UMass has opened the season ranked No. 14 in the USCHO coaches poll to start the season. They will look to build on last season’s national tournament experience and build towards a Hockey East Championship.
Last season, the Minutemen (20-14-3, 12-10-2 Hockey East) finished T-5th in the conference with 36 points. Despite an 8-1 trouncing at the hands of Boston College in the Hockey East semifinals, UMass made their way to the NCAA tournament. The Minutemen put up a valiant effort against the future national champion Denver Pioneers in the opening round but took a heartbreaking loss in double overtime.
Over the offseason, the Minutemen lost 12 players, notably blueliners Scott Morrow and Ryan Ufko who left for the Carolina Hurricanes and Nashville Predators respectively. Captain and defenseman Aaron Bohlinger left as a graduate transfer for a final season with Quinnipiac. On the offensive side, Taylor Makar left for conference foe, Maine, after an underwhelming season where he posted nine points in 36 games.
In order to replace talent lost, UMass is welcoming a freshman class of nine players including five defensemen, three forwards, and a goalie. After losing six players to the transfer portal, the Minutemen were quiet adding two newcomers.
Welcome to Amherst
First, the Minutemen welcome a Dartmouth College transfer, forward Joey Musa, the brother of forward and fellow Minuteman, Jack Musa. After spending three seasons with Dartmouth as an assistant captain, Musa is taking his talents to Amherst. Last season he posted six goals and 11 assists across 32 games.
On the other end of the ice, defenseman Lucas Olvestad joins the Minutemen from Denver. Over two seasons with the Pioneers, Olvestad mainly saw time with the third defensive pairing as a stay-at-home defenseman. Across 54 games he posted a goal and nine assists.
“Lucas was an important pickup for us,” said head coach Greg Carvel. “Because we are so young in the backend. We lost a lot. He’s a veteran player who’s going to be a lot like Sami (Samuli) Niinisaari. He’s a big body who skates really well.”
Despite the departures, fans will still see familiar faces on the defensive end. Linden Alger will return for a graduate season with UMass, a rarity for the program. Entering his fifth season with the program, Alger has appeared in 66 games and will wear the captain’s badge this season for the first time.
Also returning are a pair of junior defenders, Owen Murray and Kennedy O’Connor. O’Connor played in 22 games during his freshman campaign, but last season only played in one game; Murray has put up 12 points in his 52 games.
Even if all three returners and Olvestad take the ice every game, UMass will likely still have two or three more defensemen skating on a given night. Two incoming recruits who will likely play a big factor are Francesco Dell’Elce and Larry Keenan.
Keenan and Dell’Elce both come from the Penticton Vees of the BCHL. Keenan was also a fourth-round draft pick by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2023 NHL Draft. In 53 games last season, Keenan posted 30 points in 53 games. He plays with aggression and forces turnovers, but that same aggression can lead to preventable goals.
Dell’Elce played in 54 games with Penticton last season posting 38 points. Dell’Elce may begin his UMass career on the third pair as a left-shot defenseman. However, his shooting and passing ability may remind fans of Scott Morrow, who the Minutemen will be looking to replace this season.
Defensemen Finn Loftus, Charlie Lieberman and Kaz Sobieski make up the remaining blueliners in this class. Loftus may have the most potential of the bunch after totaling 57 points in 125 games in the USHL with the Sioux City Musketeers.
In the net, the Minutemen will return to Michael Hrabal, who impressed in his freshman season, posting a .914 save percentage and 2.54 GAA. Backup Cole Brady left the team in the offseason after an underwhelming .886 save percentage. Taking his place is freshman James Norton. In 20 games in the USHL last season, he only posted a .877 save percentage. However, in his previous season in the NAHL with Minot, he performed better with a 1.81 goals-against average.
Finally, on the offensive end, UMass added James Duerr, who spent two seasons with Green Bay in the USHL. In those two seasons, he added 22 points over 103 games. Forward Cameron Dunn spent the last two seasons with the Odessa Jackalopes of the NAHL. He excelled in the 2023 season, becoming an assistant captain and posting 55 points in 60 games. Finally, they added forward Daniel Jencko. A native of Slovakia, Jencko spent one season in the USHL netting 20 points across 37 games.
UMass will return with seven of their top 10 scorers from last season. They will expect forwards Jack Musa and Aydar Suniev to continue their growth after posting 29 and 24 points respectively next season. UMass will also look for Dans Locmelis and Michael Cameron to take steps forward this season.
Cameron has shown to be one of the fastest skaters on the team and a weapon on the wing. He only amassed six goals last season, but with improved scoring touch he could reach double-digit goals. Locmelis had a slow start to the season but posted 11 points in his final 19 games of the year. The Bruins prospect has the potential to be a top goal scorer this season.
The Road to Boston
UMass will begin their season traveling to Bentley University on Oct. 5 before returning home to play Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in an exhibition at the Mullins Center.
Next, the Minutemen travel out west for their longest road trip since 2022. UMass will participate in the Icebreaker Tournament and take on No. 15 Omaha in the opening round and will play the winner or loser of Minnesota against Air Force.
The Minutemen will also have a home-and-home series with Sacred Heart. They will also travel to Springfield to take on AIC. Army and Harvard will also be making trips to the Mullins Center for a game. In late January, Alaska-Fairbanks will come to Amherst for a two-game weekend series.
UMass will make a second desert road trip to Tempe, Arizona for the Desert Hockey Classic. The Minutemen will have the opportunity to take on No. 9 Cornell as well as the winner or loser of Arizona State against Robert Morris.
Finally, the Minutemen will have a second exhibition game in late December as they take on Canadian powerhouse Simon Fraser.
Absent from the schedule this season is a home series against one of college hockey’s elite teams such as Denver or Michigan in recent years. However, the Hockey East conference schedule is full of elite teams as well such as Boston University and Boston College.
UMass will need to perform better this season against top competition. Last season, they went 4-9-2 against teams that are currently ranked in the top 15. The schedule does not lighten up this season either with at least 13 games against teams currently ranked in the top 20.
Overall, the Minutemen’s season will be highly dependent on how the young defenseman core meshes together. A light non-conference schedule may allow for some development, but the gauntlet of Hockey East conference play will be here sooner rather than later. Regardless, UMass has the talent to make a run at the Hockey East Championship once again.
