The Path to the Tournament
Despite a rocky road, the Minutemen (20-13-5, 10-9-5 Hockey East) have reached a second consecutive NCAA tournament and the fifth of the Coach Carvel era. The Minutemen began the season with early losses to some of their weaker opponents, including Omaha, Sacred Heart and Vermont.
The Minutemen ranked No. 20 in the NCAA Pairwise rankings on Dec. 15, heading into the winter break after a 4-2 home loss against Boston University. To make the tournament, Umass would likely need to climb to at least No. 13.
Heading into selection Sunday, UMass did just that – finishing No. 12. They will face Minnesota on Mar. 27 at 8:30 p.m. in Fargo, North Dakota.
This will be the fourth meeting between UMass and Minnesota all-time. Additionally, the matchup winner will take on the victor of Western Michigan and Minnesota State-Mankato.
The Minutemen had a strong second half of the season, beginning with a home series against Alaska Fairbanks. Since January 24, the Minutemen have an 8-3-3 record, including wins against Boston College and Maine who are ranked top-three in the Pairwise rankings.
After a sixth-place finish in the Hockey East regular season standings, UMass was set to take on Vermont in the opening round of the Hockey East playoffs. The Minutemen were able to squeeze out a 2-1 victory for their first playoff victory in the Mullins Center since 2022.
Three days later, UMass traveled east to take on Boston University for the first time in nearly three months. The Minutemen gave everything they had to beat the Terriers, but BU ultimately came up with the winning shot in overtime, ending UMass’ hopes of winning a Hockey East title.
Meet the Roster
UMass faced the difficult challenge of bringing in new defensemen, including freshmen Francesco Dell’Elce and Larry Keenan. Former teammates on the Penticton Vees of the BCHL, the duo began the year by amassing a laundry list of defensive lapses. Today, they have become a strong defense pairing on both ends of the ice.
Dell’Elce, reminiscent of former Minuteman Scott Morrow, has become a key component of the Minutemen’s offensive attack. He has totaled 22 points on the season, including 16 assists, which leads all defensemen on the roster. His 35 blocked shots also rank fourth on the team.
On his right, Keenan has found a home as UMass’s best stay-at-home defenseman. The Detroit Red Wings’ prospect has found the net three times this season and added seven assists. In addition, he has blocked 31 shots over 38 games.
However, the Minutemen are unsure of the status of defenseman Lucas Olvestad, a team leader in minutes and ranks second on the team in points by defensemen with 18. Olvestad suffered a hand injury on Mar. 8 against Maine and did not suit up against Vermont or BU.
On the offensive end of the ice, the Minutemen are led by star forward Cole O’Hara. A third-year player, O’Hara broke out this season, amassing 51 points, which led the team and the Hockey East Conference. O’Hara was targeting the Hobey Baker Award, given to college hockey’s most valuable player, but ultimately was not one of the ten finalists for the award.
O’Hara leads the team with a +22 rating on the season and has become a key component of the UMass penalty kill. The Predators’ prospect has become a crafty skater who rarely turns the puck over. In addition, his shot has vastly improved as he has converted 20.2% of his shots into goals this season, which leads the team.
His linemate, Jack Musa, has been a star for the Minutemen as well. His 34 points rank third on the team, and his +20 rating sits just behind O’Hara. Musa has been one of the most dynamic scoring threats on the roster this season.
The forward core is also led by wingers Aydar Suniev and Ryan Lautenbach, along with centers Dans Locmelis and Lucas Mercuri. Suniev, a native of Kazan, Russia has 36 points on the season in 33 games played. The winger loves to play with the puck on his stick and creates shots from anywhere on the ice.
Lautenbach is one of the most experienced players on the roster, alongside Mercuri and captain Linden Alger. As an assistant captain, Lautenbach has brought a physical forecheck to the Minutemen over the past four seasons, as well as a strong scoring touch. While he only has six goals this season, his presence has been felt across the ice.
