UMass Minutemen ice hockey

The centrally located pond on the UMass campus was once used for multiple purposes. In the winter students and faculty would cut out blocks of ice to use for refrigeration and annual tug-of-war games between sophomores and freshmen were hosted during the spring months. In 1909 the first formal ice hockey team began playing on the pond as well.^[3] UMass fielded one of the earliest non-ivy league programs, playing continually until poor weather conditions and a lack of funding caused the team to cease in 1939. The Minutemen were able to return to the ice after the war but couldn't play at home until 1954.

The lack of a home venue caused the team to suffer through a stretch where they won only 2 games over a 7-year period. Eventually the pond became usable again and UMass were able to play home games with new head coach Steve Kosakowski. The Minutemen performed decently in his 13 seasons and were among 28 teams to found ECAC Hockey. In 1964 the ECAC split into two divisions and any program that did not possess a dedicated indoor arena was placed in ECAC 2. UMass continued with the second-tier conference for 15 years and achieved their greatest success in 1972 under Jack Canniff, winning the conference tournament title.

By the end of the 1970s using the pond as a rink had become untenable and when no alternatives surfaced the program was shuttered.

When the Mullins Center opened in 1993 it was designed as a multi-purpose arena and allowed for the university to rekindle its ice hockey program. The men's team started the same year and hit the ice as a Division I independent. With 20 wins in the first season under Joe Mallen, there was hope that the Minutemen could compete in Hockey East. However, once they began a tougher schedule in 1994–95, the team lost a then-school-record 28 games. Though the team rarely finished last in the conference under Mallen, there were very few gains and he was replaced by Don Cahoon in 2000.

Under Cahoon the team began to improve, posting a winning season in 2003 and reaching the conference championship game the following year. His greatest success came after recruiting Jonathan Quick, who helped UMass to reach their first ever NCAA tournament in 2007. Cahoon couldn't keep the success going, however, and after being knocked off in five consecutive conference quarterfinals he retired in 2012.

John Micheletto was tabbed as Cahoon's successor and after a decent first season the team slid down the standing and bottomed out for two consecutive seasons. After the second last-place finish Micheletto was fired and replaced by St. Lawrence head coach Greg Carvel.^[4]

In Carvel's first season the team reached a nadir; the Minutemen set a new program record for futility, losing 29 games. Carvel led the team to a much-improved finish in his second season and then team took off in year three. The Minutemen reached their first ever Frozen Four and a berth in the 2019 NCAA Division I National Championship in which the Minutemen ultimately lost to Minnesota-Duluth 3–0. Though the year ended on a sour note, the team posted a new program record for wins (31) while Cale Makar won the school's first Hobey Baker Award.

On April 10, 2021, the Minutemen won their first-ever NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament, beating the St. Cloud State Huskies 5–0.^[5]

Source:^[6]

As of the completion of 2018–19 season^[7]

Current as of November, 2018.^[8]

As of the completion of 2023–24 season^[7]

Source:^[7]

† - active

GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

Minimum 30 games played

Statistics current through the start of the 2022–23 season.

As of August 11, 2023.^[9]

