UMASS-NEWMASS 2025-2026

Another weekend, another split. And again, about what they deserved. Pathetic crowd on Saturday, it really makes me not want to make the drive out much anymore.

So, some mistakes and dumb penalties again a problem, but all very fixable. We're going from the 2nd tallest team in Cornell to the shortest of them all in Maine. I taped the 2nd BU/Maine game. BU is pretty big themselves and that didn't seem to bother Maine much. Their forechecking was relentless, I think it's going to give the Minutemen fits. Both of those teams gave up alot of soft goals, but to me most of them looked exactly like the softies Hrabal gives up , wristers from the circle, glove side. I'll be happy with another split here.

Maine preview.

Split with Omaha, Cornell and now Maine. Will it be a .500 season? What happened to Hrabel? Jackson with a shutout! Changes in goal afoot in Amherst? Jencko is the real deal so far. BC up next. Would love to see a sweep there!!!

Yup, another weekend, another split. Fortunately I missed everything about the first game vs Maine. Taped game 2 and just finished watching. Strong response after the no-show on Thursday. Jackson Irving was the story of the weekend for sure. I think a couple of those Maine shots go in if Hrabel is in net. Maine is pesky. Definitely one of the favorites to win in HEA, but I still don't see any success in the NCAA's. They're too small. I liked that Lipinsky guy they picked up from CHL, but they don't enough guys like that come March. Charlie Russell is a little punk. Sure Van Tassell is also a bit of a punk, but he's a big punk and he's ours. ;-).

BC looks vulnerable. Still, a sweep might be too much to hope for. I'll be happy with another split. I'll spare putting up the Daily Collegian stories this weekend, except for one analyzing Hrabal's season so far. The weak glove was mentioned by Carvel, although he was letting him off the hook for most of what he's let in.

Another weekend and another - no! - got what they deserved this time. Zero points vs BC. Not really a surprise, except for a couple of BC fans that didn't think it would be this easy for them. The Minutemen are big. I'm starting think they're slow. If they're not slow then Carvel is doing a crap job getting them ready for games. The only guy on the Minutemen side that looked like he belonged on the same ice as BC was Jack Musa. There were a couple of very brief flashes with the return of Bo Cosman. And if I squinted hard enough I can convince myself that Nycz is a keeper. The rest of these guys are seriously overrated at this point in time. The defense was supposed to be a strength. I don't know why, when Owen Murray is a first pairing guy, but the experts said it was. Instead we get sloppy, half-assed passes, timid play in the corners, panic at any sign of a forecheck. Dell'Elce sucks too.

I'm talking to myself here. Collegian recaps, read'm and weep. I'm outta here.

The BC weekend was a disaster. Good thing UMASS is known for their defense. It seems that UMASS has no shot against team that have a bunch of scorers. 11-3 doesn't do it.

I wish Carvel could recruit some notable scorers as well. No matter how good your defense is, scoring zero goals is not going to win you games. This year all the tough HE games are front loaded on the schedule where last year they were back loaded. They need some 6 point weekends.

The Providence victory was nice- we'll see how they do tonight. The roller coaster continues.

Fake Jack Hanson is giving out his Christmas Gifts, Awards, and Wishes to his favorite Minutemen.

To Michael Hrabal: The Mister Magoo Coke Bottle eye wear collection. Big Mike is good for one or two highlight reel saves per game, especially when that 6-7 frame is sprawled across the ice. But he can't pick up the puck beyond 5 or 6 feet to save his life or even an occasional game.

Francesco Dell'Elce: Some white figure skates. Fran - do you mind if I call him Fran - sure does look pretty, swishing around in the o-zone for several minutes before finally deciding to make a cross ice pass that even the parking lot attendant outside sees coming. Sometimes it makes it all the way to his teammate. More often, not. All that pretty skating doesn't seem to help much in getting the puck out of his own end however.

Mikey DeAngelo: An illustrated hardcopy edition of "The Art of the Faceoff" by Yanic Perrault (foreword by Rod Brind'Amour). And a box of Whitman Chocolates, since faceoffs are my only real complaint with the kid.

Nick Van Tassell: An autographed picture of Brad Marchand. Can we also arrange a one-on-one session with the Rat on how to actually put the puck in the net once in a while?

Matthew Wilde: A one-way bus ticket back to Rochester. No one in Amherst will be nominating him for a Hobey Baker anytime soon.

Jack Musa: How do I nominate THIS kid for a Hobey? He's the only one that brings it every night.

Jackson Irving: His name on every starting lineup for the next two seasons.

Landon Nycz and Vaclav Nestrasil: Three full years in Amherst please. You're not ready for the big time just yet, not even close. Trust me Vaclav, you don't want to live in Rockford Illinois. Even the hot Rockford American chicks your age are bundled up 9 months of the year. We don't know where Landon is bound just yet because he only just turned 18, and he might even be ready to step right into the Big Time, AFTER is junior season.

I could go on, but there are two, tops, UMass fans in this Popsicle Stand so that's a wrap. Looking forward to UMass climbing all the way up to 10th, or even 9th place before the HEA season wraps.

No idea what to make of this season. Every week the unexpected happens (usually bad) then they win a game. Irving with shutouts...who knew? Hope they can pull it together for the rest of the season...otherwise I'm onto lacrosse.