Up the middle, Mercuri has been a consistent presence on UMass’ first line with Musa and O’Hara. While not the fastest skater in the world, Meruci makes up for it with strong physicality and net-front presence, which has allowed him to net several tip-in goals this season. He also leads all forwards with 46 blocks this season.
“He’s really taken on the identity of a power forward,” head coach Greg Carvel said. “He’s thrived off of it. He’s changed his game since he’s got here. I have a lot of respect for that.”
Finally, Locmelis has made a strong impact during his second season with the Minutemen as well. His 22 assists rank second on the team. The Minutemen will be looking for him to find a scoring touch down the stretch for UMass to make some noise in the tournament.
On the backend, the Minutemen have been well-served by sophomore netminder Michael Hrabal. The Czechia native faced his struggles early on in the season, including being benched early in a game against Vermont.
However, since coming back from a stint with Czechia in the World Juniors tournament, Hrabal has been one of the best goalies in the nation. Since Jan. 10, Hrabal boasts an 11-5-3 record. In 10 of those 18 games, Hrabal allowed two or fewer goals. Across the entire season, Hrabal has a .926 save percentage and 2.33 GAA.
The Minutemen will need him to follow up a strong performance from last year’s NCAA tournament game against Denver where he stopped 39/41 shots in a heartbreaking double-overtime loss against Denver.
Mighty Minnesota
After a strong regular season, the Golden Gophers (25-10-4, 15-6-3 B1G) were eliminated in the first round of the Big Ten tournament at the hands of Notre Dame. The Gophers played their last game on Mar. 9 which means they will go 18 days between games.
They will also be looking to improve on last year’s performance in the NCAA tournament. The Gophers took down Omaha in the opening round 3-2, but fell short in their second game against BU, 6-3.
No stranger to the NCAA tournament, Minnesota has made the past five in a row and 18 of the last 25. They have had two frozen four appearances in the last five years and were runner-up to Quinnipiac during the 2022-23 campaign.
Minnesota look points in nine of their last 10 regular season games on the campaign. This included a home sweep of Ohio State and a dramatic victory on the road to take down Penn State.
The Gophers were expecting to be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament but dropped down to a No. 2 seed following Western Michigan’s NCHC championship win.
The offense has been a critical component of the Gophers’ season. They boast 3.85 goals per game, which leads the Big Ten. Despite this, the Gophers have struggled in other areas, including special teams, where that penalty kill ranks sixth in the Big Ten at 75.9%.
In net, the Gophers have been in search of a consistent answer. Penn State transfer Liam Souliere has started 22 games this season but was pulled in his last start against Notre Dame on Mar. 7. Overall, he has stopped .918% of shots against and holds a 2.28 GAA.
Rotating with him is Alberta native Nathan Airey. In the Big Ten Tournament, he stopped 45/51 shots against Notre Dame. This season he started 17 games and posted a .902 save percentage. Coach Motzko named Souliere as the starter for Thursday’s contest.
On offense, Minnesota is anchored by Hobey hopeful, forward Jimmy Snuggerud. His 49 points rank third in the Big Ten. He leads the team with 22 goals and 157 shots on the season.
He is followed by Connor Kurth, who leads the team with a +31 on the year. This season he has posted 38 points. While the Gophers’ power play unit has been known to struggle at times, forward Brody Lamb leads the roster with eight powerplay tallies.
Minnesota’s blue line is led by junior Ryan Chesley. He leads the team with 68 blocks and his 20 points ranked second on the team for defensemen. Alongside him, defenseman Sam Rinzel has been an elite offensive presence from the top of the offensive zone with 31 points on the year so far.
The Golden Gophers’ roster is packed with talent from the blue line to the crease, but goaltending remains a serious question. If Coach Motzko’s goalies perform as they did against Ohio State and Penn State to end the year, then this Minnesota squad will be tough to crack.
