As the Massachusetts hockey team closes its season this weekend with two home games against Maine, it also bids farewell to its seven seniors who will play their final games at the Mullins Center.
Led by senior captain Paul Dainton, who recently set the all-time school record for career saves, the senior class has left its mark on the club in areas other than the box score.
Chase Langeraap, Doug Kublin, Marc Concannon, Brian Keane, Mike Lecomte and Shawn Saunders will be honored on Saturday night, along with their keeper.
While the six scorers have accounted for 15 out of the team’s 78 total goals this season, a mere 23 percent, it is the intangibles of each man that will define his legacy as a Minuteman.
For Langeraap, it’s about his comeback from numerous injuries suffered throughout his first three seasons. Early in his career, he suffered a knee injury, and then strained it with weights while trying to strengthen it. He then blew out his shoulder.
Yet he has posted career highs in goals and shots taken in his senior year with eight and 62, respectively.
“Langeraap, who had just all sorts of bad luck in his first three years here, has really responded to being healthy and has had just a fabulous year,” said
UMass coach Don Cahoon. “He’s arguably our most improved player and he’s the player we always thought he would be.”
Kublin, on the contrary, has been healthy all four years and proved to be one of the most reliable players for Cahoon. He’s also contributed with three goals and four assists this year.
“He’s our best defenseman, the most schooled and he’s chipped in offensively,” said Cahoon. “Dougie’s had to battle through injuries, but he’s been healthy and available. He’s consistently improved and a great kid in the locker room. He’s really well liked by his teammates.”
Then there’s the story of Saunders who, as a recruited walk-on, played 57 career games (five this season) for the Mass Attack.
“[He’s] had the toughest of the year because he hasn’t been in the lineup all that much,” said Cahoon. “But he’s been a hard worker and did a great job in those games [in which he did play], giving us energy and a speed factor.”
While speed is a critical aspect of hockey, so is toughness. That’s what Concannon brings with his game.
“[Concannon] gives us a physical presence,” said Cahoon. “One of his greatest attributes is his ability to toss his body around – give up his body to make a play, block a shot – the gritty, hard part of the game. That’s a great attribute for us to have him in the lineup on that basis.”
As a result of that grittiness, “CoCo,” as the team calls him, has racked up the third most penalty minutes on the team this season.
As a role player, Keane has performed his assigned tasks admirably throughout his time as a Minuteman.
“I think he’s been the steadiest that he’s been in his four years,” said Cahoon. “Not a big point producer, but he’s played a lot of games for us, giving us great energy and a great presence in the locker room. He too is one of those top-shelf kids.”
Michael Lecomte has also cemented a legacy at UMass, gathering 19 career goals to his name. However the last part of his career was cut short after he underwent surgery for a hip-related problem.
Lecomte returned to play in six games this season and scored two goals with one assist. Afterwards, he began experiencing similar problems on the other side of the hip, according to Masslive.com.
Dainton’s leadership and ability, as Cahoon said, speaks for themselves. He goes into the final weekend of his last season with 3,097 career saves.
As Cahoon sees another group of players graduate, a familiar bittersweet feeling sets in.
“Part of the pleasure is to watch these kids finish up with a degree and then go on and start to do some great things with their lives, whether it’s in or out of hockey,” said Cahoon.
Pete Vasquez can be reached at [email protected].
