AMHERST — A cheer will welcome the UMass hockey team back to the Mullins Center.
It will, in its own way, say, “we missed you,” “thank you,” and, most importantly, “welcome home.”
Fans in Amherst haven’t seen the Minutemen play in person since March 5, 2020, against Vermont. The COVID-19 pandemic’s onset wiped out the rest of that season and fundamentally altered last year.
But UMass made the best of it. The Minutemen won the program’s first Hockey East Championship in a mostly empty Mullins Center. They followed that with their first national championship.
Some fans made the April trek to Pittsburgh to witness history in a half-empty PPG Paints Arena. Or half full, depending on perspective.
“Obviously the downside of it is that those kids accomplished so much and did it in front of very few eyes, and it was weird,” UMass coach Greg Carvel said. “I hope the kids get the cheer, the applause that they deserve. It’s pretty incredible what they did last year. Being national champions, that’s big time.”
After a summer of ballpark visits, transfer portals and seltzers tossed on top of a flatbed truck at a football tailgate, UMass, the preseason No. 1 team in the country, will return to the Mullins Center ice to host No. 5 Minnesota State Saturday night.
The game, which will be broadcast on NBC Sports Boston, sold out Tuesday, promising a capacity crowd to embrace the Minutemen. Doors open at 6 p.m. for a 7:30 p.m. puck drop. The banner raising ceremony is set for 7 p.m. UMass students can still attend the game for free on a first-come, first-served basis until the section is full. Some are planning to camp out Friday night in front of the Mullins Center to secure the best spots.
Bobby Trivigno – man of the people ðŸ†#NewMass X #Flagship 🚩 pic.twitter.com/Qxanq0K2UN
— UMass Hockey (@UMassHockey) September 18, 2021
UMass is requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test within the 72 hours preceding the event. Face masks must be worn when not actively eating or drinking.
It will be the first Mullins Center sellout since Feb. 8, 2019, against Boston University when UMass was ranked No. 2 ahead of its first Frozen Four run.
“Half this team doesn’t even know what that’s like,” UMass captain Bobby Trivigno said.
The Minutemen lost 10 players from last year’s national championship roster and brought in a large group of newcomers before last season, too.
While some UMass players don’t know what they’ve been missing, the UMass community is well aware.
“The whole community, all of our friends showed us a lot of love so it’ll be great being able to have all the fans back,” UMass defenseman Matthew Kessel said. “We’ve heard from students and teachers that they’re all excited, that it’s kind of their most exciting thing coming back to campus.”
Carvel is looking forward to it as much as anyone. He’ll have his family with him, a relief after he couldn’t bring them to most games last season. It’s also an opportunity to connect with people he and the players have formed relationships with that they couldn’t share last season’s success with.
“I’m really proud that we’re gonna hang a couple banners and they’ll hang here for the rest of the time here at Mullins, long after I’m gone,” Carvel said. “It’ll be a night that I will hopefully never forget.”
After the banners go up, the Minutemen will have to quickly turn their attention to one of the season’s toughest tests: No. 5 Minnesota State. The Mavericks made their first Frozen Four last season, losing a back and forth national semifinal against St. Cloud State.
“They’re like us two years ago, when they made the Final Four, now they have that taste and know they can be a championship team,” Carvel said. “I’m sure they’ve been thinking about us all summer. Not so sure we’ve been thinking about them. That’s not good. So, we’re gonna see what we are right away.”
The Mavericks know who they are. They brought back 17 skaters from last year’s roster and All-American goalie Dryden McKay, a Hobey Baker finalist last year.
“It will be a really good test for us, it will be as good a test as we could ask for,” Carvel said.
Kyle Grabowski can be reached at kgrabowski@gazettenet.com. Follow him on Twitter
@kylegrbwsk.