Massachusetts reached new heights midway through last year when, after toppling Notre Dame and Colorado College in a holiday tournament, pollsters ranked the Minutemen fifth in the country. Unfortunately, they could not sustain this lofty perch, dropping the next five games and going winless over seven. The euphoric and sadly premature talk among some supporters … Read more
If there is any doubt that Colin Wilson’s career at Boston University is over, Wilson’s father, Carey, summed things up in a single sentence. “He’d be prepared to leave tomorrow,” said the elder Wilson, himself an NHL veteran who played 13 years for the Calgary Flames, Hartford Whalers and New York Rangers. Surrounded by a … Read more
Site: St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, Fla. Saturday-Sunday, Dec. 29-30, 2007 Participants: Rensselaer, Colorado College, Massachusetts, Notre Dame Game 1: Massachusetts vs. Notre Dame, 5:05 p.m. ET Massachusetts Minutemen (7-3-5, 4-2-4 Hockey East) Head coach: Don “Toot” Cahoon Leading scorers: Fr. James Marcou (3-10 — 13), Jr. Chris Davis (2-8 — 10) Leading netminder: Fr. … Read more
Massachusetts enjoyed a breakthrough season last year, earning its first NCAA tournament bid and then making the most of it with a first-round win over Clarkson, 1-0. Along the way, the Minutemen secured playoff home ice, swept Maine in the Hockey East quarterfinals and fell to New Hampshire only after taking the game to double-overtime. … Read more
Before Jon Quick ever stepped foot in Amherst, there was always the possibility of the talented goaltender leaving before completing his four years on the Massachusetts hockey team.
The Los Angeles Kings have signed goaltender Jon Quick to a multi-year entry-level contract, Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi announced. Quick, 21, led the Massachusetts Minutemen to their first-ever NCAA tournament bid while recording team records for wins (19), appearances (37), saves (1,046) and minutes played (2,224) this past season. The 6-1, 200-pound native of … Read more
Familiarity Breeds Contempt Aesop must have been a sports fan. Sports is where that observation rings so true. How else can you explain how Maine and Massachusetts, two teams that have essentially ignored each other for years, despite being in the same conference, can suddenly grow into a rivalry this season? It started innocently enough. … Read more
With two top goaltenders in net, it’s no surprise that it took extra time for even a single goal to be scored in the East Regional Semifinal. Chris Lerch takes a look at UMass’ Jon Quick and Clarkson’s David Leggio.
One Is All It Takes Today’s win by Massachusetts was the ninth 1-0 final in NCAA tournament history but the seventh since 2003. Two others were overtime games: last year’s epic three-OT win by Wisconsin over Cornell in the Midwest Regional Final and Minnesota’s 2005 West Regional Semifinal win over Maine. “There’s a thin line … Read more
Massachusetts has done its part to shake up the Hockey East standings in the first half, but Joe Haggerty finds that more remains to be done.
Last year, Massachusetts certainly enjoyed high notes, particularly wins over Boston University, Boston College, New Hampshire, Colorado College and two over Vermont. In doing so, the Minutemen proved that they could beat just about anybody. There were also two three-game win streaks. UMass finished eighth in the league with a 10-15-2 record, an improvement over … Read more
The Massachusetts hockey team (13-18-1, 10-14-1 Hockey East) has already locked up its postseason bid, and in terms of its own destiny, UMass can only finish in one of two positions in the final standings heading into next week’s conference quarterfinals. The Minutemen — who play Maine (23-10-1, 16-8-1 HEA) Friday and Saturday night in … Read more
For Massachusetts, last season was without question a tale of two years. In 2004, the Minutemen posted a 10-10-1 record. In 2005, however, the wheels came off and they plummeted to 3-13-1. Coming on the heels of the breakthrough 2003-04 season in which they finished third in Hockey East, the freefall was disheartening. On the … Read more
Massachusetts senior John Toffey signed a contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning organization on Monday evening. Toffey, who was taken by Tampa Bay in the ninth round (No. 287 overall) of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, will forgo his senior season to play professional hockey. “This is a great opportunity for John,” said head coach … Read more
Dennis ‘Red’ Gendron has been named assistant coach at Massachusetts. Gendron joins assistant coach Len Quesnelle and goaltending coach Jim Stewart on Don ‘Toot’ Cahoon’s staff. Gendron replaces Mark Dennehy, who was named Merrimack’s head coach in June. Gendron has spent the past 12 years coaching at the collegiate, U.S. National Development, junior and pro … Read more
Mark Dennehy, associate head hockey coach at Massachusetts, has been named the head coach of Merrimack. He replaces Chris Serino, who resigned in the spring after seven years at Merrimack. Dennehy is the seventh head coach in Merrimack program history, which will enter its 50th season varsity program in the 2005-06 season. Mark’s energy and … Read more
The Hockey Humanitarian Foundation today announced its five finalists for the 2005 Hockey Humanitarian Award: Boston College senior Sarah Carlson; Quinnipiac senior Gillian Gallagher; Dartmouth senior John Ostapyk; Canisius senior Mark Persick; and Massachusetts senior Peter Trovato. The finalists were selected by the Hockey Humanitarian Executive Committee from a group of 15 nominees. The finalists … Read more
The days of UMass being one of the perennial favorites to finish in the Hockey East cellar are now a tiny speck in the rear view mirror. The program, resurrected in 1993 after a 14 year absence, has progressed well past its infancy. It now approaches its teenage years a long way from maturity but … Read more
Add Greg Mauldin to the ranks of early departures, and to the suddenly exploding list of Massachusetts players in the NHL. Mauldin was second on UMass with 15 goals this season, despite missing eight games. (photo: James Schaffer) Before today, the only UMass player ever in the NHL was Brad Norton, who saw action for … Read more
Hobey Baker Award finalist defenseman Thomas Pöck has signed a free agent contract with the New York Rangers. Pöck was in the lineup tonight for his NHL debut at Madison Square Garden, and scored a goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Pöck’s four-year playing career at Massachusetts recently ended with the Minutemen’s 2-1 triple overtime loss … Read more