Bemidji State Preview

UMass will return from the holiday break Sunday when they take on the Beavers of Bemidji State at 4:00. This will be the first game UMass plays in the Dartmouth Ledyard National Bank Classic in Hanover, NH. Sunday's game will be the first time the Minuteman have ever faced the Beavers.

- Bemidji State (7-7-0, 4-2-0) is currently in first place in College Hockey America

- Senior forward Tyler Scofield leads the team in goals with 6 while Sophomore forward Matt Read leads the team in points with 11.

- Number one goalie Matt Dalton has a 7-4-0 record, .910% save percentage, one shut out, and a 2.37 goals against average

- Bemidji State is located in Bemidji, Minnesota

UMass will then take on either Dartmouth or Army Monday at either 4:00 or 7:00.

Hockey East Midseason Grades

The Boston Globe grades each team in Hockey East as they break for the holidays. http://www.boston.com/sports/colleges/mens_hockey/articles/2008/12/18/warranting_extra_credit/?page=1

For those of you just interested in UMass' grade, here it is:

8. UMass (4-4-1, 8-6-1): C. Goaltender Paul Dainton has the second-best GAA in the league (1.63) and third-best save percentage (.935). Sophomore forward James Marcou leads the team with 19 points and senior Cory Quirk is second with 17. The Minutemen have the third-best offense in the league behind BU and BC with 3.27 goals per game and the second-best defense, allowing two goals. If there's an area that cries for improvement, it's the power play. The team has succeeded on just 15.9 percent of opportunities.

UMass Alum Jon Quick to Start Tonight

Jon Quick will start in goal tonight for the LA Kings when they take on the Columbus Blue Jackets. This will be Quick's second start in the NHL after losing his first game against Detroit. He did however stop 30 shots in that game vs. the Red Wings. The game will be on FOX Sports West and FOX Sports Ohio. Fans who do not get those channels can watch the game live online at http://gamecenter.nhl.com/nhlgc/console.jsp. Good luck to Jon and the Kings tonight.

UPDATE: The Kings shut out the Blue Jackets 3-0. Quick gets his first career win making 24 saves in the game.

Trio Sign Letter of Intent With UMass

Defensemen Darren Rowe and Colin Shea (left), and Forward Peter DeAngelo signed letters of intent to the University of Massachusetts on Tuesday. At the press conference coach Cahoon said "So far it is really turning into a very solid class that will be coming to campus over the next two years." "We like the make-up of this class as it will continue to add to the athleticism and skill level of our program. DeAngelo will not come to UMass next year, opting instead for a year playing in the USHL.

Darren Rowe

-Defensemen

-Height: 5-10

-Weight: 180

-Born: 1/24/89

-Hometown: Simi Valley, CA

-currently plays for the Cedar Rapids Rough Riders of the USHL

-member of the 2008 US Junior Select Team that won the gold medal this year

Colin Shea

-Defensemen

-Height: 6-2

-Weight: 170

-Born: 5/12/91

-Hometown: Shrewsbury, MA

-currently plays for the Boston Junior Bruins

-Father is a UMass grad

Peter DeAngelo

-Forward

-Height: 5-7

-Weight: 167

-Born: 4/8/91

-Hometown: Milford, MA

-currently plays for the Boston Advantage where he leads the team in goals with 19

Im Back

Hey everybody,

I'm sorry that I havent posted in a long time. I had a lot to do recently but now I'm free. As I'm sure you all know, we beat UConn and American International. This blog is still alive and I'm looking forward to focusing back on UMass hockey.

Gameday

Hope everyone heads to the game tonight.

For those who cannot, here is the UMass Live Game Blog.

The GameTracker is also a great way to follow the game.

...also I saw that ESPN has added college hockey to their bottom line. Hope to see that continue.

Back with a wrap-up and pics after the game...

GO UMASS!!!

UConn Preview

The Minutemen will take on UConn Friday night at the Mullins Center at 7. UMass will be trying to snap a two game losing streak. UMass has won five of their last six against the Huskies and holds an all time record of 30-8-2 against them. Coach Cahoon still needs only two more wins to become the all time winningest coach in Mass Attack history.

UConn enters the game with a 4-10-0 overall record and a 3-5-0 record in the Atlantic Hockey Conference. They currently sit in last place.

Sophomore forward Andrew Olson leads the Huskies in goals with 7. Freshmen forward Marcello Ranallo (4 G, 8 A) and Sophomore forward Jason Krispel (1 G, 11 A) are tied for the team lead in points with 12.

Number one goaltender Beau Erickson has a 3-9-0 record allowing 44 goals (3.74 GAA) while saving 344 shots (.887 SV %).

Over their last four games, the Mass Attack penalty kill is 13 for 13.

UMass fans are packing the Mullins Center this year to see some hockey. Coming into the game Friday night, UMass has an average attendance of 5,188. That is good for 11th nationally and 3rd in the Hockey East (behind UNH and BC).

...this should be an easy win for UMass and there should be a large crowd, but as we've seen this season a not so good opponent does not equal a win.

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The UMass Athletics Site has a ton of quick notes on the Mass Attack here.

Mass Attack Unranked

UMass fell out of the national rankings in this week's release. The Minutemen received 65 points, not enough to crack the top 20. Hockey East opponents Boston College (#2), Northeastern (#6), Boston University (#7), Vermont (#12), UMass-Lowell (#17), and New Hampshire (#19) are all ranked this week. Full rankings can be found here.

November Awards

Senior Brock Bradford (13 points, 7 goals, and 6 assists in November) of Boston College was named the Reebok Hockey East Player of the Month for November. James Marcou of UMass finished in 3rd place.

Northeastern Junior goaltender Brad Thiessen was named the Itech Goalie of the Month. Thiessen had a 5-2-1 record, a 2.35 GAA, and .926 save percentage. Paul Dainton of UMass finished second.

The Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Month went to Maine goalie Scott Darling who had a record of 4-1-1, a 1.32 GAA, and .951 save percentage.

Suggestions

Hello everyone!

Thanks to Mike D who e-mailed me with some suggestions on how to improve the blog. I will probably be making more changes until I find a good look for it. If anyone has any suggestions or ideas feel free to put them in the comments of this post or send me an e-mail. You can find an e-mail link in the "about me" section. Thanks to everyone who has been on here so far. I hope to continue doing this blog for a long time.

--Matt