The Massachusetts hockey team will begin Hockey East play against Northeastern, kicking off the first of two family weekend games. Bentley will travel to the Mullins Center to play the Minutemen (3-0) to round out the back-to-back.
UMass heads into the weekend having won its first three games of the season with a sweep of Northern Michigan, outshooting them 116-58, and a 4-1 win over Stonehill. The Minutemen could start their season 4-0 for the first time since the 2009-2010 season, with a win over the Huskies (1-1).
For the first time since head coach Greg Carvel’s second season at the helm, UMass won’t play a ranked opponent in its first five games . With five freshmen entering the lineup already, this has allowed them to get adjusted to the pace of college hockey at a more gradual level.
“When I just look at the schedule, and every week I’m like, that’s a little bigger challenge than the weekend before, and that’s good,” Carvel said. “We’ve had seasons here where we’ve opened up against Michigan and Denver and Minnesota State, and that’s great too. But with this group, with our offensive group being a little younger, and a lot of them, 11 new players on the team, I think it was a good way for us to work our way into the Hockey East play.”
Two Minutemen newcomers who have taken advantage of the schedule so far have been freshmen Vaclav Nestrasil and Jack Galanek. Nestrasil is coming off a hat-trick against Stonehill, and Galanek has registered an assist in all three games. The duo played together in the United States Hockey League for the Muskegon Lumberjacks and are very familiar with each other’s play styles.
“When you play with someone for that long, you start to get a feel for their tendencies and where they are on the ice,” Galanek said. “And I think [Nestrasil and I are] fortunate enough that we have that for each other, so that kind of chemistry really helps on the ice.
Northeastern split its first two games, beating Holy Cross 6-4 and losing to Army 2-1. The Huskies lost top scorers Cam Lund and Jack Williams to AHL call-ups, but Dylan Hryckowian, who has earned three points so far, has returned. Their defense is a strength, featuring four players with over 80 career games.
The Falcons (0-2), coming off an NCAA tournament bid, dropped their first two games of the season in a Western road trip to face Colorado and the Pioneers. Bentley has also lost a decent number of last year’s squad, including graduate student and captain Ethan Leyh. Head coach Andy Jones led his Falcons to their first Atlantic Hockey Championship in program history last season and is hoping to match that success in this campaign.
“[Jones is] a good coach, it’s a good school, it’s a nice rink, he’s got good pieces there,” Carvel said. “He’s got belief in himself, as a coach, we played them last year and they’re well coached and good, solid hockey team.”
Last season, UMass opened its season against Bentley, holding on to a 5-4 win after a late three-goal push in the third period from the Falcons. Against the Huskies last year, the Minutemen split the home-and-home series as both teams shut out the other in their away game.
UMass plays against Northeastern on Friday, Oct. 17 at 7 p.m. and will face Bentley on Saturday, Oct. 18 at 7:30 p.m. Both games can be streamed on ESPN+.
Myles Donato can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @myles_donato.