Offensive Prowess Meets Brick Wall
Western Michigan (30-7-1, 19-4-1, NCHC) was awarded its first Penrose Cup as regular season champions of the NCHC. They followed that up with a strong performance in the NCHC playoffs, which saw them sweep St. Cloud State, beat North Dakota, and score four unanswered to beat Denver for their first NCHC tournament win.
The game-winning goal against Denver was scored by none other than star forward Alex Bump. A Minnesota native, Bump began making noise as a high school player at Prior Lake High School just south of Minneapolis. Bump chose to take his talents to Western Michigan in a decision that has worked out for both sides. He leads the team with 46 points on the season and 23 goals, two of which came in the NCHC finals.
The Broncos are set to make their tenth appearance in the NCAA tournament and their fourth in a row under coach Pat Ferschweiler. In 2022, WMU picked up its first NCAA tournament win, but they are still looking for their first Frozen Four appearance in program history.
Similar to the Gophers, WMU bounced between goalies, but since Feb. 22, the net has belonged to Hampton Slukynsky. In that time, he has won eight of nine games. Across the season, he has a .918 save percentage and a 2,04 GAA.
His brother, forward Grant Slukynsky, in his first season with the Broncos, has also been a star, adding 35 points, including a team-leading 26 assists. Alongside him, forward Tim Washe, a veteran of the program, has 34 points and 15 goals, which ranks second on the team.
Behind them, defenseman Cole Crusberg-Roseen has blocked 56 shots on the season and added 11 points. His +22 rating is tied for fourth on the team. Defenseman Samuel Sjolund, while on the smaller side, has made a major impact on offense. His 28 points lead all defensemen on the team. He has also blocked 30 shots on the year so far.
Standing in the way of a Western Michigan Victory is the Minnesota State Mavericks (27-8-3, 18-5-3 CCHA). As one of the most storied programs in the NCAA, the Mavericks are no stranger to the NCAA tournament. This will be their tenth NCAA tournament appearance and seventh of the last decade. The Mavericks are looking to get back to the NCAA championship after a disappointing loss in the 2022 finals against Denver.
The Mavericks won the CCHA regular season championship after winning six of their final seven games. They also cruised to a CCHA tournament championship with a +10 goal margin across their four tournament games.
Minnesota State may have the strongest goaltending of any team in this region. Alex Tracy, one of four finalists for the Mike Richter Award for college hockey’s best goalie and the only goalie to be a Hobey Baker finalist, leads the team.
Tracy has stopped .945% of shots faced this season which leads the NCAA. His 1.43 GAA also ranks as the best in the country. While the CCHA is not one of college hockey’s strongest conferences, Tracy posted a 5-3-0 record against non-conference opponents including a 32-save performance against Michigan.
The CCHA champions are led by forward Rhett Pitlick. His 40-point season leads the team as do his 27 assists. The team is led in goals by graduate forward Josh Groll, who has found the back of the net 14 times on the year so far.
On the backend, junior defenseman Mason Wheeler has been an elite defensive talent. He has blocked 63 shots on the year, which leads the team. Campbell Chicosz plays a similar style of hockey as he has blocked 53 opposing shots this season.
The best offensive defenseman on the Maverick’s roster is Evan Murr. Despite being undersized, Murr has tallied 26 points on the season which leads all defensemen on the roster.
Penalty-killing has been a specialty for the Mavericks this season. They have killed off 84.5% of penalties taken, which leads the CCHA. Their powerplay has yet to find equal success, but they are converting a solid 21.2% of man-advantages, which is fourth in the conference.
If the Mavericks plan on winning the tournament, then they need Tracy to continue playing at the same level he has all season. However, the Broncos offense will give the Mavericks defense a stronger test than any opponent they have seen all season.
Make sure to tune in to the games on Mar. 27. The Minutemen will play at 8:30 p.m., while Western Michigan and Minnesota State will battle at 5 p.m. If they win, UMass will play on Saturday at a time TBA.
