Willy Smith – LW – Springfield Pics (EJHL/EmpJHL) – 2014
EJHL: 21 GP / 1 G / 1 A / 2 Pts / 28 PIM
Empire: 22 GP / 7 G / 18 A / 25 Pts / 22 PIM
Smith played three games this weekend, including two on Saturday alone.  He had a goal in two games for the Empire Pics and then was pointless in his one EJHL game.

Shane Walsh – LW – South Shore Kings (EJHL) – 2012
Dubuque (USHL): 23 GP / 5 G / 7 A / 12 Pts / 0 PIM / –8
South Shore (EJHL): 6 GP / 6 G / 4 A / 10 Pts / 2 PIM
Walsh only played one game for the Kings this past week, but made the most of it by scoring two goals including the game tying and game winning goals.  He has had success in his return to Massachusetts, scoring a goal a game in the EJHL.

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T.J. Syner was named one of the 21 finalists for the Walter Brown Award which goes to the best American college player in New England.

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I have some  alumni updates to share.

First, I heard over the weekend that James Marcou is back skating with the Worcester Sharks after being out over a year recovering from a concussion and neck injuries.  While he hasn’t been cleared for contact yet it’s great to hear he’s back on the ice.

Secondly, Alex Berry is still on the mend from a nasty injury sustained during training camp for the Portland Pirates.  While the damage was enough to make for a lengthy recovery, the good news is he is progressing and getting his arm in working order.  Certainly hoping the healing continues going well for him.

Justin Braun was the #3 star for the Sharks on Saturday, scoring a goal and an assist.

Interesting stat in the release.  If a UMass opponent scores four against the Minutemen it’s time to pack up and head for the car bar.

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Unfortunately for UMass, Maine is not the #1 team in the country going into this weekend.  The Black Bears are #11 in this week’s USCHO poll.  Ferris State is your new #1.  Wait, what?!?  Yes, Ferris State is your new #1.  Teams #2 and #3 are playing as I write this as the Boston University Terriers and Boston College Eagles meet in the Beanpot finals for the 785th time or something.  Lowell comes in at #6 while Merrimack dropped a spot to #9 after only gaining a point in two games over the weekend.  The Bulldogs are tops in the USA Hockey/USA Today poll as well.

Here’s the current playoff situation:
7th New Hampshire, 20pts.  Games left vs UVM (2), at UMass (2), at Maine
8th Northeastern, 16pts.  Games left vs PC, vs Maine, at BU, vs BU
9th Massachusetts, 16 pts.  Games left at Maine (2), vs UNH (2), vs Mack, at Mack
(Northeastern currently holds the tiebreaker over UMass due to their 7 conference wins to UMass’ 6)

Playoffstatus.com gives the Minutemen a 47% chance of making the playoffs.

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The Collegian has their recap of the weekend’s games as well as the game notes.

College Hockey News’ Joe Meloni has his thoughts on Saturday’s loss in addition to his view that Northeastern has the advantage down the stretch due to their schedule.  I would agree.

USCHO says it’s do or die time for the two teams.

Despite the lip service about the team moving on from the BU win immediately after to make sure they were ready to take care of business at home against Providence, they weren’t.  The Friars scored on their first shot of the game, just three minutes into the contest.  A minute and a half later and Providence was up 2-0.  That was it right there.  Game over.  UMass did a lot later in the game, came back to cut the lead to one, looked dominant at times, had an amazing performance by Mike Pereira.  But the fact of the matter is the outcome was decided when UMass came out flat to start the game and handed the Friars a two goal lead.  Sure, the team would turn it on at times, playing good hockey for five to ten minutes and scoring a couple goals or pressuring the Friars.  But then they’d lapse again and miss opportunities or allow Providence to build upon their lead.  After playing a full 60 minutes the night before UMass probably put in about 25 or 30 last night, broken up into about five minute intervals.

