Brandon Montour made official what was first reported over the weekend that he indeed is going to forgo his final three years at UMass and sign with the Anaheim Ducks. I shared my thoughts on the subject on Saturday when his impending departure was first reported. While I wish UMass fans had gotten to see him in the maroon and white for longer than 21 games, I wish him well in his pro career.
In my season recap post I said it was debatable if UMass was really bringing significant momentum into the offseason considering how they didn’t show up to the regular season finale and then couldn’t finish off Notre Dame in the playoffs despite a 1-0 series lead. I think it’s safe to say if there was any momentum to the offseason, it’s now dead. To take a significant step up from its last place finish the Minutemen likely needed Montour and Frank Vatrano, or at the very least one of the two, to return. There’s going to be a lot of pressure on the returning underclassmen and incoming recruits to put up big numbers if UMass is going to finish towards the middle of the pack in Hockey East.
Montour and Vatrano both had significant incentives to leave UMass early given the opportunities presented and their age (both are 21). Hopefully that is the last of the roster turnover this offseason. I think any additional players leaving could signal deeper problems with the team.
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So last week I gave out my awards to the UMass team. But this year I’ve been asked to make my picks for conference awards and teams for the Hockey East Writers & Broadcasters Association. I’m really excited to be part of and contribute to such a group. Not bad for an illegitimate media hack such as myself to be associated with people who actually know what they’re doing. The HEWBA picks will be out later this week ahead of the awards voted on by the league coaches. So here are my Hockey East awards and all-conference teams.
Ahti Oksanen, Boston University
I know I’ve made light of the overwhelming amount of attention given to Jack Eichel this season, but what he’s accomplished in just his first year is amazing. That’s why you see his name all over these awards. Benefitting from Eichel’s dominance is his coach, David Quinn, who took Boston University from a 9th place finish to Hockey East Regular Season Champions in just one season.
I gladly put Dennis Kravchenko on the All-Rookie team for his 21 points in 22 league games. Those 21 points were second most by freshmen in Hockey East this season, trailing only Eichel. While Brandon Montour’s point per game was best among freshman blueliners I just couldn’t put him on this list after he only played in 12 of the 22 conference games.
Mike Busillo’s pro career is off to a good start. The former Minuteman has an assist and a +1 rating in four games with the Stockton Thunder.
Fear The Triangle - UMass Hockey Blog 
desorgher
/ March 16, 2015And don’t forget Quinn did it with 10 or 11 freshman on the squad.
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rocks22
/ March 16, 2015Yep. I don’t think he’ll get the full credit he deserves because people will say “Well, I could’ve filled out a lineup card with Eichel on it and won”. But it really is remarkable that he assorted such a class and then got them clicking from the very first game (as UMass fans saw).
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Joe Gacke
/ March 17, 2015Jordan Gross at ND ended the season with 28 points as a Freshmen D and led the country in Freshmen D scoring in the regular season. He should be up there instead of Hickey.
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rocks22
/ March 17, 2015I was asked to consider performance in just the 22 Hockey East games. Gross was 4th in freshman D scoring in those games. I gave the nod to Hickey since he had more goals than Gross and led all freshmen D in blocked shots.
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umassattack
/ March 17, 2015It is a sad state of affairs for Massachusetts College Hockey at the UM Flag Ship campus. For the last number of season this organization is simply languishing in mediocrity, and now appears to be almost in free fall.
Unfortunately the three season Micheletto Era has not been a productive one. The team has performed dismally with an OCCASIONAL brief moment of hope which always dissipates. The Micheletto seasons look like this: Overall 31-64-9 (33 games under .500), Hockey East 18-45-6 (37 games under .500) Attendance: 4209 (2012-13), 3891 (2013-14, 2581 (2014-15). Bottom line is the UM hockey programs productivity as well as their fan base are in FREE FALL.
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rocks22
/ March 17, 2015Every time I think it can’t get worse, it does.
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