They are two generals standing on opposite sides of the Plexiglas war zone.

But Kelly Sickavish, one of the co-captains of the UMass hockey team, stands on the outside looking into the battleground, wishing he still could be leading his troops. Meanwhile, senior co-captain Tim Turner has been left to handle the majority of the on-ice leadership, so critical for the young Minutemen as they prepare for a Hockey East playoff matchup with Maine.

Turner and Sickavish are the only Hockey East playoff-tested Minutemen on the roster, and it was a brief appearance at that, when they were unceremoniously thumped out in two games by Boston University three years ago. But after slowly revamping its look under third-year coach Don Cahoon, missing the conference playoffs is an option no longer for the Minutemen.

Sickavish has been stuck in an unenviable position since mid-December, sidelined with a concussion suffered Dec. 6 against BU. Missing the second half of his final collegiate season has been understandably difficult for the defenseman, but he has tried to make the best of the situation from the sidelines. Sickavish still attends practice and offers encouragement to the younger Minutemen still learning the collegiate game.

“It’s tough when I’m in the position I’m in,” Sickavish said. “But I think Timmy’s done a pretty good job with demonstrating [on the ice].

“I guess I’m more like a coach.”

So that leaves Turner to instill the on-ice playoff mentality into a lineup that could potentially field 17 underclassmen against the Black Bears. But it’s not as if the newcomers have ever faced a high-pressure situation in their hockey careers. The r