I think everyone not named Mike Pereira can look in the mirror this morning and say they could’ve and should’ve played better last night.  After having perhaps his biggest win of his career the night before Kevin Boyle struggled mightily, still unable to shake the inconsistent performance issues that have followed him from juniors.  The defense in front of him didn’t do him many favors.  Whereas on Friday they were successful in limiting BU’s attack on Boyle and quickly swept away any loose rebounds, last night the Friars had free reign in the slot and behind the net without consequences.  Amazingly UMass, a team that averages 6 or 7 penalties a night, only had two total last night.  Even more amazingly, they allowed the Friars to score on both resulting power plays.

Coach Toot Cahoon opened his postgame press conference by asking those in attendance that if we can understand (how) this team (works/thinks) to tell him.  Disbelief and puzzled is how he described his own thoughts when seeing how unprepared the team looked in the first.  On one hand I feel for him because it’s very rare that he doesn’t talk about the steps he takes to try to make sure the team is mentally prepared for the challenge of each and every game.  He doesn’t blow off the subject, I honestly believe he’s trying to address this issue which has absolutely plagued this program in the last five years.  On the other hand, it’s apparent that his approaches are not working.  I’m beginning to think it has less to do with what he and the other coaches say or do in practice or before games and that it has more to do with the character of the players he recruits.  It’s great to get the players who skate the fastest, have great size, or a quick glove to come and play for UMass. But if as a group they lack the ability to focus on the challenge at hand or are not mentally tough to play highly competitive college hockey, what good is all that skill?  The coaching can take some of the blame for not bringing in the right mix of players and their inability to motivate them when they get here.  But at the same time these players aren’t kids.  Most are 20 or older.  They shouldn’t need someone to tell them that Saturday was a must win.  They’re old enough and smart enough to know themselves.  Or at least one would’ve thought so.

Fear The Triangle Player of the Game
It hasn’t been the easiest sophomore season for Mike Pereira.  He has struggled at times and was even benched for neglecting his defensive duties on the ice.  But, he has fought through it and played some great hockey as of late.  Last night he absolutely did his best to put the team on his shoulders and carry them to a win.  All three goals on the way to his hat trick were great individual efforts.  In addition he did a good job defensively and on the forecheck, which led to goal number two.  Last night’s hat trick gives him six goals in the last four games.

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Here’s the recap from the Republican.

Offensively UMass got good play from players you’d expect, like Mike Pereira who picked up a goal and seems to be heating up just at the right time.  Joel Hanley continues to build on a great second half of the season, scoring a goal and assisting on the gamewinner.  Mike Marcou had a solid game, finishing +1 and adding three shots.  But UMass also got excellent play from others as well.  I thought Troy Power stood out with his performance last night, grabbing an assist and leading the team with six shots.  Another thing that I saw and loved is that the team was actually forechecking and it was really affecting BU’s ability to move the puck up ice.  I’ve been wanting for the team, given their speed, to be allowed to forecheck more.  Hopefully we see more of it in the next few weeks.

The win gets UMass back into the playoff picture, as they’re now tied with Northeastern for 8th place.  The Huskies are idle tonight, which means a win will put the Minutemen two points ahead of them.  A win would also put UMass just a point behind Providence who is currently tied with UNH for 6th.  UMass has to be very careful not to have a letdown tonight.  A split is not enough this weekend and they already got the tougher win against top ranked BU on the road.  Now it’s time to take care of business against Providence.

Fear The Triangle Player of the Game
Hanley deserves recognition for his multipoint game but I have to give this one to Boyle.  For the second time this season he has gotten a win over the #1 team in the country.  I’d love to see Toot stick with him and see if he’s able to get some momentum and stability going in net.

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Here’s the game story from the Republican.

The Globe has coverage of the win, as does the Herald.

That’s it.  Short recap since it’s along ride to Amherst this afternoon.

#1 Boston University Terriers 17-8-1 (13-6-1) Hockey East – 1st

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Massachusetts Minutemen 9-12-5 (5-10-4) Hockey East – 9th

If UMass is to pick up their first road win of the season tomorrow, they’ll certainly have their work cut out for them.  The Minutemen travel to Agganis Arena, a place they’ve never played particularly well, to face Boston University, now the top team in Hockey East and in the country.  The predictions that the Terriers were doomed after losing star forwards Charlie Coyle and Corey Trivino, the first to major junior the second to criminal issues, in December were premature.  The team has gone 7-2-1 since the start of the new year and have not had any problems scoring in those wins despite the missing players.  If there’s any solace for UMass it’s that BU has played better away from Comm Ave (8-3-1) than at home (7-5-0).  Their only two losses recently game at the hands of a sweep by Maine at Agganis.

