It’s been almost two weeks since the last post so there’s a lot of miscellaneous UMass hockey stuff to catch up on.  So let’s get to it.

The only real piece of news regarding the upcoming season was that the team released the jersey numbers of the incoming freshmen:

I think the biggest takeaway is that incoming goaltender Nic Renyard is choosing to wear #29 at UMass.  That number was last worn by Randy Wolcott, though he went his whole UMass career without entering a regulation game.  Prior to that #29 was worn by Jon Quick in in 2007 while leading the Minutemen to their only NCAA appearance.  I don’t think Renyard is taking the number to make a statement since #29 is what he wore last year while raking in the awards with Okotoks.  Still, it is interesting to note considering there seems to be some anticipation building to see what he can do in net for the Minutemen..

Also noted is that a couple returning players will change numbers this season.  Soon to be sophomore Anthony Petrella is now #9 while junior Brennan Baxandall is #18.

#37 on the list above, William Lagesson, spent the past few weeks in Lake Placid taking part in the National Junior Evaluation Camp where his Team Sweden played games against Finland and a split-squad Team USA.  Lagesson represented his home country in last year’s World Junior Championships and is expected to again this winter.  In his short time in Lake Placid Lagesson developed a bit of a reputation as an antagonist.  This included getting into a scrum with Boston College’s Alex Tuch, whom he has some prior history with in past international tournaments.  You can see a bit of Lagesson’s (#3) and Tuch’s interaction in this video.

The UMass Sports Net crew travelled the back roads from Amherst to Lake Placid to profile Lagesson and here’s the result of their visit, with video.

Other Minutemen in international play include recruit John Leonard who is in the Czech Republic as part of the US U18 team in the Ivan Hlinka Tournament.  Unfortunately Team USA got off to a very bad start in the tournament today when they dropped a 5-1 decision to Finland.  However, this scouting report of the roster of the US squad had good things to say about Leonard.

Mike Pereira has signed with the Reading Royals of the ECHL.  Pereira missed most of last year with an injury so it’ll be interesting to see what he’s able to accomplish with a full season of play in the minors.

P.J. Fenton on the other hand has spent many years playing hockey abroad and is returning to the states to play closer to his family.  Fenton married UMass women’s basketball star Stefanie Geradot and the two have settled in Fort Wayne, Indiana with their baby daughter.

Jon Quick wrote an interesting piece for the Players’ Tribune on the position of goaltender and talking about some of the NHL snipers he hates going against.  His analysis includes the memorable line of “90 percent of the save happens before the player shoots the puck”.  Here is part one while the second part can be found here.

USCHO had this interesting article regarding the Cost Of Attendance stipends in the NCAA and how it could potentially impact college hockey.  UMass Athletic Director Ryan Bamford said on Twitter earlier in the year that whether UMass would support COA stipends for hockey is still to be determined.

Finally, the season isn’t that far off and FTT is starting to ramp up with all you’ll need to know about the 2015-16 Minutemen.  Keep checking back.  Hockey.  Soon!