With three weeks remaining in the regular season and crucial points to be earned, this weekend is arguably the most important for the Massachusetts men’s hockey team.
UMass sits seventh in the conference standings and will play a home-and-home set against No. 6 Merrimack (19-5-4, 13-5-3 Hockey East), who sits third in the conference.
The Minutemen know they can’t perform the way they did the last time out against Merrimack, when they were defeated, 11-2, at Lawler Arena.
But that was two weeks ago, and UMass (6-16-5, 5-11-5 HEA) has picked up its play since then. Last weekend, the Minutemen welcomed No. 14 ranked Boston University and Providence into the Mullins Center, where the Minutemen skated to an overtime loss against the Terriers and a 3-3 draw against the Friars.
UMass coach Don Cahoon is impressed with the way his team has responded since Merrimack’s rout.
“We had a chance to regroup and fight back and show that we weren’t just going to wilter,” Cahoon said. “So far I’ve taken a couple of good efforts. Unfortunately, the loss to BU [was] a bitter pill. Saturday night [against Providence], aside from the 10-minute letdown, we played 50 minutes of pretty solid, competitive hockey.”
The 10-minute letdown came during the onset of the second period, when UMass allowed three unanswered goals to erase their 2-0 lead. The Minutemen showed their resilience with 18 seconds left in regulation, when senior Chase Langeraap scored the game’s final goal, sending both teams to a 3-3 draw after a scoreless overtime period.
With two crucial games ahead against the Merrimack, Cahoon knows his team won’t play like it the first time against the Warriors.
“If we don’t get a better effort from our end of it [then] there’s no sense in playing the game,” Cahoon said. “It’s beyond [what I expect], I’m going to demand that that doesn’t happen again. Respect their opponent but not fear them and just get after it in a big way.”
Cahoon said that a successful weekend would be to win both games. In order to do that, the Minutemen need to display consistent focus and intensity – a problem that has plagued UMass’ young squad.
Keeping his team focused has been no easy task for Cahoon, who is not afraid to say anything to motivate his players.
“I don’t think I can repeat [some things],” Cahoon said, laughing. “But I’ll get their attention when they’re standing around. The ultimate goal is [to] get them to be responsible for each other … and not need me barking at them.”
The Warriors have been on a tear since late December, having won 12-of-13 games en route to their No. 6 national ranking. Much unlike UMass, Merrimack features a slew of big-bodied, veteran players.
Still, Cahoon knows his team can compete so long as it remains focused.
“They’re formidable, they’re a terrific team, they’ve won a lot of games and they’ve proven their worth throughout the season,” Cahoon said. “The 11-2 spread and complete shellacking that we took was a result of our own inability to gather our game together … it was just a total breakdown emotionally [and] physically.”
The Mass attack is led by freshman Michael Pereira, who has 10 goals and 12 assists in 26 games. Junior forward Danny Hobbs has picked up his play of late, scoring nine goals and 15 assists in his last 16 games played.
In total, the Minutemen have eight players with at least 10 points compared to Merrimack’s 14. The Warriors are led by three forwards who average over a point per game (Stephane Da Costa, Chris Barton and Joe Cucci).
The Minutemen will likely start senior captain Paul Dainton in net for both games. Dainton has 2,961 career saves and is 89 away from capturing the UMass all-time record.
The Minutemen will begin the home-and-home series this Friday, when the puck drops at 7 p.m. at the Mullins Center.
Steve Levine can be reached at [email protected].
