Hockey East Team Previews: UMass
Our Hockey East previews roll on as we take a look at the UMass Minutemen
Last Season: 6-23-6 (5-16-6), Finished 8th, Lost in 1st Rd to Boston College
What Happened: The Minutemen lost a lot of talent from their 2009-2010 team, including James Marcou, and the losses were very evident. Umass went 3-0 against Umass-Lowell and 2-16-6 against the rest of Hockey East and finished the season on a 14 game winless streak. They were 9th in the conference in power play and penalty kill, as well as goals allowed per game (3.49). There were, however, some bright spots for the Minutemen. Michael Pereira came in as a freshman and was one of three 25 point scorers for the Umass-Amherst (along with Daniel Hobbs and T.J Syner), and the team qualified for postseason play for the fourth consecutive season as the 8th seed in the Hockey East playoffs but were dispatched in two games by Boston College.
Key Losses:
- Paul Dainton (G): Last season, the senior captain and four year starting goaltender for the Minutemen went 6-18-5 with a 3.06 GAA and .908 save percentage. Dainton signed with the AHL’s Springfield Falcons following the season and his departure will create a hole at goaltender for Umass Amherst.
- Chase Langeraap (F): Langeraap finished fifth on the Minutemen with 17 points last season. The forward finished his college hockey career with 44 points and 117 penalty minutes in 108 games.
Key Returners:
- Michael Pereira (F): Pereira stepped into the Hockey East in 2010-11 and immediately made an impact, scoring 25 points in 34 games and being a unanimous selection for the Hockey East All-Rookie team. Pereira will look to build upon his successful freshman season and help lead UMass to the Hockey East playoffs again
- Daniel Hobbs (F): The New York Rangers prospect led the Minutemen in scoring last season with 28 points. Hobbs ended the regular season on a hot streak, scoring 5 points in his last 4 games. Hobbs will be a Senior this season and if he can continue to put up a lot of points, UMass-Amherst will be stronger than it was in 2010-2011.
2011-2012 Outlook:
The Minutemen did not lose much in terms of scoring, as they return 9 of their top 10 scorers, or in terms of defense. The biggest question mark facing the Minutemen this season will be how they replace four-year starting goalie, Paul Dainton. If the Minutemen can find some consistency between the pipes, and their sophomores such as Pereira, Joel Hanley, and Adam Philips all continue to improve, then they will find themselves back in the Hockey East playoff picture for another year.
