AMHERST — There was plenty of ribbing awaiting Colin Felix in the locker room at Providence two weeks ago.
The sophomore defenseman was credited with three assists in UMass’ 5-1 win over the Friars, he just happened to be sitting on the bench when two of those goals were scored. Those helpers occurred because Felix has quietly done his job well for the eighth-ranked Minutemen this season.
He has 13 points — 12 of which have been assists — but on a team filled with blue liners known for their offense, Felix has become a defensive anchor for UMass. It’s a contrast from the role the Ocean City, New Jersey native had for the Madison Capitals in junior hockey, but he has embraced it and made it the core of his identity this season.
“Knowing my role is a big thing for me,” Felix said. “Obviously I put up some points in juniors, I was relied on to run a power play in Madison. Knowing my role here, (I like) being that defensive guy and focusing on that and having Carvy tell me exactly what he needs from me and trying to do what the coaches are telling me to do. I like to try to jump on the rush and create some offense, but the main part of my game is breaking pucks out and stopping guys on defense.”
Felix arrived at UMass unsure if he would even play as a freshman, but he worked his way into the lineup on the bottom pairing. He became a fixture next to Jake McLaughlin because of how reliable he proved to be on the ice and entrenched himself on the back end.
He’s only improved on that consistency this season and ranks second on the team with 26 blocked shots. UMass coach Greg Carvel said he knows what to expect out of Felix on a nightly basis, and that’s an important reason he plays so many minutes per game.
“He’s really consistent and you know he’s going to battle for you,” Carvel said. “His puck management skills have gotten better. Last year if he got in a position where he didn’t know what to do with the puck, he would just kind of rifle it and didn’t know where it was going to ice it. I challenged him on that to manage the puck better, but other than that he plays big and hard, that’s always the same.”
Becoming a defensive anchor was one of the goals of Felix’s offseason workouts. He knew what was going to be asked of him this season, and made it a point to make the improvements to his game in the defensive zone.
“One of my main focuses after the year was to work on my skating and my feet to keep up the pace a little bit more,” Felix said. “I also put a little more focus on my strength and trying to be stronger on my feet to be able to win more battles in the D zone and break pucks out.”
After his career night against Providence, Felix is tied for seventh on the team in points. Although the sophomore is tasked with being of a defensive rock, Carvel said Felix still does a lot of things well offensively and fits with the coach’s notion of having aggressive defensemen on offense.
On other teams, Felix might be more of an offensive weapon from the blue line, which Carvel said does get overlooked. However, there is no denying Felix’s impact on the Minutemen, who lead the country in average shot margin per game.
“He’s good in the offensive zone,” Carvel said. “He can get pucks to the net, he’s offensive minded. He was a big points guy in juniors, he’s just in comparison to the other defensemen on this team, he’s not regarded as much of an offensive defenseman. His size and his strength are important to us defensively.”
LOWELL BLUES — No. 14 UMass-Lowell has been a thorn in the side for UMass for almost a decade. The Minutemen (18-9-2, 11-6-2 Hockey East) have beaten the River Hawks (15-9-5, 9-6-4) just twice in the last eight seasons for a combined record of 2-19-1 in that span.
The Minutemen haven’t won at Tsongas Center, site of Friday’s 7 p.m. faceoff, in nine years. The teams will then meet Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Mullins Center to complete the home-and-home series.
Josh Walfish can be reached at jwalfish@gazettenet.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshWalfishDHG. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage.