D1 insider: UMass responds well to losses, which have been rare

UMass freshman Ty Farmer scored twice against Boston University on Friday. (Thom Kendall/UMass Athletics)

Every college hockey team faces adversity, in one form or another, over the course of a season.

UMass enters its final nine games of the regular season with 20 wins for the first time since 2006-07 and a three-point lead over Boston College at the top of the Hockey East standings, but all three of the team’s losses in league play came in the month of January.

Third-year head coach Greg Carvel’s team has not lost back-to-back games all season. He likes that battle-back spirit, especially entering a stretch run that includes three of the next five games against the Eagles and a Providence team it swept in a November home-and-home series.

“The only thing I like about losing is that it resets our team,” Carvel said after scoring seven goals in Friday’s win at Boston University. “You could tell that our guys (after a 4-3 loss in Maine on the prior Saturday) were refocused. … I thought we came out and played the brand of hockey we've been able to play most nights this year.”