The No. 20 Massachusetts hockey team prepares for two Hockey East matchups this weekend, facing Merrimack at home on Friday, Jan. 31 before traveling up to Orono to play No. 6 Maine on Sunday, Feb. 2.
UMass (13-10-2, 4-7-2 HEA) is coming off of a three game win streak, with a home victory over Merrimack (10-13-1, 6-7-1 HEA) and a series sweep over Alaska Fairbanks. After a slow offensive start, the Minutemen found their groove and found the back of the net more consistently.
Cole O’Hara recorded his first career hat trick against the Warriors earlier this season in UMass’ 5-2 victory over Merrimack. O’Hara leads the Minutemen in points with 35, he also leads in assists with 21 and is tied with Aydar Suniev in goals with 14 each. Suniev suffered from an injury in the Minutemen’s last game against Merrimack, and will be out for some time.
“I thought we came out with a lot of desperation in that game [against Merrimack],” head coach Greg Carvel said. “Every night, it’s about competing at a certain level and that usually decides every game, so it’ll be the same.”
After some goaltending inconsistencies early on, sophomore netminder Michael Hrabal has become a dependable backbone for UMass. Hrabal averages 2.38 goals per game and has a 0.924 save percentage.
“It’s playing with desperation and [knowing that] every game counts,” Kennedy O’Connor said. “We’re playing a lot of highly ranked teams and each game is going to matter a lot for us going forward.”
The Warriors most recently won 4-3 over Northeastern. Sophomore Seamus Powell tallied a goal and an assist, bringing his point streak to five. Powell leads the team in points and assists with 14 and 11 respectively. David Sacco and Antonio Venuto are tied for most goals with seven apiece.
With a young set of netminders, the starting spot between the pipes could go to either Max Lundgren or Nils Wallström. Lundgren has a 0.903 save percentage and 3.09 goals against average, and Wallström has a 0.885 save percentage and 3.13 goals against average.
Maine (15-5-3, 7-3-3 HEA) is coming off a 4-2 loss and a 2-2 shootout win over UConn. Nicholas Niemo converted the first attempt for the Black Bears and Albin Boija stopped all three of UConn’s shots. Boija averages 1.64 goals per game and has a 0.928 save percentage.
Harrison Scott leads the team with 27 points this season and is sixth in the nation for goals scored with 15.
“Not many teams come out of [Maine] with a victory, but we have played well up there. Not always winning, but we play well,” Carvel said.
UMass faces Merrimack College at the Mullins Center for the third time in two weeks on Friday, Jan. 31 at 7 p.m. The Minutemen then travel to Maine for a 4 p.m. puck drop on Sunday, Feb. 2 against the Black Bears.
“What we’re going to do is stick to what’s working,” graduate student Joey Musa said. “We’re not going to stray away from the game plan. We know what we have to bring to the table in order for us to win, we’ve got to bring out detail, bring our energy, and if we stray away from that, that’s when we start to falter. We know the type of team, type of culture, type of character we have in there. We just stick to the things that make us a great team.”
Devin Lippman can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @devinlippman.