Athol Daily News – UMass Hockey Preview: Expectations are high for the Minutemen as the new season begins

While the roster may look different, expectations for the UMass men's hockey team haven't changed.

After reaching the semifinals of the Hockey East Tournament last year and booking a spot in the NCAA Tournament, falling to eventual champion Denver in double overtime in the Round of 16, UMass returned to a position it had become accustomed to under Greg Carvel, as the Minutemen failed to win a Hockey East Tournament game and failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament in 2022.

With nine freshmen and two transfers joining the squad, UMass hopes to play to the standards established under the Carvel regime of postseason participation. That starts Saturday, when the Minutemen open their season in Waltham against Bentley, with a puck drop at 7 p.m.

My expectation is to make the NCAA tournament and the [Hockey East] final four in Boston, Carvel said Tuesday. If we achieve that, it will have been a good year. It's the same every year. I think we have that ability. I think we'll have to scratch and claw to make it to Boston Garden and the NCAA Tournament like we did last year. Although last year I thought we ruined a lot of hockey games and I take the blame for that. If we can change that and win 20 games, we will have reached the level we were aiming for.

Although the Minutemen finished with a 20-14-3 record a season ago, Carvel said he didn't feel like the team was playing to its full potential.

Carvel, who led UMass to four NCAA Tournament appearances during his first eight years at the helm of the program, winning the 2021 NCAA National Championship and the Hockey East titles in 2021 and 2022, did what all the best leaders do in the offseason : thinking about what they could have done better to get the best out of their players.

“I looked at myself a lot more than the team this summer,” Carvel said. I don't think we were as good as we should have been last year. I directed that at myself. I adjust the way I coach. I'm not going to tell you how I do that, but I'm always trying to get better as a coach. I think I can do more to get more out of this team.

Part of the path to continued success will be finding ways to separate yourself from opponents.

UMass finished the season with 108 goals scored but allowed 105. That small margin wasn't the product of a few blowouts here and there either. Of the Minutemen's 37 games, 23 were decided by one goal or less.

It was the second period that most plagued the Minutemen last winter. UMass outscored opponents 27-22 in the first period and 43-31 in the third, but was outscored 48-34 in the middle period.

The simple, but easier said than done, solution is to score more goals. The Minutemens (2.92 goals per game) ranked 32nd in the country, while their 2.84 goals allowed ranked 27th. With a brand new defensive core at the back, increasing offensive production will be paramount.

Scott Morrow, Ryan Ufko, Samuli Niinisaari, Aaron Bohlinger and Eliott McDermott all left this offseason, leaving Owen Murray and Linden Alger as the only returning defensemen to log significant minutes on defense a season ago.

Entering Saturday's game with the Falcons, three freshmen are expected to start on the back line, along with Denver transfer Lucas Olvestad, a junior.

What helps that back end is having a talented goalkeeper to clean up the mistakes. Michael Hrabel will be that guy for UMass.

The 38th pick of the 2023 NHL draft by the Arizona Coyotes started 30 games between the pipes last year as a freshman, posting a 2.59 goals allowed average and a .912 save percentage. When Hrabel was in net, UMass went 16-12-1. His progress, along with finding more offensive production, will play a big role in whether the Minutemen can reach their full potential.

Hrabel is the man we need to take the big step, Carvel said. Last year he was a little inconsistent at times. When he took office, he was a difference maker. We need him to be solid so that our young defense can learn how to play at this level and we need to score goals. We don't have to win the games 3-2. It would be nice if we could score three or four goals a game and give ourselves some breathing space.

Where could that higher score come from? One place to look is a trio of players who impressed during their freshman seasons in maroon and white.

Jack Musa and Aydar Suniev tied for UMass' lead in goals last season, each with 12 assists. Musa added 17 assists, while Suniev, a 2023 third-round pick by the Calgary Flames, had 13.

Dans Locmelis, a Bruins fourth-round pick in 2023, scored seven goals and dished out seven assists last season and is a player who has shown tremendous growth from year one to year two in the program.

Jack Musa looks better than last year, Carvel said. Suniev is doing his best, which is great to see. Locmelis is the one you will see the biggest improvement from. He's the kid who needed to get stronger and build his endurance. He's faster on the ice and he looks really good.

Seniors Lucas Mercuri (nine goals, 16 assists) and Ryan Lautenbach (10 goals, 14 assists) are the veteran leaders on offense and join Linden Alger as the three captains this season.

While the Minutemen are inexperienced at the back, hopes are pinned on returning talent up top, which can mask any early-season issues the youth on defense may show.

It's very important, Lautenbach said. We have a lot of guys who are ready to take it a step further. I think we have four really good lines that will join teams quickly and are big.

Juniors Kenny Connors (seven goals, 15 assists), Cole OHara (seven goals, 11 assists) and Michael Cameron (six goals, four assists) return to the talented forward, while Jack Musa's brother, forward Joey Musa, is a transfer from Dartmouth who, together with Olvestad, has already made an early impression.

Joe Musa looks like Jack, Carvel said. He has a high motor and is excited to play in the Hockey East and in a program that has had great success nationally. He's been a great addition too. We've had a lot of degree transfers over the last four, five years and I would say that [Joey Musa and Olvestad] near the top of the list so far. They have an immediate impact.

Nick VanTassell and Cam O'Neill will start on the fourth line, but certainly have the potential to make an impact in their second seasons.

Carvel said he wanted more production from the two Ottawa Senators draft picks. VanTassell (a seventh-round pick in 2023) and O'Neill a fifth-round pick in 2022 last year, as VanTassell finished with one goal and one assist in 24 games, while O'Neill had three goals and three. assists in 28 games.

Letting the two sophomores play to their potential will only make a talented forward stronger.

They are not currently a middle-six forward, Carvel said. Now they are on the fourth line. We need more of them. We didn't get much from them last year and we didn't lose much either. Those two guys learned a lot. They are much better players today than they were a year ago. They are vastly better players. But they have to start producing points. They're both NHL draft picks, they both had a lot to learn and they did that last year. I am very happy with the growth I have seen. Now I want to see it in a game. This year they have to make an impact. Not last year and they know it. We have a very good group of attackers. If we can get those two guys scoring regularly on the fourth line, they might become the middle six forwards.

After opening with Bentley on Saturday, the Minutemen will travel to Las Vegas for the Ice Breaker Tournament, where they will face Omaha on Oct. 11 and Minnesota or Air Force on Oct. 12.

It won't be UMas' only trip to the West Coast, as it takes a break from Hockey East to compete in the Desert Hockey Classic on Jan. 3, facing Cornell and Arizona State of Robert Morris.

In his final season, Mercuri sees the talent and potential in this Minutemen group. Now it's up to them to prove it on the ice.

It's my last year here, so I'm trying to take it all in, Mercuri said. I'm super happy to be here. I just want to win a lot of hockey games and have fun. We have a great group. We were a big team, we were fast, we were hard. Just try to win as many matches as possible. Don't look too far ahead and just take it day by day.