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University of Massachusets Athletics
UMass Hockey Notes
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GAME #33
UMass vs. Merrimack
Volpe Complex - North Andover, Mass.
Mar. 5, 1999 - 7:00 p.m.
MINUTEMEN MAKE PLAYOFFS: With their 3-1 win against Providence College on Saturday night, UMass clinched a spot in the Hockey East Tournament. The Minutemen enter Friday's contest with Merrimack tied for sixth place in the league standings, but still could finish anywhere between sixth and eighth place. UMass' quarterfinal opponent in the playoffs, which could be Maine, New Hampshire or Boston College, will not be known until at least the conclusion of Friday night's games, but definitely be known by the finish of the UNH-Maine game on Saturday night.
UMASS-MERRIMACK SERIES: Friday's contest will mark the 36th meeting in the series between UMass and Merrimack. The Warriors hold a 19-14-3 lead in the all-time series, which began in 1970. Merrimack won the season series last season, 2-1, but UMass a 2-0 edge in the series this year, winning 3-2 in October, and 3-1 in February, with both games taking place in Amherst.
HOME SWEET HOME: The Mullins Center was a gracious home for the Minutemen this season, with the team posting its best record ever there against a Division I schedule. UMass posted an 8-6-1 record there, including five wins in the final six home games. UMass' previous best record at home vs. a Division I schedule was in the 1996-97 season when the team posted a 9-9 record at home. The 1993-94 team was 14-2 at home, but lost the one game vs. a Division I team in the Mullins Center (Merrimack) that season.
CLAMPING DOWN ON 'D': The key to UMass' recent success has certainly been its improved defense. In the past seven games, UMass has not allowed more than three goals in a game and has held its opponent to two or less goals five times. Over that span, UMass has posted a 5-2 record and a goals-against average of 1.71. Strong penalty killing has also contributed to the effort, with the team killing off 26 of 28 opposing power plays (92.9%) during that stretch.
FANTASTIC FEBRUARY: UMass finished the month of February with a 5-3 record, posting the first winning record in a month in over three years. The last time the Minutemen had a winning record in a month was November of 1995 when the team recorded an identical 5-3 mark.
PLAYOFF POSSIBILITIES: Entering the final game of the regular season, the Minutemen can still finish anywhere between sixth and eighth in the conference. Here is how UMass' seeding possiblities work out regarding Friday's games:
| No. 6 seed: | UMass defeats Merrimack and UMass Lowell ties or loses to Northeastern or UMass ties Merrimack and UMass Lowell loses to Northeastern |
| No. 7 seed: | UMass ties or defeats Merrimack and UMass Lowell defeats Northeastern |
| No. 8 seed: | UMass loses to Merrimack |
ROOKIES HAVE GOOD WEEKEND: UMass got solid scoring from its freshman class in the weekend series with Providence. Six different freshmen recorded a goal or an assist in UMass' split with the Friars. Among the goal scorers in the class were Randy Drohan (Mississauga, Ont.) on Friday night and Jedd Crumb (Winnipeg, Man.) and Martin Miljko (Etobicoke, Ont.) on Saturday night. Overall, the freshmen accounted for 60% of the team's scoring on the weekend.
HELANEN EARNS DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS AGAIN: Sophomore goaltender Markus Helanen (Vanta?, Finland) earned Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week honors for the fourth time this season for his 37-save performance against UMass Lowell on Feb. 27 in UMass' 3-1 win that clinched a playoff spot. Helanen also earned the award on Oct. 12, Feb. 8, and Feb. 22. Helanen was also the Heaton/Hockey East Goaltender of the Month for November and the Hockey East Player of the Week on Nov. 16.
JOHNSON NOTCHES SECOND SHUTOUT: With his 2-0 shutout of Army on Feb. 19, freshman Mike Johnson (Excelsior, Minn.) became the first UMass goaltender since the hockey program was revived in 1993-94 to record two shutouts against a Division I team in the same season. Johnson also tied the mark for most shutouts in a season (since 1993). Both Dave Kilduff and Rich Moriarty recorded two shutouts in the 1993-94 campaign. Johnson also leads all Hockey East rookies with his two shutouts.
