Coming off an appearance in the NCAA national title game, Massachusetts has seen its fair share of ups and downs through the first half of its follow-up season. With sizeable roster turnover from the group that went on the unprecedented run last season and nine freshmen jumping up from juniors to join the collegiate ranks, Greg Carvel’s fourth season at the helm began with high expectations and some doubt that his team could sustain the heights of success that it willed itself to in 2018-19.
But even with early struggles for the new-look cast, the Minutemen (12-4-1, 6-3-1 in Hockey East) sit in second place, one point behind Providence coming out of the break. There might be some different faces, but the identity instilled by Carvel appears the same and the team is slowly building to re-create its success.
UMass returns to action Sunday against Rensselaer in Troy, N.Y. With 17 games remaining in the second half after play resumes on Dec. 29 – 14 of which are against league opponents – here’s what No. 9 UMass needs to do down the stretch to repeat as regular-season champions.
Continue defensive consistency
After losing the top defensive duo in the country in Cale Makar and Mario Ferraro to the NHL, the big question surrounding the Minutemen was the immediate impact of their young defense.
With sophomore defenseman Marc Del Gaizo missing a majority of the first half with injuries, freshmen Zac Jones, Matt Kessel and Gianfranco Cassaro were thrust into the mix and expected to play big minutes right away. After some growing pains as they acclimated to the intensity of the college game, the trio is playing a huge role in bolstering the most effective back end in the conference and the fourth best in the nation, holding teams to an average of 1.71 goals per game.
With the three freshmen and sophomores Ty Farmer and Colin Felix playing big roles early on, senior Jake McLaughlin has been key in leading the young unit, significantly upping his game.
With Del Gaizo back in the fold, the defense has started to find its stride. Since No. 2’s return, UMass has not allowed an even-strength goal in its last three games. It will have to continue its stout play moving forward, as several potent attacks await to open the second half.
Weather the injury storm
At one point in the early going, the Minutemen were without both Del Gaizo and top-line center Jake Gaudet. To make matters worse, veteran forwards Philip Lagunov, Anthony Del Gaizo and Niko Hildenbrand all missed games as well. But even during the absence of some of their most impactful players, they managed to stay afloat in the conference and weathered the injury storm.
While shorthanded, freshmen Cal Kiefiuk and Reed Lebster, seniors Jack Suter and McLaughlin, and the energetic trio of first-year defenseman stepped up and filled big holes, producing beyond expectations. In the final series of the first half, UMass returned to full health for the first time this season. And while it’s key for them to stay healthy, their depth has already proven to be an asset.
Spread the wealth
As expected, the Minutemen have received a large chunk of their scoring from veterans Mitchell Chaffee and John Leonard (Amherst, Mass.). While Kiefiuk and Lebster helped bolster the offensive output at the start, the Minutemen were still lacking consistent scoring from the rest of the lineup to offset the main guys.
Sophomore Bobby Trivigno put up nine points on six goals in the first 17 games, but he didn’t do it consistently. UMass needs him to pick it up in the second half to add depth. He has strong chemistry with Leonard on the second line, so there’s a good chance the New York native who scored 13 goals as a freshman will see his production increase. Similarly, sophomore Oliver Chau had a hard time finding the back of the net, but he’s making improvements. After scoring just one goal in the first 14 games, he scored three in the last three. If Trivigno, Chau and Gaudet can add more to Chaffee's and Leonard’s scoring up front, the offense will take a big step forward.
Rely on college hockey’s best 1-2 net duo
UMass is anchored by the best goalie tandem in the nation, junior Matt Murray and sophomore Filip Lindberg. Like last season, the duo has split time so far in 2019, holding opponents to 27 goals. Murray’s 11 goals allowed are the fewest in the nation, which puts him at third with a 1.39 goals-against average. Lindberg isn’t too far behind, averaging 1.76 goals per game.
As the Minutemen start to identify more as a defensive-minded group, the 1-2 punch will be key in hampering opposing offenses as they enter a gauntlet of tests coming out of winter break.
Come ready to play on the road
After starting the year 1-3 on the road, taking undisciplined penalties and not playing desperate enough, UMass turned a corner with its road struggles as the first half went on – securing road wins over Northeastern, Merrimack and Quinnipiac. With six of its next seven games away from the Mullins Center, it’ll look to continue that upward trend as it hits the road for a Frozen Four rematch against No. 6 Denver (for two games), before turning around for a series against No. 5 Boston College.
Expectations were high for UMass coming into the season. Halfway through the schedule they’re in a good spot, but it only gets tougher after the first two weeks when they face off against New Hampshire, No. 13 Providence and No. 14 UMass Lowell. We’ll learn a lot about this team in a hurry.
Liam Flaherty can be reached at lflaherty24@gmail.com or on Twitter @_LiamFlaherty.
