By any measure, the Massachusetts men’s hockey team has turned in a successful defense (so far) of its NCAA championship season from last year.
The Minutemen are 9-4-2 overall, ranked No. 12 in the most recent DCU/USCHO.com Division I poll, are second in Hockey East with a 7-2-2 record and — perhaps most importantly — haven’t lost in regulation since the season’s opening weekend.
On the flip side, the Minutemen haven’t made things easy on themselves. Three of their last four games required a third-period rally to force overtime, and only twice in its last 12 contests has UMass won by more than one goal — 5-1 at No 16 Providence on Nov. 6, and 3-0 at New Hampshire on Nov. 19.
“The biggest thing for us is getting healthy, staying healthy and rolling teams,” said UMass senior forward Bobby Trivigno, who leads the team in scoring with 16 points (nine goals, seven assists). “We don’t like to go to overtime. We don’t like (having) to tie games late. That’s not something we like to do.”
Trivigno and freshman defenseman Scott Morrow are tied for second in league scoring with 12 points (six goals, six assists apiece). They trail No. 20 Boston College’s Jack St. Ivany (2-11-13).
Minutemen coach Greg Carvel was blunt in his assessment of the first half of the season.
“I feel like we’ve just been playing average hockey,” Carvel said. “Looking forward to the second half, hopefully we can elevate and start playing better and not having to go to overtime.”
UMass rose to first place in the league standings with a 3-2 overtime win at Merrimack on Dec. 8 but has been idle since and now sits one point behind No. 15 UMass Lowell (10-3-3, 8-2-1) after the River Hawks’ sweep at Vermont over the weekend.
“As of right now, we’re in first place, and I’m sour about it,” Carvel said immediately after the win at Merrimack. “I don’t know what that says about me. (I) don’t want to sound arrogant, but we’re squeaking by. We’re scratching and clawing.”
Clearly, winning the national title put a target on the Minutemen’s back, Carvel acknowledged.
“We get a lot of good games from our opponents,” he said. “So maybe that’s a good part of the reason, but even so, I know what our standard of play should be. (If) we can play to our standard, we can win in regulation, that’s big in this league. Three points is big. To get three points is huge, and we have too many overtime games.
“But at the same time, I’m proud of the kids,” Carvel continued. “They haven’t lost in regulation in two or three months, so I can’t be too harsh on them.”
A big reason for the Minutemen’s success has been goalie Matt Murray, who sports a .927 save percentage and a 2.16 goals-against average in 15 starts.
“He’s playing unbelievable,” Trivigno said. “We’re playing well in front of him. He’s making all the saves he should make. So it’s been a huge help for us.”
After competing for playing time for three seasons with Filip Lindberg (who now plays in net for the Pittsburgh Penguins’ AHL affiliate), Murray has started all 15 games for UMass so far this season.
“I think that really pushed him to get better,” Trivigno said. “They both got a lot better from that competition. Now it’s his net.”
The Minutemen will spend New Year’s weekend in Schenectady, N.Y., with a two-game set at Union. A huge series looms a week later at No. 3 Michigan. Game 1 will air Jan. 8 at 5 p.m. on the Big Ten Network, while the next night’s game (4 p.m.) is on ESPNU.
