AMHERST — Injuries have ravaged the UMass hockey team’s forward corps.
The Minutemen will be without four of their top six forwards when they face New Hampshire at 7 p.m. Friday at the Mullins Center. Josh Lopina has been out since the Merrimack series, while Cal Kiefiuk, Garrett Wait and Eric Faith were hurt against BU over the weekend.
The injured forwards have accounted for 10 goals and nine assists this season. That’s a third of UMass’ goals (30) and a fifth of their assists (53).
“Next guys up. We have good depth. Our forwards are pretty balanced,” UMass coach Greg Carvel said. “These situations always give opportunity for the guys who think they don’t play enough. Guess what? Now you better show it to me.”
Players like Reed Lebster or Anthony Del Gaizo could slide up a line. It also created more opportunities for transfers Cam Donaldson or Matt Baker to step into larger roles. Freshmen like Lucas Mercuri, Ryan Lautenbach and Taylor Makar can show they’re ready to contribute.
No. 8 UMass will also lean on its talented blue line to help weather the loss of scoring from the forwards. Two of the Minutemen’s top four scorers are freshman defensemen Scott Morrow (nine points, three goals) and Ryan Ufko (eight points). Matthew Kessel also has five points.
“Our back end needs to be better at both ends,” Carvel said. “I think they can be and I think they will be. So that’s an upside for me is that our back end can give us more.”
The Minutemen can also lean on captain Bobby Trivigno, who leads the team with four goals, eight assists and 12 points. He ranks fourth in Hockey East in assists and sixth in points.
“It is disheartening. We’ve lost some key guys up front,” Donaldson said. “But we just keep on moving forward. If we play fast, hard, prepared and follow those standards I don’t think we’ll miss a beat.”
THREE NOT THE MAGIC NUMBER – UMass played two overtime games last weekend against BU. The Minutemen won in a shootout at Agganis Arena on Friday before falling in overtime at the Mullins Center on Saturday. Hockey East began playing 3 on 3 overtime and added the shootout last season.
“I love the tie. There’s nothing wrong with a tie. You play hard for 60 minutes and then you turn the game around,” Carvel said. “I hate it. I voted against it. We were told we need to be progressive. Progressive is changing the integrity of the game. I don’t like it. I wish we would have just stuck with five on five.”
RALLYING THE MILITIA – Carvel took in basketball games at the Mullins Center recently. He watched the Minutewomen defeat Harvard on Friday and brought some of his family to the Minutemen’s resounding victory over Penn State on Monday.
“I think it’s all of our responsibility to each other. I was somewhat vocal in supporting Walt Bell for three years. I’m good friends with Matt McCall. I enjoy watching the games,” Carvel said.
He also voiced support for Fran O’Leary and Jason Dowiak’s soccer programs and Greg Cannella and Angela McMahon-Serpone’s lacrosse programs.
“I think there’s a lot of really good coaches here,” Carvel said. “It’s hard to get to a lot of the games because they’re in the afternoons, but these night games mid week, that’s my sweet spot. I think it’s important for other coaches to be seen at other sporting events.”
He said he had no idea who comes to the hockey games since he can sit closer to the court than others can sit to the ice.
“Some coaches tell me when the come and I’m very appreciative of it. It’s a colleague thing,” Carvel said. “We’re all in this together here at UMass. I think it shows a lot of solidarity, a lot of unity, which is important. I enjoy going, I get to interact with fans who I don’t get to at my games. There’s a lot of positives for me.”
BRANCHES FLOWERING – The Greg Carvel coaching tree is starting to sprout. Former UMass assistant Ben Barr won his first game at Maine over the weekend when the Black Bears defeated Merrimack in overtime Friday. They started the season 0-7-1 before breaking through.
“I was very happy for Ben. I feel very fortunate of the time I was able to spend with him,” Carvel said. “He’s a close friend and always will be. He’s turned too many programs around, so he knows how to do it. It just takes time.”