There's a lot of buzz surrounding the Massachusetts hockey team after it entered the 2024 NCAA Tournament as a No. 16 seed. Social media is buzzing about whether UMass (20-13-3 Hockey East, 12-10-2 Hockey East) has actually qualified for the national tournament. But the Minutemen deserve that spot.
When the Minutemen made it to the NCAA Tournament, they made a lot of noise by changing the settings for their four regional tournaments. No. 2 Boston College was placed in the Springfield area and would have had the advantage of remaining in Massachusetts.
Instead, the Terriers will be forced to travel to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, while Denver (27-9-3, 15-7-2), third in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, will have to travel to Springfield. . Denver is also playing host school Massachusetts, which puts the Pioneers at a disadvantage.
The Minutemen barely made it to the tournament. They had to look at the scoreboard multiple times the day before the NCAA Tournament selection show to see if they would qualify. UMass was in the game as Denver defeated Omaha, and the Minutemen entered the tournament with a .0004 difference in the pairwise rankings.
They were battling the University of Colorado for the final spot in the tournament. The Prowlers had one more win than the Minutemen, but UMass defeated them to advance to the tournament.
Despite their poor record, the Minutemen deserve the last spot ahead of the Prowlers.
Similar to the University of Colorado playing in the NCHC, UMass plays in a tougher conference. While the conference has strong teams like Denver, Hockey East has some of the best teams in the country.
The University of Massachusetts faced No. 1 Boston College and Boston University a total of five times, accounting for five of the 13 losses. They played a close game against fifth-place Maine, losing by just one goal in three games. The Minutemen's close loss shows they can compete with the best teams in the nation.
Not only does UMass play in a strong conference, but it also has more players expected to make it to the NHL than other college hockey teams. While they can't compete with a team like Boston College in terms of prospects, the Minutemen have drafted 13 players into the NHL, ranking them near the top of the college hockey world behind BC and BU. .
Head coach Greg Carvel has led the University of Massachusetts to the NCAA Tournament in four of the past five years. In 2021, the Minutemen won the national championship. Two of his players, captain Aaron Bollinger and Linden Alger, are still on the team, giving the University of Massachusetts the experience it needs to make it through the tournament.
A lot of people look at the Minutemen's 13-17-5 season last season and think that leads to this team, but it's a completely different group. The leadership of Bollinger and Ryan Ufko has been a key asset, especially for a large freshman class.
First-year players are also a factor in the Minutemen's success. Jacques Moussa is second with 29 points, and Aidar Sniev is not far behind him with 24 points. Sniev is tied with two juniors, Ryan Rautenbach and Lukas Merkuri.
Freshman goaltender Michael Hrabal has also been solid in net with a .910 save percentage. He was one of the few freshman goaltenders to start for the majority of the college hockey season and has embraced the role.
Defensemen Scott Morrow and Ufko make it difficult for teams to get around on the back end. The Minutemen are a tough team to play against when they're playing their best hockey.
The University of Massachusetts had an up-and-down season, but earned a spot in the Springfield area. This team has a chance to advance in the tournament despite the noise outside.
The Minutemen will face No. 3 Denver in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, March 28 at MassMutual Center. Puck drop is set for 2 p.m. in Springfield.
Kayla Gregoire can be contacted at: [email protected] I followed @Kaygregoire on Twitter.
