UMass will try to put last weekend’s difficult start to Hockey East play in the rearview mirror Friday when it hosts UConn at 7 p.m. at the Mullins Center.
The Huskies (3-2-3, 1-1-0 Hockey East) arrive in Amherst after splitting with Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, last weekend.
UConn opened the year with a sweep of Alabama-Huntsville followed by back-to-back ties with Colgate and RIT. The Huskies fell to Quinnipiac and tied AIC, 2-2.
Sophomore Tage Thompson is off to a strong start. The 6-foot-5 forward has four goals and four assists this year. Senior Evan Richardson isn’t far behind with four goals and three assists.
Senior Rob Nichols and freshman Adam Huska have split time in goal. Nichols is 2-1-2 with a 2.32 goals against average, while Huska is 1-1-1 with a 2.59 GAA.
Despite the considerable increase in penalties throughout college hockey this year, UConn is Hockey East’s least penalized team averaging 11.9 minutes per game in the box.
MICHELETTO TO NOTRE DAME — John Micheletto has landed at Notre Dame.
The former UMass coach is a special assistant to the Fighting Irish coaching staff. He led the Minutemen from 2012 to 2016.
He was an assistant coach at Notre Dame for four seasons earlier in his career.
“We are thrilled to have such an established coach and good man join our staff,” Notre Dame coach Jeff Jackson said in a statement. “John will assist our coaching staff and be a valuable resource with a fresh perspective. His knowledge and experience, including his time here at Notre Dame, will be beneficial for many facets of our program.”
Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage