{"id":89635,"date":"2018-12-07T10:00:52","date_gmt":"2018-12-07T16:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/?p=89635"},"modified":"2020-08-24T13:42:09","modified_gmt":"2020-08-24T18:42:09","slug":"uscho-com-game-of-the-week-top-ranked-massachusetts-looking-to-keep-roll-going-against-no-8-quinnipiac","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2018\/12\/07\/uscho-com-game-of-the-week-top-ranked-massachusetts-looking-to-keep-roll-going-against-no-8-quinnipiac\/","title":{"rendered":"USCHO.com GAME OF THE WEEK: Top-ranked Massachusetts looking to keep roll going against No. 8 Quinnipiac"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Niko<\/a>
UMass junior captain Niko Hildenbrand has the Minutemen atop the USCHO poll heading into this weekend’s home-and-home set with Quinnipiac (photo: Shelley M. Szwast).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Two years ago, Massachusetts opened play in December with a 5-4 win over Notre Dame.<\/p>\n

There was little significance about that game. Rather, it was what didn\u2019t come after it that was significant.<\/p>\n

The Minutemen won only one more game for the rest of the 2016-17 season following the win over the Fighting Irish, ending the year with a 16-game losing streak.<\/p>\n

Now, Massachusetts begins December as the No. 1 team in the latest USCHO.com Division I Men\u2019s Poll. It\u2019s the first time in program history that the Minutemen have been the top team in the rankings.<\/p>\n

That rise came thanks to the strength of a 7-0 November, which pushed Massachusetts\u2019 record to 12-1 entering this weekend\u2019s home-and-home matchup with No. 8 Quinnipiac. It was also the first unbeaten month for the Minutemen since the 1970-71 season, while the team\u2019s nine-game winning streak is the longest active streak in the nation in addition to a program record.<\/p>\n

Even with all the accolades, the Minutemen know that a No. 1 ranking in a subjective poll in early December only means so much.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an honor; we\u2019re super humbled by it,\u201d said UMass junior captain Niko Hildenbrand. \u201cIt\u2019s one of those things that you never thought you would do coming here to play college hockey. But we\u2019ve got to keep focus on this weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, coach Greg Carvel acknowledged the publicity that the No. 1 ranking can bring to the program.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we first got here, it was tough to get kids to want to come to campus,\u201d Carvel said. \u201cThis ranking, the nice part of it, is that it helps you in recruiting. Kids want to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carvel said the program still has a hard time getting Massachusetts kids to come to campus, as they are often drawn to schools like Boston University and Boston College. While that may look like a disadvantage, it means that the Minutemen are getting a certain type of player that fits the way Carvel wants his team to play.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey haven\u2019t been ‘the guy\u2019 for their whole life \u2013 they have a bit of a chip on their shoulder,\u201d he said. \u201c[Assistant coach] Jared DeMichiel and [associate head coach] Ben Barr do a tremendous job of finding kids with that character and edge. First and foremost, we want to outcompete our opponent. It takes a certain kind of kid. Skill level is great, but if you can\u2019t balance it with an edge to your game, it can only take you so far.\u201d<\/p>\n

That combination of hustle and skill has served the Minutemen well this year. But it\u2019s been the consistency \u2013 and playing the game the right way \u2013 that especially impresses Carvel.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur kids don\u2019t dive, they don\u2019t do all that gamesmanship stuff,\u201d Carvel said. \u201cThey go out and compete and play hard. And we\u2019ve got good hockey players, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prior to the hot start this year, the Minutemen steadily progressed over Carvel\u2019s first two seasons as coach, going from five wins during his first season two years ago to 17 last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe won 12 more games last year and you go home in the summer and you\u2019re like \u2018That was a pretty good year, how much better can we get? If we can win 20 games, we can put ourselves in the NCAA picture,\u2019\u201d Carvel said.<\/p>\n

There are only five players left on this year\u2019s team who played on the five-win team two years ago. The core of the Minutemen is made up of its sophomore class, led by forwards Mitchell Chaffee and John Leonard, NHL draft picks Cale Makar and Mario Ferraro on defense, along with Matt Murray in goal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe nice thing about last year\u2019s freshman class was that they didn\u2019t lose 29 games the year before \u2013 they were fresh,\u201d Carvel said. \u201cWe were able to depart from that team pretty quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hildenbrand is one of the few players left from that team. He assisted on the game-winning goal in the Minutemen\u2019s last win that season, a 2-1 overtime victory over Alabama Huntsville on Dec. 30.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo matter where you are, you try not to get too high or too low,\u201d Hildenbrand said. \u201cBut it was definitely a hard season. To be able to look back on that and be where we are now, it\u2019s awesome. It\u2019s just a testament to all the guys in that locker room, to the coaching staff, and to everyone involved, and how hard they\u2019ve worked.\u201d<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t the first time that Carvel has built a program into a contender. Prior to coming to Massachusetts, he spent five years as head coach at his alma mater, St. Lawrence. During that time, the Saints went from a bottom team in ECAC Hockey to a top-four finisher by the time he departed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the best thing he does is he builds a culture that is great to be a part of,\u201d said senior forward Jacob Pritchard, who played for Carvel as a freshman at St. Lawrence and spent two more years with the Saints before coming to Massachusetts as a graduate transfer last summer. \u201cIt\u2019s all about teamwork and good values, and that really goes far for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

The team\u2019s improved play has helped fill the stands at the Mullins Center, as 7,124 people watched the Minutemen beat Connecticut last Friday. It was the largest home crowd since the 2012-13 season.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very rewarding because my first year here, we\u2019d have about a 1,000 people or less,\u201d Carvel said. \u201cIt\u2019s a big building to play in with only a 1,000 people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Support has been especially strong among the student body, as 3,500 students attended Massachusetts\u2019 3-2 win over Providence at the Mullins Center on Nov. 8. That number is large enough to sell out 22 other college hockey arenas.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think what really enjoy seeing that that student body has really caught fire with it,\u201d Carvel said. \u201cWhen we recruit, we\u2019re like, \u2018Just imagine when we fill this place,\u2019 and then you\u2019re like, \u2018Oh god, I hope we fill this place.\u2019 We\u2019re getting there; it\u2019s a fun building to play in.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Massachusetts begins December as the No. 1 team in the latest USCHO.com Division I Men\u2019s Poll. It\u2019s the first time in program history that the Minutemen have been the top team in the rankings (photo: Shelley M. Szwast).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":110768,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[935],"tags":[812],"coauthors":[846],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nUSCHO.com GAME OF THE WEEK: Top-ranked Massachusetts looking to keep roll going against No. 8 Quinnipiac - College Hockey | USCHO.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Massachusetts begins December as the No. 1 team in the latest USCHO.com Division I Men\u2019s Poll. It\u2019s the first time in program history that the Minutemen have been the top team in the rankings (photo: Shelley M. 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