Massachusetts hockey coach Don Cahoon understands the value of defense. For the Minutemen, defense is not reserved for the two men stationed on the blue line or the one between the pipes. Defense is a team concept, and their success starts with it. It wins championships. In every sport, in every league, if you consistently defend well then you win.

Period.

But if 2006-07 taught the Pioneer Valley anything about hockey, it was that a little offense never hurts. Last season, the Minutemen averaged 2.79 goals per game. While that certainly isn’t a great deal more than the 2.69 they’re averaging this season, the difference lies in timing and consistency.

Once again, the UMass defensemen and goaltenders are keeping their team in games. But in the last two months, the UMass offense has basically disappeared – along with their hopes of home ice in the conference tournament and any possibility of a second consecutive at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

In the first 17 games of the season, which ended with the Minutemen ranked fifth nationally and in line to host a quarterfinal series in the Hockey East Tournament, they averaged three goals per game. In the 15 game since, however, offensive output has dropped nearly a full goal per contest to 2.07.

It doesn’t matter how good a defense you have, you will not win hockey games if you can’t consistently create and take advantage of scoring chances. Especially in a league like Hockey East where players like Nathan Gerbe, Mike Radja and Jon Rheault roam the slot.

Since his team’s problems started, Cahoon toyed with different approaches to increase the offensive output. He seems to have found one answer with the top line pairing of center Cory Quirk and wingers Alex Berry and James Marcou. Berry provided very little offensively before Cahoon paired him with Quirk and Marcou. Since, however, he’s scored four goals in his last five games while still serving as the physical presence on a smallish UMass team.

But beyond that, no combination has provided UMass with anything resembling consistency.

Sophmore winger Will Ortiz has essentially vanished from the score sheets. He hasn’t scored a goal since Nov. 20 and his defensive inconsistency and undisciplined play essentially nullify his efforts if he isn’t scoring goals. His health has been an issue this season, but he has also been scratched at times because his presence on the ice hurt the team at times.

“[Recently], Will’s been more dinged up than anything else, we’re just trying to keep healthy bodies on the ice,” Cahoon said. “Will, generally speaking, is someone we look to [offensively]. He’s due. We know he’s due, he knows he’s due. I think you can look for Will to, given the opportunity, be productive this weekend.”

And it’s imperative for the Minutemen that Ortiz find the scoring stroke that had him atop the league scoring charts early in the season, and fast. Assuming UMass makes the playoffs, New Hampshire awaits them in the first round of the Hockey East playoffs. The Wildcats are good for almost four goals per game while maintaining the best scoring defense in Hockey East at 2.31 goals per game.

Ortiz isn’t alone, either. Outside of Quirk and Marcou, no UMass forward has been a viable scoring option for an extended period of time in 2007-08. And that really is what separates the Minutemen from Hockey East’s elite. New Hampshire and Boston College know they have players that are going to make plays offensively. Not just get chances, they’re going to score goals and they’re going to score often.

Naturally, not every player can be a Gerbe or a Radja, but the UMass forwards are more than capable of scoring goals on a regular basis. They just haven’t. And the Minutemen have suffered tremendously because of it.

The UMass players and coaches named crashing the net and taking more shots as possible remedies for their offensive woes. But it’s been two months and the problem still isn’t fixed. Perhaps the Minutemen were playing above their head in the season’s early stages, but that doesn’t seem like a plausible excuse. Their wins over Notre Dame and Colorado College – both top five teams at the time – are proof of this.

Following a weekend sweep at the hands of Maine two weeks ago, Cahoon commented that his team essentially dominated the Black Bears in every statistical category except for goals – those are fairly important.

With last week’s win over Boston University, the Minutemen can breathe a little easier, but there is still a slight that chance that the Minutemen will fall from the playoff picture altogether.

“We are not going to panic. We’re going to keep playing. Our guys understand what their strengths and weaknesses are and we’re working toward that end,” Cahoon said prior to the series with Boston University. “We are a pretty good team. We’ve got to find a way to be in the mix at the end. And we’ve got to scramble to do it right now.”

Joe Meloni is a Collegian editor. He can be reached at [email protected]