TURNER SECOND IN SCORING: Sophomore forward Jeff Turner (Saginaw, Mich.) has had a great second half of the season and moved himself into second place on the team in scoring. Since starting the second half at Western Michigan, Turner has a team high 13 points (5g, 8a) over that span and is now just two points behind Jeff Blanchard for the team lead in scoring with 20 points (8g, 12a).
STORK A TWO-WAY THREAT: Besides being the team's top defenseman, junior captain Dean Stork (Penticton, B.C.) has proven himself to be an offensive threat as well this season. Stork currently leads all UMass defensemen in scoring with 13 points (9g, 4a) and is tied for the team lead in goals with nine. With his nine goals, Stork has broken the UMass Division I record for goals by a defenseman, eclipsing the previous mark of seven set by Jaynen Rissling, set in the 1993-94 campaign. Stork's top offensive series this season was the Western Michigan series where he posted three of UMass' four goals against the Broncos.
MILJKO LEADS FRESHMAN SCORERS: Freshman forward Martin Miljko has emerged as the team's top rookie scorer this season. Miljko has 12 points (3g, 9a), seventh best overall on the team. He leads in both points and assists, and is tied with Darcy King for the freshman lead in goals.
DROHAN BREAKS THROUGH IN SCORING: After going scoreless in his first 21 games at UMass, freshman defenseman Randy Drohan has finally found a scoring touch recently. In the last eight contests, Drohan has posted six points, including goals in two of the past three games. Drohan is one of three freshmen defensemen regularly in the lineup for the Minutemen, joining Chris Brannen (Brampton, Ont.) and Toni S?derholm (Helsinki, Finland). Freshman Justin Shaw (Jamestown, R.I.) has seen action has also seen action in 17 games, after twice being sidelined by injuries.
BLANCHARD SETS SCORING PACE: Junior forward Jeff Blanchard (Stouffville, Ont.) continues to lead the Minutemen in scoring with his 22 points (7g, 15a). Both the point and assist totals are career highs for the alternate captain, who also leads the team in assists.
SELL IS TEAM GOAL LEADER: Junior forward Nathan Sell (Pembroke, Ont.) became the first Minuteman to break the 10 goal barrier since the 1996-97 season with his insurance goal against Providence College on Saturday. Sell leads the team in goals with his 10 and is tied for third on the team in scoring.
SCOUTING THE WARRIORS: Merrimack enters Friday's contest with a 11-20-1 overall record and a 7-13-1 record in Hockey East. The Warriors have been led by senior forward Rejean Stringer with 52 points (16g, 36a), while senior Kris Porter has been the team's top sniper with 22 goals and 41 points. Sophomore Tom Welby has played a majority of time in goal posting a 3.54 gaa and a .896 save % in 27 appearances along with a 9-17-1 record. Junior Cris Classen has seen more time in goal recently and holds a 3.57 gaa, a .894 save % and a 2-3-0 record in eight games.
HELANEN ON SAVES CHARTS: Sophomore goaltender Markus Helanen has made his mark on the UMass single season and career save charts. Helanen now has 767 saves this season, fourth best in school history, and 914 career stops, which ranks seventh on the UMass career chart, and is just six shy of sixth place Dave Kilduff. Here is a look at the top 10 career saves leaders in school history:
Season Saves
|
| Name | Saves | Year |
| 1. | Brian Regan | 820 | 1996-97 |
| 2. | Brian Regan | 809 | 1997-98 |
| 3. | Brian Regan | 902 | 1995-96 |
| 4. | Markus Helanen | 767 | 1998-99 |
Career Saves
|
| Name | Saves | Years |
| 1. | Brian Regan | 3,050 | 1994-98 |
| 2. | Dana Redmond | 1,545 | 1974-77 |
| 3. | Pat Flaherty | 1,306 | 1969-72 |
| 4. | Charles Rheault | 1,253 | 1971-74 |
| 5. | Bob Roland | 936 | 1959-61 |
| 6. | Dave Kilduff | 920 | 1993-96 |
| 7. | Markus Helanen | 914 | 1997 |
DUELING NETMINDERS: The emergence of freshman Mike Johnson in goal has given coach Joe Mallen an enviable dilemma, two quality goaltenders who can both win games. In nine appearances, Johnson has posted a .913 save percentage and a 3.28 and has two shutouts in five starts. Sophomore Markus Helanen is a three-time Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week selection and posted his fourth win in his last five starts against Providence on Saturday. The pair has split action for the most of the last month, but Helanen did start both games of the Providence series.
