This is getting a little ridiculous.

Don’t let Casey Wellman’s desperation strike against No. 5 Vermont Saturday night fool you, there’s something seriously wrong with the Massachusetts hockey team’s power play. It may have earned a tie on Saturday, but the unit’s latest exercise in futility cost it two points against the Catamounts Friday night.

Claiming anything is easy at Gutterson Fieldhouse these days might be a little na’iuml;ve. But take a peak at the game’s outcome, 0-of-8 on the man advantage; they call it that for a reason, you’re supposed to gain an advantage when the opposition loses a skater. Fifteen-of-111 is hardly an advantage, and it’s been down right ugly since late November.

Despite UVM’s tight, defensive style, it entered the weekend with the conference’s worst penalty kill at 72.1 percent ‘- a visit from the Minutemen is just the remedy for an ailing penalty kill.

‘We were pretty happy with Saturday night’s power play. We had 12 chances, and we got the one goal when we needed it,’ UMass coach Don Cahoon said. ‘It comes down to finishing plays off. We’re doing a lot of things in our drills that are all about the power play. We’re working diligently, so that we can explode by the end of the season. We’re getting a few more looks than we have been.’

The common sense scapegoat is Cahoon. Since last January though, it’s become clear that when UMass struggles, it’s a lack of execution, not preparation that does it in. Not that Cahoon denies any guilt in the problems, but there’s only so much a coach can do.

He says it regularly, ‘Coaches win practices. Players win games.’

The players know it, too.

Game after game, captain Cory Quirk comments that something needs to be done about the troublesome unit. And, still, it’s nearly February, and the Minutemen can’t count on anything from their man advantage ‘- even when the opposition affords them seven mulligans.

The troubling part is that this is the most gifted offensive edition of the Mass Attack since Cahoon came to Amherst from Princeton in 2000. Pick an offensive archetype ‘- UMass has it. Quirk plays the role of poised pivot while Wellman and James Marcou keep defenders on their heels with displays of excellent vision and puck skills. They have the weary blue line presence in Justin Braun, and powerful triggermen Alex Berry and Matt Irwin. Even players who may not have a classical definition or role on the unit, like Chris Davis, have the ability to put pucks in the net.

And still: 13.5 percent, it just doesn’t add up.

The issue does rest with the players. It’s just not on ice level. Look about 6 feet above that to find your problem. Goaltender Dan Meyers was right when he suggested that the game might just be more mental than physical after UMass’ 5-4 loss to Providence on Jan. 16.

‘It’s all about execution. Sometimes guys get into a place where they’re too deliberate and try to walk through each play instead of just letting it flow,’ Cahoon said. ‘As long as we’re not too deliberate and do the little things they’re trained to do, we’ll be successful.’

At even strength, the Minutemen are as good as it gets. Their plus-13 rating as a team may be a little deceiving; but play 5-on-5 for 60 minutes, and the ‘W’ is likely to fall to the Minutemen. But that’s where a weak power play is especially damning. It’s gotten to the point where opponents aren’t scared to put the Minutemen on the power play. There exists such a thing as a ‘good penalty.’ Against UMass, they all are. A two-minute tripping minor or a hook to halt an odd-man rush isn’t so bad when all will be right two minutes later.

‘I don’t think so,’ Cahoon said when asked if he’s noticed teams more willing to take penalties against the Minutemen. ‘Saturday, we had to kill a penalty in overtime, but I’m sure [Vermont] would not have wanted to take a penalty.’

Given the numbers entering Friday’s game at the Mullins Center, the Minutemen need an effective showing from their power play more than ever.

Not only does Northeastern boast the league’s best goaltender in junior Brad Thiessen, the Huskies also lead Hockey East in penalty kill efficiency (89.9 percent) and shorthanded goals (six). One false step and it’s 1-0 Northeastern. Expect to see the UMass man advantage a lot, too ‘- -the Huskies average 18.8 penalty minutes a game.

Twelve games remain on the schedule, and the Minutemen need as many points as they can get; they currently sit in seventh place, three points behind sixt
h-place UMass Lowell and four points away from home ice. The two points at stake every game mean the difference between fourth place and fifth place and eighth place and ninth place. And that one power-play goal usually means the difference between two points and none.‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘

Joe Meloni is a Collegian columnist. He can be reached at managingeditor@daiycollegian.com.