Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

Greg Carvel wins 2019 Spencer Penrose award for top DI hockey coach

UMass finished No. 4 in the country
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J.GIBSON-OKUNIEFF
(Judith Gibson-Okunieff/Daily Collegian)

The accolades just keep pouring in for the Massachusetts hockey team as coach Greg Carvel took home the 2019 Spencer Penrose award, given to the top coach in all of Division I college hockey, on Tuesday afternoon.

The American Hockey Coaches Association presents the annual award and Carvel is the first UMass hockey coach to win it.

In his third year at the helm, the Minutemen are in the midst of their most successful season in program history. UMass currently holds a 30-9-0 record which is a 13-win improvement from a year ago as well as a 25-win increase from Carvel’s first year behind the bench in 2016-17.

The Minutemen have compiled a Hockey East Regular Season Championship, a Northeast Regional title and a berth to their first ever Frozen Four, all under Carvel’s tutelage this season. UMass has also broken numerous program records in 2018-19 including home and road wins, Hockey East wins and even strung together a nine-game win streak that spanned over a month.

In December, the Minutemen were voted as the No. 1 team in the nation in the weekly USCHO poll for the first time ever and have been among the top five for 20 consecutive weeks.

Statistically, UMass has enjoyed a breakout season as it was the top scoring team in Hockey East (147), boasted the second best power play in the country (28.2), the fourth-best penalty kill (87.5) in the nation and scored 40 power play goals, which set a new program record.

Carvel is the 11th coach in school history to win a national coaching award.

Spencer Penrose funded the construction of the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, which hosted the first 10 NCAA championships.

Ryan Ames can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter @_RyanAmes.

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