to Vermont, Micheletto also served as an assistant at Union and Notre Dame.
With Hockey East Media Day taking place yesterday afternoon at the TD Garden in Boston, both the Daily Hampshire Gazette and the Springfield Republican had coverage of the event. The preseason coaches poll was also announced, with the Minutemen selected ninth.
MassLive.com: UMass hockey coach John Micheletto impressed by team's work ethic so far
MassLive.com: UMass hockey coach John Micheletto, Hockey East coaches talk rule changes
MassLive.com: UMass hockey coach John Micheletto welcomed by Hockey East peers
Daily Hampshire Gazette: UMass picked ninth; changes coming to Hockey East
MassLive.com: UMass hockey picked ninth in Hockey East pre-season coaches poll
Daily Collegian: UMass hockey picked to finish ninth in HEA preseason poll
Matt Vautour of the Daily Hampshire Gazette caught up with UMass hockey head coach John Micheletto last week:
The University of Massachusetts hockey players had planned to return to campus early even before this summer's unexpected coaching change.
After two back-to-back difficult years, the Minutemen wanted to get an early start on the 2012-13 season and everyone agreed to show up early to begin preparing for what they hope will be a turn-around year.
But their mid-August arrival proved even more fortuitous for coach John Micheletto, the former Vermont assistant who was hired last month to replace Toot Cahoon, who retired this summer.
"It showed a real nice commitment and for me, rather than only knowing them from watching them from the opposing bench or talking to them on the phone, it's nice to have them around to develop a relationship that's a little more than just a phone call here and there," he said Wednesday. "Now the freshmen will start trickling in so it will be a smaller group that I have to develop a rapport with."
The rarity of a summer coaching change forced Micheletto to cram five months of tasks into less than two. But the first-time head coach is eagerly embracing the task.
Read more of: Coach John Micheletto embracing the task of taking over UMass hockey
New head coach John Micheletto has been featured in Inside College Hockey's "INCH A-Z" series.
Harry Plumer of the Springfield Republican caught up with hockey head coach John Micheletto yesterday to talk about his first week on the job at UMass:
John Micheletto hasn't even had a chance to clean his new office.
But he was working on that Monday morning, among other things, on his first full day in the Mullins Center as UMass hockey's new head coach.
"I'm rearranging a little furniture," Micheletto said by phone. "Dusting and cleaning ... it's a nice little setup here."
The first week after accepting a new job is a stressful one for a coach, with time split between the start of a new job and the logistics of leaving the old one. Putting items in storage, getting a "For Sale" sign in the lawn of the old place and finding a new one to call home all take time and effort out of what a new coach really wants to be doing: Figuring out his first steps in taking over a program.
Continue reading UMass coach John Micheletto getting comfortable in new digs
In case you missed it, The Average Joe Show of 1450 ESPN The Hall has posted a podcast of new UMass hockey head coach John Micheletto's interview from last Monday.
It is available in streaming and downloadable formats.
A number of media outlets covered the announcement of John Micheletto as the new coach of the UMass hockey program yesterday:
Boston Herald: John Micheletto scores UMass hockey job
Daily Hampshire Gazette: UMass names John Micheletto new hockey coach
Springfield Republican: UMass introduces John Micheletto as new hockey coach
Daily Collegian: UMass formally introduces John Micheletto as new hockey head coach
Boston Globe: UMass names Vermont assistant new hockey coach
USCHO.com: Vermont assistant Micheletto named Massachusetts head coach
College Hockey News: UMass Picks Micheletto to Fill Coaching Vacancy
Daily Hampshire Gazette: UMass hockey players react to hiring of new coach John Micheletto
MassLive.com: UMass hockey players relieved to have a coach again