| Current: | 2023–24 UMass Minutemen ice hockey season |
| Team Name: | UMass Minutemen |
| Team Link: | |
| University: | University of Massachusetts Amherst |
| First Year: | 1908–09 |
| Conference: | Hockey East |
| Location: | Amherst, Massachusetts |
| Coach: | Greg Carvel |
| Coach Year: | 8th |
| Coach Wins: | 149 |
| Coach Losses: | 119 |
| Coach Ties: | 20 |
| Arena: | Mullins Center |
| Capacity: | 8,387 |
| Studentsection: | The Militia |
| Ncaachampion: | 2021 |
| Ncaarunnerup: | 2019 |
| Ncaafrozenfour: | 2019, 2021 |
| Ncaatourneys: | 2007, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2024 |
| Conference Tournament: | ECAC 2 1972 |
| Conference Season: | Hockey East 2019 |
The UMass Minutemen Ice Hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's college ice hockey program that represents the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The Minutemen are a member of Hockey East. They play at the 8,387-seat William D. Mullins Memorial Center (known as the Mullins Center) in Amherst, Massachusetts.[1]
The centrally located pond on the UMass campus was once used for multiple purposes. In the winter students and faculty would cut out blocks of ice to use for refrigeration and annual tug-of-war games between sophomores and freshmen were hosted during the spring months. In 1909 the first formal ice hockey team began playing on the pond as well.[2] UMass fielded one of the earliest non-ivy league programs, playing continually until poor weather conditions and a lack of funding caused the team to cease in 1939. The Minutemen were able to return to the ice after the war but couldn't play at home until 1954.
The lack of a home venue caused the team to suffer through a stretch where they won only 2 games over a 7-year period. Eventually the pond became usable again and UMass were able to play home games with new head coach Steve Kosakowski. The Minutemen performed decently in his 13 seasons and were among 28 teams to found ECAC Hockey. In 1964 the ECAC split into two divisions and any program that did not possess a dedicated indoor arena was placed in ECAC 2. UMass continued with the second-tier conference for 15 years and achieved their greatest success in 1972 under Jack Canniff, winning the conference tournament title.
By the end of the 1970s using the pond as a rink had become untenable and when no alternatives surfaced the program was shuttered.
When the Mullins Center opened in 1993 it was designed as a multi-purpose arena and allowed for the university to rekindle its ice hockey program. The men's team started the same year and hit the ice as a Division I independent. With 20 wins in the first season under Joe Mallen, there was hope that the Minutemen could compete in Hockey East. However, once they began a tougher schedule in 1994–95, the team lost a then-school-record 28 games. Though the team rarely finished last in the conference under Mallen, there were very few gains and he was replaced by Don Cahoon in 2000.
Under Cahoon the team began to improve, posting a winning season in 2003 and reaching the conference championship game the following year. His greatest success came after recruiting Jonathan Quick, who helped UMass to reach their first ever NCAA tournament in 2007. Cahoon couldn't keep the success going, however, and after being knocked off in five consecutive conference quarterfinals he retired in 2012.
John Micheletto was tabbed as Cahoon's successor and after a decent first season the team slid down the standing and bottomed out for two consecutive seasons. After the second last-place finish Micheletto was fired and replaced by St. Lawrence head coach Greg Carvel.[3]
In Carvel's first season the team reached a nadir; the Minutemen set a new program record for futility, losing 29 games. Carvel led the team to a much-improved finish in his second season and then team took off in year three. The Minutemen reached their first ever Frozen Four and a berth in the 2019 NCAA Division I National Championship in which the Minutemen ultimately lost to Minnesota-Duluth 3–0. Though the year ended on a sour note, the team posted a new program record for wins (31) while Cale Makar won the school's first Hobey Baker Award.
