PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Sure, it’s a pretty logical take to say that when your good players are on their A games, the team as a whole is going to do better. It’s not a hot take by any stretch of the imagination. But I’m not just saying this Massachusetts hockey team should win more games when guys like Aydar Suniev and Cole O’Hara are playing to the peak of their potential; I’m saying UMass (5-5-2, 1-3-2 Hockey East) can go toe to toe with any team in the country when its top players play like they did Saturday night at Schneider Arena in Providence.
Let’s look back to the Minutemen’s previous weekend series against Vermont when they were ousted by a team that doesn’t have nearly the top end talent UMass has. The Minutemen’s top six forwards had zero points between the two games, it was foisted in a shootout game one before being shutout game two.
Fast forward to this weekend, where the Minutemen split a series with No. 10 Providence (7-2-2, 5-1-2 HEA), but outplayed them in arguably five of the six periods between both games. Suniev: four points. O’Hara: four points. Dans Locmelis and Kenny Connors: two points apiece. With the contribution from these four, UMass chased a top 10 team in the country and a team that was previously undefeated in HEA play out of its own building.
UMass’ offensive core is deep, don’t get me wrong. Seniors Lucas Mercuri and Ryan Lautenbach haven’t fully hit their full stride yet this season and bottom six forwards like freshmen James Duerr and sophomore Bo Cosman have shown signs that they’re getting acclimated to the speed of college hockey in the last few weeks. But when the Minutemen are fully reliant on scoring from their bottom six forwards and their defensemen, there isn’t anything that really separates them from any other team in HEA.
Suniev’s two goals tonight were bonafide snipes, NHL shot level snipes. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: he has Hobey Baker potential, if he can remain consistent, which has been a minor problem to start the season.
The power play also took a step forward Saturday night, converting on two of its five opportunities. Head coach Greg Carvel stacks his top power play unit with five of the top six forwards, Suniev, O’Hara, Connors, Locmelis and Jack Musa. That unit moved the puck with purpose and precision Saturday night, not passing up shot opportunities like they have been in recent games and it paid off for them.
The injury bug has found its way to the UMass roster early this season, with Cam O’Neill going down in Thursday night’s game, while Daniel Jenčko and Michael Cameron are working through lingering injuries. In spite of this fact, the Minutemen’s forecheck was relentless Saturday night, like the forwards had no concern that if one of them went down they would be stuck with 11 forwards. That grit from the whole lineup paired with the skill from the top six made UMass look like a true top college hockey team, it showed that the ceiling for this team is much higher than has been seen to start the season.
With that being said, the top six forwards need to take Saturday night’s game as nothing but a start to what they can elevate this team to truly be. It’s great when guys like Duerr have three point nights, but that kind of offense has to simply be supplementary. The bottom six forwards, as good as they have been lately, aren’t going to carry them to wins over top teams. Scoring that comes from the types of goals that Suniev and Locmelis scored won’t just help UMass beat top teams in the country, it will make it a top team in the country.
The Minutemen are back home Friday, Nov. 22 to take on Harvard at the Mullins Center. Puck drop is slated for 7 p.m.
Matt Skillings can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @matt_skillings.