No.	S/P/C	Player	Class	Pos	Height	Weight	DoB	Hometown	Previous team	NHL rights
1		Jackson Irving	Freshman	G	6' 0" (1.83 m)	172 lb (78 kg)	2004-02-03	Newbury, Massachusetts	Sioux Falls (USHL)	—
4		Kennedy O'Connor	Sophomore	D	6' 2" (1.88 m)	194 lb (88 kg)	2001-05-10	Springfield, Massachusetts	Omaha (USHL)	—
5		Linden Alger	Senior	D	6' 3" (1.91 m)	194 lb (88 kg)	2000-04-09	Centerville, Massachusetts	Youngstown (USHL)	—
6		Ryan Ufko	Junior	D	5' 10" (1.78 m)	181 lb (82 kg)	2003-05-07	Smithtown, New York	Chicago (USHL)	NSH, 115th overall 2021
7		Samuli Niinisaari	Graduate	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	187 lb (85 kg)	1998-08-11	Hamina, Finland	Brown (ECAC)	—
8		Cameron O'Neill	Freshman	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	183 lb (83 kg)	2004-01-24	Odenton, Maryland	Tri-City (USHL)	OTT, 143rd overall 2022
9		Jack Musa	Freshman	F	5' 9" (1.75 m)	157 lb (71 kg)	2003-07-22	Orange Park, Florida	Cedar Rapids (USHL)	—
10		Cole O'Hara	Sophomore	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	183 lb (83 kg)	2002-06-20	Richmond Hill, Ontario	Tri-City (USHL)	NSH, 114th overall 2022
10		Dans Ločmelis	Freshman	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	2004-01-21	Jelgava, Latvia	Luleå J20 (J20 Nationell)	BOS, 119th overall 2022
11		Lucas Mercuri	Junior	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	192 lb (87 kg)	2002-03-07	Montreal, Quebec	Des Moines (USHL)	CAR, 159th overall 2020
12		Lucas Vanroboys	Graduate	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1999-07-24	Thamesville, Ontario	Bentley (AHA)	—
14		Ryan Lautenbach	Junior	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2000-02-27	Brighton, Michigan	Omaha (USHL)	—
16		Aydar Suniev	Freshman	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	2004-11-16	Kazan, Russia	Penticton (BCHL)	CGY, 80th overall 2023
17		Kenny Connors	Sophomore	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2003-03-10	Glen Mills, Pennsylvania	Dubuque (USHL)	LAK, 103rd overall 2022
18		Taylor Makar	Junior	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2001-03-13	Calgary, Alberta	Brooks (AJHL)	COL, 220th overall 2021
20		Liam Gorman	Graduate	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	199 lb (90 kg)	2000-05-08	Arlington, Massachusetts	Princeton (ECAC)	CHI, 177th overall 2018
21		Sebastian Törnqvist	Freshman	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	187 lb (85 kg)	2003-05-22	Everlöv, Sweden	Tri-City (USHL)	—
22		Nicholas VanTassell	Freshman	F	6' 4" (1.93 m)	196 lb (89 kg)	2004-04-18	Basking Ridge, New Jersey	Green Bay (USHL)	OTT, 215th overall 2023
23		Scott Morrow	Junior	D	6' 2" (1.88 m)	192 lb (87 kg)	2002-11-01	Darien, Connecticut	Shattuck-St. Mary's (Midget AAA)	CAR, 40th overall 2021
24		Elliott McDermott	Senior	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	193 lb (88 kg)	1999-02-03	Kingston, Ontario	Colgate (ECAC)	—
25		Aaron Bohlinger	Senior	D	5' 9" (1.75 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	2000-08-25	Walden, New York	Waterloo (USHL)	—
26		Owen Murray	Sophomore	D	5' 10" (1.78 m)	181 lb (82 kg)	2002-12-01	Decker, Manitoba	Green Bay (USHL)	—
27		Michael Cameron	Sophomore	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	174 lb (79 kg)	2002-07-24	Berwyn, Pennsylvania	Omaha (USHL)	—
28		Bo Cosman	Freshman	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	192 lb (87 kg)	2002-01-18	Milton, Georgia	Minnesota (NAHL)	—
29		Eric DeDobbelaer	Sophomore	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	2000-06-15	Brantford, Ontario	Brantford (OJHL)	—
30		Michael Hrabal	Freshman	G	6' 6" (1.98 m)	209 lb (95 kg)	2005-01-20	Prague, Czech Republic	Omaha (USHL)	ARI, 38th overall 2023
34		Cole Brady	Senior	G	6' 5" (1.96 m)	181 lb (82 kg)	2001-02-12	Pickering, Ontario	Arizona State (NCAA)	DAL, 127th overall 2019

On March 6, 2015, UMass faced Notre Dame in Game 1 of the Opening Round of the 2015 Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, played at Compton Family Ice Arena at Notre Dame. Early into the game, Sam Herr gave Notre Dame the lead on a rebounded shot. Vince Hinostroza made it 2–0 midway through the second period. But the Minutmen responded two minutes later with a power play goal by Steven Iacobellis. Notre Dame responded three minutes later with a Steven Fogarty goal to make it 3–1. UMass made it 3–2 a minute later with a goal by Shane Walsh. With two seconds remaining in the period, Troy Power tipped a power play goal to tie the game as the second period (a period that had five goals in total) ended. The third period ended with no goals, as the two teams went into overtime. The two teams repeatedly failed to score, with UMass shooting a record 91 times and Notre Dame shooting 78 times. With 8:18 left in the fifth overtime and at 1:24 a.m. ET, Shane Walsh scored the game-winning goal to end the longest Division I hockey game which had lasted 151 minutes, 42 seconds, besting the previous record of 150:22, set by Quinnipiac and Union in 2010.^[10]

Steve Mastalerz finished the night with 75 saves for UMass while Cal Petersen of Notre Dame made 87 saves, setting a new NCAA record. It was UMass' first win at the Tournament since March 13, 2009 at Northeastern.

AHCA First Team All-Americans

AHCA Second Team All-Americans

NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey All-Tournament Team

William Flynn Tournament Most Valuable Player

• Bobby Trivigno: 2021, 2022

First Team

Second Team

Third Team

Rookie Team

All-Tournament Team

This is a list of Massachusetts alumni were a part of an Olympic team.

Name	Position	Massachusetts Tenure	Team	Year	Finish
John Lyons	Center	1918, 1921-1922	USA	1924	Silver
Justin McCarthy	Right Wing	1918–1921	USA	1924	Silver
Thomas Pöck	Defenseman	2001-2004	Austria	2002, 2014	12th, 10th
Jonathan Quick	Goaltender	2005–2007	USA	2010, 2014	Silver, 4th

As of July 1, 2023

• 
  Justin Braun
• 
  Mario Ferraro
• 
  Matt Irwin
• 
  Michael Kostka
• 
  William Lagesson
• 
  Cale Makar
• 
  Thomas Pöck
• 
  Jonathan Quick
• 
  Conor Sheary
• 
  Frank Vatrano

Source:^[12]

• UMass Minutemen men's ice hockey