INJURY REPORT: Junior forward Kevin Poulin (Lewiston, Maine) separated his left shoulder against UMass Lowell on Feb. 20 and is out indefinitely. Sophomore forward Ray Geever (Hanson, Mass.) suffered a separated shoulder the Feb. 12 game vs. UMass Lowell and is out indefinitely. Senior defenseman Brendan Shaw (Cumberland, R.I.) suffered a dislocated shoulder in practice prior to the New Hampshire series in December and is out indefinitely.
UMASS FIELDING YOUNGEST TEAM IN COUNTRY: The Minutemen have put the youngest team on the ice in the country this season with 20 freshmen and sophomores playing in at least five games through Mar. 1. UMass has also fielded the second largest number of freshmen (11), one behind Dartmouth. Here is a look at the class breakdown of the youngest teams in the country:
|
| Fr. | So. | Jr. | Sr. | Fr. & Soph. |
| UMass | 11 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 20 |
| Michigan Tech | 8 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 20 |
| Northeastern | 9 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 19 |
| Union | 7 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 17 |
| Dartmouth | 12 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 17 |
| BU | 8 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 16 |
| Michigan | 6 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 16 |
BLANCHARD SETS NEW IRONMAN MARK: Junior forward Jeff Blanchard (Stouffville, Ont.) snapped the UMass record for consecutive games played at Maine on Jan. 17. Blanchard has now played in 92 consecutive games, besting Brad Norton's school record of 79 consecutive games set between Dec. 8, 1995 and Jan. 16, 1998 on Friday night vs. Providence. Blanchard has been in the lineup every night since Nov. 22, 1996 vs. Army. During that span, Blanchard has moved into a tie for the 33rd spot on UMass career scoring list, and is 10th in scoring among players since the program was revived in 1993-94 with 51 career points.
HEAD COACH JOE MALLEN: Joe Mallen is in his sixth season at the helm of the Minuteman hockey program and 11th year as a collegiate head coach. In his span at UMass, he sports a 65-121-13 record. Over the past five seasons, Mallen has brought his team to a highly competitive level, winning season series with Merrimack, UMass Lowell, Providence, and Northeastern over that span, and defeating every league team at least once. Mallen began his head coaching career at UMass-Boston (1979-85), where he brought the Beacons from the club level to a successful Division II program. In his five years at UMass-Boston, he compiled an 80-46-2 (.633) mark and captured the 1982 ECAC Division III Championship. Mallen has an overall career record of 145-167-15 as a collegiate head coach.
TRADING PLACES: With a shortage of defensemen available, sophomore Nick Stephens (Roseville, Minn.) shifted back behind the blue line temporarily. Stephens has played at defense in five of his past 10 games, while also seeing spot shifts at forward in special teams situations during those games.
THE HEX IS OVER: With their 5-4 win over Boston University on Jan. 23, the Minutemen downed the Terriers for the first time in 79 years. UMass' last win over BU had come in January, 1920, in the first ever meeting between the two schools.
SLAPSHOTS: The seven wins in Hockey East ties for the most ever by a UMass team. The 1996-97 team went 7-17 in league play....Friday's game will be the 100th game of Jeff Blanchard's collegiate career. The first quarterfinal game will be the 100th of Dean Stork's career...After Jeff Blanchard's 92 consecutive games played streak, here are the other longest current streaks among current Minutemen entering tonight's game: Kris Wallis (60 games), Nathan Sell (57 games), and Joey Culgin (44 games)...Six of UMass' losses in Hockey East have come by one goal...Freshman Darcy King and sophomore Nick Stephens have the team's best shooting percentages. King has three goals on 13 shots (20.0%), while Stephens has six goals on 33 shots (18.2%)...The Minutemen posted a win against six of the other eight Hockey East teams this season, and to date are the only team not to lose the season series with Maine...Mike Johnson has not yet allowed a goal to a non-conference opponent. All 13 of his goals against have come at the hands of Hockey East foes. Johnson shut out both Western Michigan in Army in his two non-conference appearances...Nathan Sell continues to be tied for the nation's lead in shorthanded goals with his three...Darcy King and R.J. Gates lead UMass in +/- with each possessing a +3.
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