AMHERST – Knowing its identity and always playing to it won the UMass hockey team a national championship last season as much as scoring more goals than other teams.
The Minutemen punished teams on the forecheck and established residency in front of their net. Greg Carvel hadn’t seen that kind of clarity of purpose or execution as much as he would have liked this season until Sunday’s comeback win at UMass Lowell. No. 10 UMass (13-8-2) rallied to tie the game three times then won on a Scott Morrow backhanded rebound in the final few minutes.
“I stood on the bench in the second period for the first time all year feeling like ‘this is what it’s supposed to feel like,’” Carvel said. “For whatever reason, I felt like we’d find a way to win that game, and we did.”
Carvel said that Lowell coach Norm Bazin told him after the game that the River Hawks couldn’t keep up the intensity they started the game with. UMass has won and lost based on its starts for much of the season. They’d only won three games previously after allowing the first goal.
“Our first period wasn’t great. We got better as the game went on,” Carvel said. “Our guys stuck with it.”
The play of UMass’ bottom six forwards helped the Minutemen sustain and persevere. The third and fourth lines contributed two goals and an assist in addition to an edge that UMass always needs.
“It’s necessary that you have to have a high compete level, consistently, throughout your entire lineup. The way that Jerry Harding and Taylor Makar came in and what they gave us was a huge addition,” Carvel said. “The bottom half of our lineup gave us a lot more and played a lot more to our identity.The bottom two lines made us a more complete team. It was the best complement of players that helped us play to our identity.”
The Minutemen recognize that as much as Carvel and his staff can preach the identity, they’re the ones who have to manifest it.
“Carv gives us the groundwork of the systems and it’s on us to play hockey and play the right way and not cheat the game,” UMass captain Bobby Trivigno said. “We played like that for spurts in the seasons. But it’s time we figure it out and just do it consistently. I thought it was a good step forward Sunday.”
GONNA NEED A BIGGER BOAT – UMass will dip out of Hockey East play for the last time this regular season when it hosts Division I newcomer LIU for two games at the Mullins Center. The Minutemen will face the Sharks at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday at home.
LIU (8-14-3) made the jump to college hockey’s highest level last season and remains an independent, though the program maintains a scheduling partnership with Atlantic Hockey. The Sharks have already more than doubled last season’s win total (three) and enter riding a four-game winning streak. They beat Brown and Union their past two games.
“I don’t know anything (about LIU). I don’t care. I only care about my team at this point,” Carvel said. “If we don’t play the way that we’re supposed to, it doesn’t matter who we’re playing. There’s no easy wins. There’s no guaranteed losses. It’s all about your own team. To me the challenge this week is to carry what we feel like we saw, built, whatever, in that game and carry it forward and see if we can keep pushing it forward.”
LIU has faced six ranked teams this season and went 0-9 in those games. Billy Jerry leads the Sharks with 11 goals and 13 assists. Seven LIU players have reached double-digit points. The roster features 13 Division I transfers.
Friday’s game is UMass’ annual “Turn the Rink Pink” night to raise breast cancer awareness. Fans are encouraged to wear pink, and the Minutemen are raising funds for Skating Strides and the Ellie Fund. Donations will be accepted at the game and via a QR code.
Skating Strides is a Hockey East initiative founded in 2007 every February primarily with its women’s programs, but since UMass doesn’t sponsor a women’s team it has participated on the men’s side. The Ellie Fund is a Needham-based charity that provides “essential support services for breast cancer patients to ease the stresses of everyday life, allowing the focus to be on family, recovery and healing.”
MORROW MANIA – UMass defenseman Scott Morrow was named the Hockey East Rookie of the Month for January. He compiled nine points in eight games on four goals.
Morrow notched two multi-point games during January. He’s second on the team with 24 points, which leads the nation’s first-year defensemen. His 18 Hockey East points rank second in the league.
He was also the runner-up for Hockey East Defender of the Month behind New Hampshire’s Colton Huard.
RAISING MONEY FOR A MINUTEMAN – The P.A.L. Junior Islanders are raising money to help former UMass assistant captain Mike Marcou battle cancer. He has been fighting a non-Seminoma mix germ cell tumor since August 2021.
The Islanders will donate all admissions money, auction proceeds, raffles and chuck a puck additions from its March 2 games against the Long Island Gulls to help defray medial expenses.
Marcou is the Junior Islanders’ head coach. He and his wife Lauren, a former UMass lacrosse player, welcomed a baby Mikey Jr. in September.
Donations can also be made via Venmo to @mikeystrong.
Kyle Grabowski can be reached at kgrabowski@gazettenet.com. Follow him on Twitter @kylegrbwsk.