UMass hockey: Minutemen prepare for important games vs. Merrimack, Maine

UMass players wait to be introduced before the NCAA hockey game against Alaska at the Mullins Center, Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, in Amherst. STAFF PHOTO / DANIEL JACOBI II
Published: 01-30-2025 5:46 PM |
The heat is on the No. 20 UMass hockey team.
Eleven regular-season games remain for the Minutemen. At the moment, they’re 10th place in the Hockey East standings, 18th in the Pairwise ratings, and were voted back into the weekly USCHO poll on Monday for the first time since November.
Winners of three straight for the first time all year, UMass (13-10-2) will look to keep the good vibes going against Merrimack and No. 6 Maine, this weekend. It’ll kick off a challenging, yet crucial final stretch for the Minutemen.
“I think our group is really good when they’re desperate,” UMass head coach Greg Carvel said. “Hopefully they are like that down the stretch because… we got a lot of guys that play the way I need them to play, but we got a few guys that are inconsistent. But when our group is desperate, I think we’re one of the best teams in the country, so that’s on me to push those buttons.
“We’re running out of racetrack here,” Carvel said.
Let’s start with the Hockey East standings. In the Hockey East playoffs, seeds No. 1-5 get an automatic first-round bye, then seeds No. 6-8 get home-ice advantage for the single-elimination first round. With 15 points, the Minutemen have some ground to cover for a first-round bye, considering fifth-place UMass Lowell is seven points ahead.
However, hosting during the first-round is still very much in play for UMass as seeds No. 6-10 are separated by five points.
The Warriors (10-13-1) currently occupy that spot in sixth place, setting up a potential six-point swing following the Minutemen’s home game on Friday.
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“I think Merrimack just went on the road and beat Northeastern, so every night it’s about competing at a certain level and that usually decides every game so it’ll be the same [Friday],” Carvel said.
Last Saturday, the Warriors took down the Huskies, 4-3.
UMass will get a day off before heading to Orono, Maine for its first of three meetings against the Black Bears, on Sunday afternoon. The Minutemen will try to pick up their first win against Maine since 2023, after going 0-3 a season ago.
“It’s nice that we get to play Maine three times because they’re a top, I don’t know where they are now, five or six, wherever they are in the Pairwise,” Carvel said. “So it gives us three chances to beat a very good team. If we can win two out of three games against Maine, it should help our Pairwise.”
Harrison Scott is Maine’s top scoring threat by a considerable margin as his 27 points (15 goals) is eight points clear of the next closest Black Bear skater. Former UMass forward Taylor Makar is also having a career year at Maine with 17 points already.
Black Bears goalie Albin Boija is top three among Hockey East goaltenders in wins (14), goals-against average (1.63) and save percentage (.928).
As far as the NCAA tournament goes, the Minutemen are on the outside looking in, as of the end of January, but are still in control of their destiny. Six Hockey East teams are already within the top-10 in Pairwise and eight of UMass’ final 11 games will be against four of those squads.
According to playoffstatus.com, a website that tracks sports teams playoff probabilities, the Minutemen have a 19 percent chance of qualifying for NCAAs. Luckily for UMass, it’ll have multiple chances to greatly improve those odds due to the number of quality opponents it has left.
With all that in mind, getting into the NCAA tournament is not an immediate concern for the Minutemen. That lies with Merrimack, and despite its losing record, a victory over the Warriors would be just as important for UMass, especially considering top-scorer Aydar Suniev is not expected to return to the lineup for “weeks”, per Carvel.
Puck drop on Friday at Mullins Center is scheduled for 7 p.m.