These teams last met at the end of October in what was an incredibly disappointing weekend for UMass.  Twice the Minutemen had the upper hand on the scoreboard and twice allowed BU to climb back into the game.  In the Friday game in Amherst UMass grabbed a 2-0 lead in the second period.  Yet, despite a 35-23 advantage in shots, keeping the Terrier power play off the board entirely, and getting 6 power play opportunities of their own, the game ended up in a tie.  It was a game that UMass should’ve found a way to win.  They didn’t.  It was unfortunate but at least it wasn’t as bad as what happened the next night in Boston.  UMass took a 3-0 lead thanks to three goals in the span of nine minutes to close out the first period.  They kept that lead all the way to under six minutes left in the second, but a couple of quick goals cut the lead to 3-2 entering the third.  A couple more BU goals midway through the period gave the Terriers a 4-3 lead, wasting the early UMass dominance.  Mike Pereira would tie it later to send it to overtime but a Mike Marcou crosscheck in the extra frame would give BU the power play and ultimately the game winning power play goal.  A potential four point weekend quickly turned into just one point.

The Terriers are led this season by junior forward Wade Megan who is coming off a two goal effort against Harvard in the first round of the Beanpot.  Megan has 14 goals while sophomores Matt Nieto and Sahir Gill and junior Alex Chiasson all have double digits as well.  As always BU has a solid group of defensemen, led by Adam Clendening, who is also 4th on the team in points.  Sophomore Garrett Noonan has also made solid contributions on the blue line.  In net for the Terriers is senior Kieran Millan who has a goals against average of 2.44 and a save percentage of .925, second best among Hockey East goaltenders.

If UMass wants to pull off the upset they’ll have to do it with special teams.  They did well, obviously not quite well enough, against the Terriers earlier because of special teams.  BU has the second best power play in Hockey East but the Minutemen were able to limit them to just one power play goal in nine tries in October.  On the other hand the Terriers are the most penalized team in the league and UMass had some success against them with the extra man, converting on three of 12 attempts.  Steven Guzzo and Pereira both scored that weekend as well and it’s critical to get them back on track offensively.  Pereira had a good game against Northeastern last week, but that’s still only his 2nd game in the last 14 with a goal.  Guzzo on the other hand has gone nine games without scoring.  Those guys getting in on the scoring is critical.  Of course one of our three goalies steal a game, something that hasn’t happened yet, wouldn’t be a bad thing either.

Providence Friars 10-14-2 (8-10-1) Hockey East – 6th

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Massachusetts Minutemen 9-12-5 (5-10-4) Hockey East – 9th

Saturday’s game against the Friars is absolutely critical for UMass.  For one, it’s likely the easiest game left on the schedule as in the coming weeks UMass will have to travel to Maine for two, host an underachieving but still dangerous UNH team for a couple, and then finish off the season with a home and home against a top ten Merrimack team.  Secondly, the Friars, and more importantly, their 6th place spot in the standings is still within reach of the Minutemen, just three points ahead.  Plus if UMass could gain a win they’d at least keep Providence from gaining the the tiebreaker since the Friars currently hold an 0-1-1 advantage on the season series.

These teams met first in October in a game that was decided by poor goaltending by the Minutemen as Kevin Boyle let in five goals before getting the hook in the 2nd period.  The Friars ultimately won 6-4.  They met again two days before Frozen Fenway, again in Providence, and a lackluster effort and poor execution seemed to doom UMass to a loss until Danny Hobbs was able to net the game tying goal with just 37 seconds left, salvaging a point.  Until last weekend that was the most recent game Kevin Boyle had played.  The Friars haven’t done very well since that game, going 2-6-0 in that time, though one of those wins did come against the Lowell River Hawks.  The Friars will face Maine at home tomorrow night before heading to Amherst on Saturday.

