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University of Massachusets Athletics
1998-99 Season Recap
 | Dean Stork was the captain of the 1998-99 Minutemen. |
The 1998-99 campaign was UMass? most successful as a Division I team, tying the school record for wins against D-I teams (12), while also posting its best ever finish in Hockey East, tying for sixth place and finishing just one point behind fifth place Boston University.
The season kicked off at preseason top 10 Michigan State. The Minutemen gave the Spartans all they could handle, staying within a goal of MSU until the final five minutes of the third period before falling 3-1.
Following that early road test, UMass returned home for seven consecutive home games. The homestand got off to a hard start with a 4-3 overtime loss to UMass Lowell on Oct. 22, before the Minutemen collected a 3-2 win over Merrimack.
Next came a pair of Sunday matinees vs. New Hampshire and Harvard that both saw tough losses. Eventual Hobey Baker award winner Jason Krog made his impact felt with a pair of heart-breaking goals in the second period to key the Wildcats to a 4-1 victory. UMass and Harvard staged a hard-fought battle that stayed within a goal until the Crimson scored an empty-net goal with six seconds left to take home a 3-1 win.
The next weekend would prove to be the highlight of the season for the Minutemen. With undefeated No. 4 Maine coming to town for a pair of games, UMass surprised the country with a win and tie over the eventual national champions. Goaltender Markus Helanen was the backbone of the effort making 87 saves on 89 shots in the weekend and was named National Defensive Player of the Week for his work.
UMass followed that with a four-game stretch of non-conference opponents. The Minutemen got those games off to a good start with a 4-2 win over Union at home before travelling to Vermont where they suffered a difficult 2-1 loss in a game that went scoreless for the first 44:00.
Next up was a trip to Colorado Springs where UMass gave No. 2 Colorado College all it could handle in a 4-2 loss before a 6-2 win over Air Force the next night.
The Minutemen looked to finally break their curse against Boston University the next weekend with a home-and-home series. Both games entered the third period with either UMass leading or the game tied, but the Terriers prevailed 3-2 in both contests. UMass continued to struggle the next weekend with a pair of losses to UNH.
Following a two-week layoff for finals and the holidays, UMass returned to action at Western Michigan for a two-game set. After a close 4-3 loss in the first game, freshman goaltender Mike Johnson made his first career start a memorable one, pitching a 1-0 shutout against the Broncos.
The Minutemen had their toughest stretch of the season with a three-game stretch of losses to Northeastern, Providence, and Maine, all on the road.
UMass? second-half resurgance started the next weekend with a tie at Northeastern and the end of the BU curse. The Minutemen took a 5-1 lead against the Terriers at home before they stormed back to make the game a close 5-4 finish. The win over BU was the first for UMass since 1920 and meant that the Minutemen had defeated every Hockey East opponent at least once since joining the league.
UMass suffered a small setback midweek with a 7-1 loss at the hands of Boston College in Chestnut Hill in its first appearance on Fox Sports New England. The game was also the first of three against the Eagles. The next contest was at the Mullins Center and was a more respectable 3-1 loss. UMass came incredibly close to an upset of the Eagles in the final game between the two clubs at BC. The Minutemen had two three-goal leads in the game, but suffered a heartbreaking 5-4 overtime loss to the No. 7 Eagles.
Instead of losing faith, the Minutemen rebounded from that loss to go on their best run of the season starting with a 3-1 win over Merrimack at home. UMass ran up three quick goals in the second period of that game, including two power play goals in a 10 second span to put the Warriors out of the game.
Following a 2-1 loss to UMass Lowell where the Minutemen also lost surprising forward Ray Geever with a shoulder injury, UMass downed Northeastern 6-3 at home. Following the win over Northeastern, freshman Mike Johnson took center stage again with his second shutout of the season with a 2-0 non-conference win over Army at home.
The Minutemen continued their hot play with a 3-2 win over UMass Lowell that kept the River Hawks from sweeping the Minutemen and put UMass in great position for locking up a playoff bid. The win came at a price however, with the Minutemen losing forward Kevin Poulin to a shoulder injury for the remainder of the season.
UMass was unable to make it four wins in a row at Providence the next weekend, dropping a 3-2 decision to the Friars. But the Minutemen came back to avenge that loss the next night against PC with a 3-1 win that clinched a playoff spot for UMass.
The final game of the regular season would prove to be important for seeding where the Minutemen could still finish between sixth and eighth place entering the final week of the season. UMass took care of its business, posting a 4-2 win over Merrimack on the road to finish tied for sixth in the league and get the No. 7 seed, as a result of losing the season series to UMass Lowell.
The No. 7 seed earned a trip to Orono for a matchup with the No. 2 seed Black Bears. UMass played Maine tough, especially in the first night with a 3-1 loss, but was unable to derail the eventual national champions.
The season showed a great improvement at home with UMass posting its first winning record (8-6-1) at home against a full Division I schedule. It also marked the emergence of Markus Helanen as one of the league?s great goaltenders. Helanen was the only goaltender in the league to earn Goaltender of the Month honors more than once (November, February) and was an All-Hockey East honorable mention pick.