Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

UMass hockey welcomes hungry BC to Mullins

There’s only one thing more dangerous than playing the defending national champions: playing them after a loss.

That’s the task the Massachusetts hockey team faces when it welcomes No. 3 Boston College to the Mullins Center at 7 p.m. Friday night in the Hockey East Association opener for both teams.

Taylor C. Snow/Collegian

The Eagles (0-1) are coming off a disappointing 3-1 loss at Northeastern last Saturday and they will be looking to take out their frustration on the Minutemen (1-0).

“I’m certain that coach Jerry York is going to have his guys a little bit angry coming off of last week’s result for them and I’m sure they’re going to be as sharp as always,” UMass coach John Micheletto said.

In contrast, the Minutemen are coming off of a season-opening 4-1 win against Connecticut last Friday.

Not only is the momentum from last Friday’s win on UMass’ side, but also history.

During last year’s national championship run, few teams presented a bigger thorn in BC’s side than the Minutemen. Last year, UMass defeated the Eagles twice, with both wins coming at the Mullins Center.

The first was a 4-2 victory on Nov. 5, 2011, and the second was a 4-0 shutout on Jan. 13. Overall, UMass won the regular season series, 2-1, but BC got the upper-hand in the HEA Quarterfinals, with two straight one-goal victories.

But, this is a new season.

“I think our guys are smart enough to know that every year brings new challenges,” Micheletto said. “Although I think they’re probably proud of the way they played against them in the past, I also know that there’s different guys on that team this year and there’s different guys on this team.”

As far as the key to defeating this year’s BC team, it’s a recipe that Micheletto said is relatively well known.

“You look strictly at what BC has done well in the past,” Micheletto said. “They’ve used their speed and aggressiveness to their advantage and we need to try and neutralize that by moving the puck quickly. We need to deny the middle of the ice to them. They like to generate a lot of offense from the middle of the ice coming out of their own end.”

Minutemen junior defenseman Joel Hanley echoed his coach’s assessment of the Eagles’ strengths and added that special teams play will be critical on Friday, as it was against UConn.

UMass was two-for-nine on the power play against the Huskies and committed 12 penalties of its own in what was a very physical game.

Micheletto said he was pleased with the way his team played against UConn and as a result said he didn’t expect many changes to be made, if any, to the lineup against the Eagles.

Winning his spot as starting goalkeeper for the season-opening win was sophomore Kevin Boyle. His counterpart in goal, senior Parker Milner, presents a tough challenge for the Minutemen.

“We need to get some traffic in front of him,” Micheletto said. “As with any good goaltender if he can see it he’s gonna stop that first one. So if you get bodies in front and create that sort of swarming mentality and bang home a second or third shot, that’s really the best way to get to any good goaltender.”

UMass expects another large crowd this Friday and is holding its annual Operation 8K as a result. Fans are being encouraged to buy their tickets in advance as the game is anticipated to sellout. The doors will open at 5:30 p.m.

The Minutemen drew 7,123 against the Huskies, which was the biggest crowd ever for a season opener in UMass history.

Cameron McDonough can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @MDC_McDonough.

 

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    Colin ThompsonOct 19, 2012 at 3:34 pm

    Go UMass Hockey! Go UMass Minutemen! Beat Boston College!

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