On April 10, 2021, the Minutemen won their first-ever NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament, beating the St. Cloud State Huskies 5–0.[4]
See main article: List of UMass Minutemen ice hockey seasons. Source:[5]
As of the completion of 2022–23 season[6]
| School | Team | Away Arena | Overall record | Win % | Last Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17–74–4 | - | |||||
| 14–70–8 | - | |||||
| 43–18–4 | - | |||||
| 28–58–10 | - | |||||
| 36–50–9 | - | |||||
| 51–45–8 | - | |||||
| 29–93–12 | - | |||||
| 37–57–10 | - | |||||
| 35–52–8 | - | |||||
| 32–44–10 | - |
Current as of July, 2024.[7]
| Greg Carvel | Head coach | |
| Tom Upton | Assistant coach | |
| Nolan Gluchowski | Assistant coach | |
| Steve Mastalerz | Director of Player Development | |
| Hunter Diehl | Director of Hockey Operations | |
| Marc Paquet | Athletic Trainer | |
| Mike Vaughan | Sports Performance Coach | |
| Josh Penn | Head of Equipment |
As of the completion of 2023–24 season[6]
| Tenure | Coach | Years | Record | Pct. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1908–1917 | No Coach | 9 | 39–27–3 | ||
| 1917–1922 | Elton J. Mansell | 5 | 18–13–3 | ||
| 1922–1923 | Herbert Collins | 1 | 3–4–2 | ||
| 1923–1924 | Howard R. Gordon | 1 | 3–6–0 | ||
| 1924–1939 | 15 | 47–61–7 | |||
| 1947–1949 | Thomas Filmore | 2 | 0–5–0 | ||
| 1949–1950 | Walter Fitzgerald | 1 | 2–3–2 | ||
| 1950–1951 | 1 | 0–7–0 | |||
| 1953–1954 | 1 | 0–9–1 | |||
| 1954–1967 | Steve Kosakowski | 13 | 73–118–4 | ||
| 1967–1979 | 12 | 120–140–8 | |||
| 1993–2000 | Joe Mallen | 7 | 77–144–18 | ||
| 2000–2012 | 12 | 166–229–42 | |||
| 2012–2016 | John Micheletto | 4 | 39–88–13 | ||
| 2016–Present | 7 | 129–105–17 | |||
| Totals | 14 coaches | 91 seasons | 716–959–120 |
Source:[6]
| Player | Years | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970–1973 | 66 | 105 | 75 | 180 | |||
| 1993–1997 | 131 | 72 | 94 | 166 | |||
| 1993–1997 | 132 | 73 | 81 | 154 | |||
| 2018–2022 | 139 | 53 | 78 | 131 | 91 | ||
| 2007–2010 | 111 | 34 | 96 | 130 | |||
| 2002–2006 | 143 | 50 | 66 | 116 | |||
| 2010–2014 | 135 | 53 | 54 | 107 | |||
| 1999–2003 | 134 | 47 | 60 | 107 | |||
| 2017–2020 | 104 | 56 | 49 | 105 | |||
| 2010–2014 | 138 | 38 | 66 | 104 |
GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average
Minimum 30 games played
| Player | Years | GP | Min | W | L | T | GA | SO | SV% | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018–2021 | 50 | 2802 | 29 | 10 | 6 | 74 | 11 | .937 | 1.58 | |
| 2017–2022 | 121 | 6983 | 73 | 39 | 4 | 260 | 14 | .916 | 2.23 | |
| 2005–2007 | 54 | 3129 | 23 | 22 | 6 | 125 | 3 | .926 | 2.40 | |
| 2007–2011 | 123 | 7042 | 45 | 61 | 12 | 327 | 2 | .908 | 2.78 | |
| 2002–2006 | 117 | 6725 | 50 | 52 | 10 | 317 | 5 | .891 | 2.83 | |
As of August 11, 2023.[8]
On March 6, 2015, UMass faced Notre Dame in Game 1 of the Opening Round of the 2015 Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, played at Compton Family Ice Arena at Notre Dame. Early into the game, Sam Herr gave Notre Dame the lead on a rebounded shot. Vince Hinostroza made it 2–0 midway through the second period. But the Minutmen responded two minutes later with a power play goal by Steven Iacobellis. Notre Dame responded three minutes later with a Steven Fogarty goal to make it 3–1. UMass made it 3–2 a minute later with a goal by Shane Walsh. With two seconds remaining in the period, Troy Power tipped a power play goal to tie the game as the second period (a period that had five goals in total) ended. The third period ended with no goals, as the two teams went into overtime. The two teams repeatedly failed to score, with UMass shooting a record 91 times and Notre Dame shooting 78 times. With 8:18 left in the fifth overtime and at 1:24 a.m. ET, Shane Walsh scored the game-winning goal to end the longest Division I hockey game which had lasted 151 minutes, 42 seconds, besting the previous record of 150:22, set by Quinnipiac and Union in 2010.[9]
Steve Mastalerz finished the night with 75 saves for UMass while Cal Petersen of Notre Dame made 87 saves, setting a new NCAA record. It was UMass' first win at the Tournament since March 13, 2009 at Northeastern.
