Brian Tedder/Collegian

He rarely gets mentioned in the papers or on the stat sheets, but the Massachusetts hockey team’s most reliable player is defenseman David Leaderer.

After playing in both games this weekend in a sweep of Merrimack, Leaderer set a new school record for most games played in a career, with 147. It’s safe to say he will be adding at least two more to that mark this weekend, and will be playing for the chance to extend that mark with a pair of wins over first-place New Hampshire.

“David’s an incredibly competitive player,” UMass coach Don Cahoon said of the player he’s coached in games more than anyone else. “His competitiveness has allowed him to be a fixture in our lineup since he’s gotten here.”

Leaderer, year-by-year, played 38, 36, 39 and now 34 games from the 2004-05 season to this Spring. His scoring totals are not great (10 goals, 23 assists), but he has brought more than just offense to the Minutemen.

“He came here with a feistiness that was attractive to us,” Cahoon said. “He rarely takes a day off. You can pretty well depend every day on what you’re going to get.”

It was no surprise when Leaderer earned a spot as assistant captain in his senior year. His dependability has made him one of the foundations of the team in the locker room and on the ice.

“It doesn’t surprise me that because he’s so emotionally prepared, that he goes out there and does a real good job,” Cahoon said. “And that keeps him from getting hurt because he’s always mentally into it. And it doesn’t surprise me that he’s in the lineup every night because I know what to expect from him.”

Rookies set the mark

At the beginning of this season, freshmen James Marcou and Paul Dainton stepped into big roles for the Minutemen with heavy expectations set, not necessarily on them, but on a team that came within a game of the Frozen Four the previous year.

With the 2006-07 regular season in the books, Marcou and Dainton have already left their marks on the UMass record books.

With at least two games remaining on the schedule, Marcou is three assists away from the freshman record at UMass, set by Warren Norris (1993-94) who recorded 27 helpers in the team’s first year in action in nearly two decades.

Marcou said he hasn’t really taken time to ponder his personal impact on UMass sports, saying he’s just focused on New Hampshire this weekend, where the Mass Attack will need Marcou to continue to make plays.

“It’s good to get a good start in my first year here,” Marcou said. “It’s good that we got into the playoffs. We want to know what it’s like and get that experience. But we’re looking to go far here, and we’ve got UNH coming up.”

Goaltender Paul Dainton also set some impressive numbers in his first year in maroon and white.

Dainton set marks for saves (808), goals against average (2.45) and minutes played (1,860:47) as a freshman. Previously, Gabe Winer had played the most minutes (1,763) and saved the most shots (615) as a freshman in 2002-03. Mike Johnson had the best freshman goals-against average in his first year, with a 2.62 mark in 1998-99.

A year after Jon Quick had the best goaltending season in UMass history, the Minutemen found themselves with an empty net after Quick departed for professional hockey. Dainton won the goaltending position over sophomore Dan Meyers, and has a 12-12-6 record as a starter.

Jeremy Rice can be reached at [email protected]

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