UMass Preview

The Terriers open up their league schedule for the second semester in the first home game since December 5th as the UMass Minutemen come to Agganis tonight.

From The Vault
Danny O'Regan scores a 5 on 3 goal vs UMass in the Fall of
2012. It was his second goal of the game in a 5-2 BU win.
(Photo by Matt Dresens)  

UMass started the season with some promise, going 4-0-1 before losing to Yale in the championship game of the Capital City Classic, 6-1. Since that game on Halloween night, UMass has gone just 3-9-3. The Minuteman really haven't been blown-out in too many games other than 7-0 to BC and 6-1 to Yale. They have taken eight games to overtime.

In Hockey East, Umass currently sits in 8th place in the league standings with eight points. Out of league common opponents include Yale, Quinnipiac and Union. Tuesday night, UMass lost 3-2 in overtime at home vs Yale in their second game of the year with the Bulldogs. In a home and home series with Quinipiac, UMass lost both. They managed to keep the games relatively close, losing 4-1 and 1-0. Finally, UMass fell to Union 4-3 in overtime at home.

Scouting The Minutemen 
Senior Shane Walsh has nearly double the amount of goals anyone else does on the Minuteman roster with 13 in 20 games played. He has also adds 5 assists for 18 points. Sophomore Dennis Kravchenko also has 18 points on the year, doing so with seven goals and 11 assists. Other players to watch include Austin Plevy and Steve Iacohellis, who always seems to score against BU.

In goal, Nic Renyard, Henry Dill and Alex Wakaluk have all seen time. Renyard has played the majority  of the time, holding a 4-6-4 record in 15 appearances. He has a .906 save percentage and 3.25 goals against average. Dill is 2-2-0 in five appearances with a sub .900 save percentage and Wakaluk is 1-1-0 in three appearances. I got to see Wakaluk play the US World Junior Team a few weeks back at the Mullins Center and he did more than hold his own, even though he allowed four goals. Hell, he faired a lot better than some of the goalies in the actual tournament did vs the US. Granted, the US did not dress their top line, but it was still impressive.

BU Notes
- Sean Maguire will once again be in net for the Terriers. Expect much of the same lineup as the Harvard game.