2019
1972
2019
NCAA tournament Most Outstanding Player
2021
AHCA Second Team All-Americans
NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey All-Tournament Team
2019
2022
Hockey East Rookie of the Year
2021
2020
2024
Scoring Champion
2009 (co-champion)
2019
2022
2010
2003
2019
William Flynn Tournament Most Valuable Player
This is a list of Massachusetts alumni were a part of an Olympic team.
| Name | Position | Massachusetts Tenure | Team | Year | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Center | 1918, 1921-1922 | ||||
| Right Wing | 1918–1921 | ||||
| Defenseman | 2001-2004 | 12th, 10th | |||
| Goaltender | 2005–2007 | , 4th | |||
As of July 1, 2023
| = NHL All-Star team | = NHL All-Star[10] | = NHL All-Star and NHL All-Star team | = Hall of Famers |
| Player | Position | Team(s) | Years | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conor Allen | Defenseman | NYR | 2013–2015 | 7 | 0 |
| Matt Anderson | Forward | NJD | 2012–2013 | 2 | 0 |
| Kevin Boyle | Goaltender | ANA | 2018–2019 | 5 | 0 |
| Justin Braun | Defenseman | SJS, PHI, NYR | 2010–Present | 842 | 0 |
| Mitchell Chaffee | Right Wing | MIN | 2021–2022 | 2 | 0 |
| Mario Ferraro | Defenseman | SJS | 2019–Present | 252 | 0 |
| Joel Hanley | Defenseman | MTL, ARI, DAL | 2015–Present | 151 | 0 |
| Matt Irwin | Defenseman | SJS, BOS, NSH, ANA, BUF, WSH | 2012–Present | 461 | 0 |
| Zac Jones | Defenseman | NYR | 2020–Present | 38 | 0 |
| Michael Kostka | Defenseman | TOR, CHI, TBL, NYR, OTT | 2012–2016 | 85 | 0 |
| William Lagesson | Defenseman | EDM, MTL | 2019–2022 | 60 | 0 |
| Player | Position | Team(s) | Years | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Leonard | Forward | SJS, NSH | 2020–Present | 64 | 0 |
| Cale Makar | Defenseman | 2018–Present | 238 | 1 | |
| Greg Mauldin | Left Wing | CBJ, NYI, COL | 2003–2011 | 36 | 0 |
| Brandon Montour | Defenseman | ANA, BUF, FLA | 2016–Present | 454 | 0 |
| Matt Murray | Goaltender | DAL | 2022–Present | 3 | 0 |
| Brad Norton | Defenseman | FLA, LAK, WSH, OTT, DET | 2001–2007 | 124 | 0 |
| Thomas Pöck | Defenseman | NYR, NYI | 2003–2009 | 118 | 0 |
| Jonathan Quick | Goaltender | , | 2007–Present | 753 | 3 |
| Conor Sheary | Left Wing | , BUF, WSH | 2015–Present | 531 | 2 |
| Frank Vatrano | Center | BOS, FLA, NYR, ANA | 2015–Present | 482 | 0 |
| Casey Wellman | Center | MIN, WSH | 2009–2014 | 54 | 0 |
Source:[11]