AMHERST, Mass. — Friday night proved to be yet another emphatic statement made by the UMass hockey team.
The convincing 6-1 win over Hockey East rival Northeastern was the fifth time this season the Minutemen have knocked off a top 10 opponent.
“Tonight was obviously a bit of a marque game with two top 10 teams. I could tell my team was going to be ready to play and I thought that was as well as we played all year,” said UMass coach Greg Carvel. “We made the game extremely difficult on Northeastern. I thought we dominated the game.”
As could be expected, Northeastern coach Jim Madigan had a very different take on his team’s performance.
“Wow. We got (expletive) kicked for 60 minutes. They out-competed us, out-battled us, and wanted it more. It was embarrassing. It was our worst loss in probably five years. They just kept hammering us. It was men amongst little boys out there tonight. I thought we looked like a Pee Wee team against a college team,” Madigan proclaimed.
UMass, playing without one of its top forwards in San Jose Sharks prospect John Leonard (illness), got key contributions from Jacob Pritchard and Bobby Trivigno, both scoring a goal and two assists. Hobey Baker Award candidate Cale Makar had three assists.
Defense makes offense
As fast as UMass has taken the league by storm this season, its defense can similarly create speed up ice in the transition game. The elite skating and puck moving ability of the team’s defense was on display again Friday night.
UMass defensemen had the primary assist on four of the team’s six goals and impacted the possession game all night. In total, defensemen picked up six points on the night as UMass outshot the Huskies, 38-16. Once the defense gets pucks north, the forwards do a good job getting into the dirty areas and keeping pucks in the attacking zone.
“It’s our identity as a team. We want to be hard, heavy and fast,” Carvel began. “We have a backend that all skates extremely well. Our defensemen are all very mobile, very smart, and great with the puck. We rely on our ‘D’ for their speed. We rely on our forwards to be hard on pucks. Our identity is very clear to all of us.”
Makar had two of those primary assists and added a secondary assist on the second goal, a power play tally by Jacob Pritchard that ended up being the game winner.
Makar made a terrific lead pass to send in Brett Boeing in all alone for a breakaway goal that gave UMass a 3-0 lead in the first period. His third assist of the night was a nice feed down from the left point to Trivigno for a redirection goal on the man advantage.
Makar’s three assist night helped move into him a tie for the national lead in assists by a defensemen.
While Makar gets much of the attention, the team’s second pairing of sophomore Mario Ferraro and freshman Ty Farmer had a terrific night. Both picked up primary assists and played well away from the puck as well.
“There’s not much drop-off after Del Gaizo and Makar to Ferraro and Farmer. Our top four defensemen are superb and then our five, six, and seven are really good players, too. Our backend is outstanding,” Carvel said.
"To me, the key for my team is to have a good backend. It makes you go offensively, but to also play real well without the puck,” added the third year coach of the Minutemen.
On the first goal, Ferraro did a great job of getting the shot through from the point. He received a pass from down low and fed it across to Farmer. The puck got back to him and he made a couple nice strides before firing a shot on net that hit off Kurt Keats, who was camped out on top of the crease, before finding the back of the net.
“We scored a lot of goals around the net. It was a great sign for me. All six goals were rebounds or pucks banging around the net. At the beginning of the year that wasn’t necessarily part of our game,” said Carvel.
“It’s tough for any goalie when you take their eyes away. I think we got a lot of pucks on him and fortunately a lot went in,” Makar added.
Rookie rewarded in UMass win
Farmer had two assists, including a nice dish to the backdoor on Oliver Chau’s goal that made it 4-0. The O’Fallon, Mo., native has been very efficient, despite notching just six assists on the season. Friday marked the first time in his collegiate career he has picked up points in consecutive games.
All of UMass’ top four defensemen, including Farmer, check in at less than six feet tall. However, Farmer, Makar, Ferraro and Marc Del Gaizo all make up for a lack of size with outstanding skating ability and stick skills.
“Everyone on our backend has a lot of talent and skill. We can all move pucks around pretty well. That can be the difference in games sometimes,” said Farmer, who played four seasons in the USHL.
Farmer capped off his junior career by winning the Clark Cup with the Fargo Force last season. He’s thrilled winning hockey games has stayed with him as he’s transitioned to the college game.
“It’s super exciting. A lot of people didn’t expect us to do the damage we’re doing. It’s our job to make sure we keep it going,” Farmer said.
Farmer said he’s gained invaluable experience from playing alongside Makar and Ferraro, two players who project to have long NHL careers following their time in Amherst.
“I’ve learned a lot from those two. They’re all business. They act like pros. They know what it takes to get to the next level. They have showed me the ropes and I hope to be like them someday,” said Farmer.
The two teams will meet again Saturday night in Boston at Matthews Arena for the series finale. It’s a good bet the Minutemen will see a vastly different Northeastern team.
“We have a quick turnaround to get ourselves refocused and repurposed for tomorrow,” said Madigan.
