The Massachusetts hockey team is set to kick off 2025 with a trip out west to Tempe, Arizona to participate in the Desert Hockey Classic. In their second in-season tournament of 2024-25, the Minutemen (8-7-2, 2-5-2 Hockey East) will take on No. 16 Cornell on Friday, Jan. 3 and will play against either No. 19 Arizona State or Robert Morris on Saturday, Jan. 4.
After a first half of the season with some high-highs and some low-lows, UMass’ new year resolution is certainly to find and maintain consistency as the schedule ramps up heading into what will be mostly Hockey East play to finish the season.
Before HEA play continues for the Minutemen however, they have two non-conference games against marquee opponents, first, and most notably, a very strong Cornell (5-3-3, 3-3-2 ECAC) team.
The Big Red enter the tournament with considerably fewer games played than the Minutemen, a product of their late start to the season as an Ivy League program. With a record of 5-3-3, Cornell has faced a similar trend of inconsistency, with wins against marquee programs like North Dakota and Quinnipiac and losses to Colgate and Yale.
Although they lack the top-end offensive talent that UMass has, the Big Red play one of the most structurally sound and physically demanding products of hockey in the country.
“I was talking to [UMass Lowell head coach] Norm Bazin, we were on a flight with [Lowell] yesterday from Boston to Phoenix,” UMass head coach Greg Carvel said. “His word was, ‘Well, they’re predictable.’ That’s exactly what they are, they’re the same thing year after year, which I respect. They’re a big team, play a good defensive game, heavy, they check well. [They play] the way the game is supposed to be played. They’ve had real consistent success, much like we have.”
Another similarity between UMass and Cornell is each programs’ current spot in the pairwise rankings, which determine which teams get at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament. The Minutemen currently sit at No. 20 and need to get up to at least No. 16 to have any chance of getting a bid. A win against Cornell, as well as ideally Arizona State (8-7-1, 5-3 NCHC) on Saturday if things shake out in UMass’ favor, would put UMass right on the bubble just over halfway through the season and with some of its most difficult opponents upcoming in February and March.
Outside of the on-ice implications, Carvel is looking forward to this trip as a way for the team to get off-campus for a few days and bond as a group in a warm climate.
“I think the biggest [benefit] is just to get off campus during this stretch in January when there’s no students, it’s quiet,” Carvel said. “This is a five day trip so it’s, number one is just to get away and be together … Mullet is a nice arena, we’re in the NHL visiting team’s locker room, which is a nice setup. We’re a mile from our hotel, the guys can walk to the rink, weather is nice, it’s a really nice setup and it’s a good vibe.”
UMass will more than likely be without goaltender Michael Hrabal and forward Daniel Jenčko, at least for Friday’s game, as both are participating in the World Junior Championship in Ottawa, Canada. If either player’s team is eliminated, Carvel has said that there are plans to get them out to Arizona for the tournament, but likely only for the second game.
Although they’ll likely be without Jenčko in Arizona, the Minutemen will have Cam O’Neill back in the lineup this weekend. O’Neill has been out since mid-November with a broken hand.
“[O’Neill]’s got a full week of practice now under his belt, I think he’ll be better [Friday] than he was in the exhibition game,” Carvel said. “But he was out for six weeks with a broken hand, you don’t just get back to 100 percent in a week. He was really trending well and playing well, really unfortunate time of his injury, but he’s on his way back, he’s trending well.”
In Hrabal’s absence, Jackson Irving will man the net for UMass. Irving has a 1.19 GAA and a .949 save percentage in his two games played this season.
Puck drop in Tempe for UMass-Cornell is set for 6 p.m. EST Friday, Jan. 3. The Minutemen will play Arizona State or Robert Morris (8-7-2, 5-5-1 Atlantic Hockey) Saturday Jan. 4 at 6 or 10 p.m. EST.
Matt Skillings can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @matt_skillings.
