On Saturday when WHMP’s Donnie Moorhouse told Greg Carvel that UMass had beaten Providence on the road for the first time since 2010, the third-year coach responded, “We’ve heard that a lot — ‘hasn’t happened in a long time.’”
The sleeping giant that Hockey East commissioner Joe Bertagna promised would awaken has at long last arisen. UMass is 8-1 and only a late goal from being undefeated; fourth in both national polls, undefeated in Hockey East (5-0) and en route to settling all family business.
“A year-and-a-half ago it was the dregs,” said radio analyst Brock Hines. “Quite a turnaround.”
The rebuild was visible in March, but a five-minute major set up a pair of Northeastern power-play goals that ultimately swept the Minutemen out of the playoffs. This season they’re resisting the retaliatory hits while still pounding opponents into the boards. “That was the second big hit in the same shift for (Mario) Ferraro,” CBSSN’s Sonny Watrous exclaimed during the Providence game.
The Minutemen lead Hockey East in goals, power-play goals and penalty killing; Matt Murray leads all Hockey East netminders in save percentage (.943) and is second in goals against average (1.67).
What’s more, they’re winning with class. After Philip Lagunov scored the game’s first goal at Providence, he pumped his fist once, skated to behind the net, turned and leaned against the boards to accept his teammates’ congratulations.
“I really like my team,” said Carvel.
No wonder.
RED LINES: When Hines mentioned Ty Farmer’s turnovers in a 5-1 win against Merrimack, Carvel didn’t make excuses for the freshman blue liner. “He didn’t deserve to play much tonight. He turned the puck over all night long.” Farmer atoned for his mistakes by scoring Thursday’s game-winner. … Carvel inferred Anthony Del Gaizo can be a latter day Phil Esposito. “He’s gonna win a lot of games by going to the net.” Longtime Bruins fans will recall a popular bumper sticker from back in the day: Jesus Saves, Esposito on the rebound. … When Sirius-XM’s Bernie Corbett asked Bob Gaudet about beating Quinnipiac after a tough loss against Princeton, the Dartmouth coach replied: “You gotta have amnesia in this league.” … To prevent stockpiling, the powers that be in college hockey want to reduce the number of verbal commitments a team can have at one time. … Arizona State’s Johnny Walker leads the nation with 11 goals in 12 games. … The Minnesota Gophers roster includes 13 NHL draft picks.
WAFFLING ON THE GRIDIRON: By losing to BYU the UMass football team sealed its seventh straight losing season in the FBS. Only four teams can match that futility, according to sports-reference.com.
Kansas hasn’t had a winning season since 2008. Two weeks ago David Beaty became the fourth Jayhawks coach to be fired during that span. His 6-40 record includes just two wins in the Big 12.
Miami-Ohio (Mid-American) and UConn (American Athletic Conference) haven’t had a winning season since 2010 and the Fighting Illini of Illinois haven’t had a winning season since 2011.
UMass is 18-65 since “upgrading” to the FBS in 2012. Anything they can offer recruits, other programs can offer times 10 — better stadium, better workout facilities, better fan base — except port-a-potties. You want port-a-potties, McGuirk Stadium has plenty of port-a-potties.
BC’s 27-7 loss to No. 2 Clemson at sold-out Alumni Field on Saturday dropped them from 17th to 22nd in the AP Top 25. The Tigers are a monster, and fans got to see why Dabo Swinney swapped Kelly Bryant out for Trevor Lawrence at quarterback. The kid towered over his linemen, heaved bombs and ran for a touchdown. He was a giant amongst men.
Credit BC defensive coordinator Jim Reid with a good game plan. The 27 points his defense allowed tied Syracuse for the fewest Clemson’s scored in a game this season. The Eagles yielded 424 yards of total offense, second fewest to the 413 allowed by Texas A&M.
End zone seats for the game were selling for $168 on StubHub. It was arguably the biggest game at the Heights since No. 7 Texas rumbled into town on Sept. 11, 1976, and the Eagles clipped coach Darrell Royal’s Longhorns, 14-13. “Deep into the Heart of Texas” was the next day’s headline in The Boston Globe.
Fans got a look at how well Swinney can work the officials. The animated Tigers coach ran up and down the sideline squawking like the Aflac Duck.
GRID NOTES: After defensive tackle Christian Wilkins pancaked BC quarterback Anthony Brown early in Saturday’s game, ABC-TV’s Chris Fowler asked boothmate Kirk Herbstreit if it was a dirty hit. “Clean,” he replied, “but incredibly violent.” … The Palm Beach Post reported that the Miami Hurricanes are courting the aforementioned Kelly Bryant. Arkansas coach Chad Morris recruited Bryant to Clemson back when he was the offensive coordinator, and the two have continued their relationship since Morris left to coach SMU in 2015. … 247Sports says 10 recruits have de-committed from Miami’s 2019 class. … Alabama put on a clinic against Ole Miss on Saturday. Building a 14-0 lead on 31 plays to the Rebels’ six, and downing a punt inside the 1-yard line like it was routine — “Everything seems to work,” said CBS-TV’s Brad Nessler. … BYU called tails in Saturday’s game and it indeed came up tails for the 10th straight game this season. … More than half of the 14,082 fans at Gillette Stadium on Saturday wore Brigham Young blue-and-white. The two teams play next season at McGuirk on Nov. 23. … Florida State (4-6) needs to beat BC on Saturday or its streak of 30 consecutive bowl appearances will end. BC is a 1½ point road favorite. … UMass is a 44-point underdog on Saturday at No. 5 Georgia. You can take the points or wager $100 to win $50,000 that UMass will win straight-up.