Just a day before its Hockey East quarterfinals match up with Northeastern, the Massachusetts hockey team saw its season come to an abrupt ending. Last season the Minutemen were poised for another run in the NCAA tournament. However, out of nowhere, their chances were cut short due to the incoming COVID-19 global pandemic.
As UMass fans await the start of a delayed 2020-21 winter season, let’s assemble the best possible roster the maroon and white could ever put on the ice.
Pat Keenan
From Weston, Ontario, Pat Keenan played three seasons at UMass. From 1970-73, Keenan was dominant in the offensive zone for the Minutemen. He holds multiple records in program history and will likely continue to hold them for the foreseeable future. Keenan holds the record for most goals scored as well as most points scored.
Playing in just 66 games in his career, he dropped a remarkable 105 goals, 75 assists and 180 points. His 75 assists are good enough for fourth all-time in program history. Keenan’s career goals record lies 32 goals above the second-place scorer who played over double the career games as Keenan.
Over his three-year career with UMass, he earned himself a letter each season. During the 1972-73 season, Keenan set the school record for the most points scored in a single-season, putting up 65 points. That year he set the record by scoring 43 goals and 22 assists. He also holds the single-game records for points (nine) and goals (seven). During the 1972 season, UMass saw three of its players be awarded as All-Americans (P.J. Flaherty, Keenan and Brian Sullivan). Keenan followed up his All-American season by earning another for the 1973 season. He helped the school finish with their then-school best season record of 19-7 while on their way to winning the 1972 ECAC Division II title.
After playing at UMass, Keenan went on to play one season with the Cape Cod Cubs of the North American Hockey League. Keenan was inducted into the UMass Athletics Hall of Fame in 2001. In December of 2019, UMass hung Keenan’s No. 4 jersey in the rafters of the Mullins Center.
Rob Bonneau
It was New Year’s Eve in 1994 when Rob Bonneau helped the Minutemen win their first ever game as a Division I school. Just 48 seconds into overtime, Bonneau assisted teammate Warren Norris to defeat Notre Dame and break UMass into the win column as a Division I program.
Playing four years at UMass from 1993-97, he scored 72 goals, 94 assists and 166 points in 131 games. His 72 goals rank third all-time in program history and his assists and points both rank second. Bonneau brought in three team MVP trophies in his four years with the team.
He finished his career with a plus/minus of a 24 which currently ranks fifth all-time in school history. His 166 points currently rank second all-time in program history. After playing with the Minutemen, Bonneau went on to play four seasons in the AHL.
James Marcou
The team’s Rookie of the Year in the 2007-08 season, James Marcou went on to play three seasons with the Minutemen from 2007-10. He earned himself three letters for each season played.
Marcou played in 111 games scoring 34 goals, 96 assists, and 130 points. He currently holds the program record for the most single-season assists, which he set during the 2010 season. Marcou won two co-MVP awards, both of which he shared with teammate Justin Braun for the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons.
His success went well past on the ice — he also won three Hockey East All-Academic team awards each of his three seasons. During the 2007-08 season, Marcou was named a Hockey East All-Star as well as an All-Rookie. He followed up his rookie season by being named a Hockey East First Team All-Star.
In his final season with the Minutemen, Marcou earned himself a spot on the Hockey East Second Team All-Star roster. His name was also on the roster of the New England All-Stars for the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons.
The record for the most power-play points scored in school history belongs to Marcou as well with 59 total points. He finished his career with the Minutemen fourth all-time on the scoring list.
After playing for UMass, Marcou went on to play two seasons for the Worcester Sharks in the AHL.
Cale Makar
To understand how great Cale Makar was with the Minutemen, just know that he has his own page in the record book.
After being drafted fourth overall in the 2017 NHL Draft to the Colorado Avalanche, Makar stuck with his verbal commitment to play at UMass. In his two seasons at UMass, Makar earned letters for both years. He played in 75 games scoring 21 goals, 49 assists and 70 points.
Makar became the first Minuteman to ever win the Hobey Baker Award as the nation’s top college hockey player, winning it for the 2018-19 season. Makar became the centerpiece of a historic season for UMass that year, helping the team set records in wins as well as reaching their first ever Division I Ice Hockey Championship game.
Makar became the first defenseman ever to lead Hockey East in scoring, as he put up 49 points in 40 games in 2018-19. That season, Makar broke UMass’ single-season records for points and assists by a defenseman. As an assistant captain that year, he helped the Minutemen reach their first-ever No. 1 ranking in program history.
He also became the first UMass player to be named the Hockey East Player of the Year. That season he won another MVP award within UMass as he was named the Minutemen’s most valuable player.
Makar currently holds the program record for the highest plus/minus to finish a career with at 41. After finishing up his historic 2018-19 season with the Minutemen, Makar quickly jumped into the NHL Playoffs with the Colorado Avalanche where he scored his first professional goal in his first career game. Makar was recently awarded the Calder Trophy this past season.
Thomas Poeck
The Austria native entered UMass as a highly regarded forward and left as a top defenseman.
He earned a letter for each year with the team from 2000-04. Poeck played in 130 career games, scoring 44 goals, 58 assists and 102 points. He was named an All-American his senior season and was UMass’ first ever finalist for the Hobey Baker Award. Poeck was also a New England All-Star for his senior campaign.
He won back-to-back team MVP awards for the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons. His 102 career points are currently tied for tenth-best in school history. Poeck helped the Minutemen reach back-to-back Hockey East Championship appearances. He was also the first Minuteman to be named Hockey East First Team All-Conference.
He became just the seventh player in school history to reach 100 career points.
Just three days after his great senior season, Poeck signed a free-agent contract with the New York Rangers where he scored his first career goal in his first-ever game at the professional level. In 2014, Poeck was inducted into the UMass Athletics Hall of Fame.
Jonathan Quick
In 2012, Jonathan Quick became the first Minuteman to raise the Stanley Cup after winning it with the Los Angeles Kings.
Quick played two seasons at UMass, earning two letters for each season with the team from 2005-07. After helping the Minutemen earn a trip to the NCAA tournament, Quick was dubbed an All-American for the 2007 season. He was also awarded UMass’ team MVP award that year.
Quick shattered goaltending records at UMass during his All-American season. He allowed two or fewer goals in 23 of the 37 games while also having 17 games with 30 or more saves. He helped the Minutemen win 10 games against ranked opponents that season. Quick earned a spot as a New England All-Star that season.
He finished his collegiate career with 1,564 saves and 125 goals allowed in 54 career games. Quick holds the school record for the most saves per game with a minimum of 50 games at 28.96. The record for save percentage with a minimum of 100 minutes also belongs to Quick at .926. Quick also holds the record for goals-against average at 2.40.
After his All-American season, Quick signed a three-year deal with the Los Angeles Kings, forgoing his final two years of collegiate eligibility. He helped his team reach their first-ever Stanley Cup in 2012, bringing home the Conn Smythe Trophy in the process as the most valuable player throughout the playoffs. In 2013, he won the William M. Jennings Trophy which is awarded to a goaltender who played a minimum of 25 games and had the fewest goals scored against them. A year later Quick helped the kings bring home the Stanley Cup again, as he won it for the second time in his career.
Honorable mentions: Justin Braun, Brian Sullivan, P.J. Flaherty and Warren Norris.
Carson Depp can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @CarsonDepp.