Providence’s biggest struggle has been in scoring enough goals, averaging just 2.65 per game, second last among Hockey East teams.  Only Tim Schaller, just returning after missing six straight games with illness, has scored double digits in goals with 11.  Two of those have come against the Minutemen.  Defensively UMass will likely face Alex Beaudry who is having a tough senior season with a goals against average above 3.00 and a save percentage of .893.  He has gotten better play from his defense this year however, especially in the form of junior Alex Velischek and sophomore Steven Shamanski.

It’s desperation time.  It has been a long time since UMass has missed the playoffs entirely but between the hole they’ve dug themselves, the zero points in the last two weekends, and the tough road to finish the season it could likely happen.  Beating Providence and finding some way to get at least a point out of BU isn’t a hopeful outcome.  It’s a must.

Beer The Triangle
BU’s highest ticket prices in the league has kept me away from their arena in recent years.  Only by taking advantage of a discount offer did I finally feel it worth it to make the trip in.  So since I haven’t been to Agganis in some time it means it’s been too long since I’ve done my usual pregame at Sunset Cantina aka Mini-Sunset.  Their beer menu is a bit out of date, but hopefully they still have some Left Hand Widdershins Oak Aged Barleywine on hand.  I also recommend the Maine Mean Old Tom as well.

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Dick Baker has a feature on big man Oleg Yevenko.  Baker also thinks it’s time to end the game of goaltender roulette.  I can’t say I disagree.

College Hockey News has their weekend preview as well as their league rankings.

Willy Smith – LW – Springfield Pics (EJHL/EmpJHL) – 2014
EJHL: 20 GP / 1 G / 1 A / 2 Pts / 28 PIM
Empire: 20 GP / 6 G / 18 A / 24 Pts / 20 PIM
Smith played one game for the Empire Pics but did not get on the scoresheet.  One thing to keep in mind regarding Smith is that he is by far the youngest player on the Pics’ EJHL team.  The majority of the players are ‘92s or ‘93s with even a few ‘91s thrown in there.  In addition to that there are two ‘94s and one ‘95.  Smith was born is an early ‘96.  So for him to be playing with and against kids three and four years his age shows his talent level, even if he’s not putting up a ton of points.  On a side note, UMass having a recruit who was born during the school’s Final Four run makes me feel extremely old.

Shane Walsh – LW – South Shore Kings (EJHL) – 2012
Dubuque (USHL): 23 GP / 5 G / 7 A / 12 Pts / 0 PIM / –8
South Shore (EJHL): 5 GP / 4 G / 4 A / 8 Pts / 2 PIM
Walsh is absolutely dominating in his return to the EJHL.  In two games over the weekend he tallied two goals and three assists.  In his last season in the EJHL, 2009-10, he had 22 goals and 37 assists in 45 games.

I haven’t heard too much else recruiting-wise lately.  It was mentioned to me that UMass is still pursuing Alex Minter, who I wrote about last August.

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College Hockey News has an article on the return of Providence forward Tim Schaller, whom the Minutemen will see Saturday night.

College Hockey Inc. is trying to get the NHL’s help to keep committed college players from jumping to major junior on the eve of their freshman year.

The Gophers are the top team on the USA Hockey/USA Today poll.

BU just won their Beanpot semifinal game over Harvard.

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For the second week in a row UMass did not have any weekly Hockey East award winners or Top Performers.  Joel Hanley is mentioned in the “Who’s Hot” section for his strong second half performance.

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The Collegian has a story on UMass’ slow starts to games of late.

UMass’ playoff hopes were gone in 24 seconds according to USCHO.

The New England Hockey Jounal highlights the recent success of Paul Dainton with the Springfield Falcons.  Dainton won his fourth game yesterday since being called up from the ECHL a couple weeks ago.

When Big 10 Hockey gets going in a couple years they’ll do their postseason a bit differently than other conferences, having all playoff games at neutral sites.  That site is rumored to be the Xcel Center in Minnesota.