For those of you in the metro Boston area, I'd like to call your
attention for a moment to the spread on the Minutemen in today's Herald.
Steve Buckley (a UMass alum himself) wrote a story that covers a full two
pages, and includes 5 pictures, including one of Warren Norris on the
back page beside Boston Bruin and ex Harvard star Ted Donato.
        The story points out what us here in Amherst have been aware of
for a while, that after going 6-28-2 last year the Minutemen are 9-6 and
ranked 14TH IN THE RPI heading into Friday's game with Cornell in the
UMass Holiday International Classic. Some felt that Joe Mallen was
setting a lofty goal when he said that he'd like to double last year's
win total this year. He's nearly done it before Christmas! With a win
over the Big Red, UMass will be 83% of the way there. Not too shabby for
a team picked dead last (by a large margin I'll add) in the HE preseason
coaches poll.
        This year the experience of being a sarificial lamb in many games
last year is showing. UMass is winning close games that it choked in
last year, and has yet to be routed, which happened a few times in
1994-95. Sans for 5-2 and 6-2 losses to BU (still a respectible showing
for a team that ought to move to the NHL) the Minutemen have been in
every game this year, and come from behind on many occasions. UMass is
carrying the play as well, outshooting their opponents eight times this
year after doing it just twice last year (vs. DI opponents).
        What makes this more impressive is where the team started out.
While Mankato State will bring a solid DII program to DI as a building
block, this team started with literally nothing, not even a bag of pucks.
As the story in the Herald points out, Mallen actually made his first
recruiting call on John Calipari's phone because he didn't even have one yet.
        That was just over two years ago. Today RPICH says that UMass is
No. 14 and thus (gasp) just out of the NCAA picture.
        This is a team that didn't win a game until beating Notre Dame
on NEW YEAR'S EVE last year. It scored 20 PPGs on the season (21 so far
this year) and its top scorer, Rob Bonneau had just 26 points (28 this year).
        One constant though has been the play of Brian Regan, this week's
HE Player of the Week. Regan allowed just one goal apiece to RPI and
Princeton, saving 70 of 72 (.970) in the two games.
        There aren't many losing teams at UMass. Of 29 varsity sports,
just hockey, football and women's lacrosse (second year) had losing
records in 1994-95, while 13 went to NCAAs or NITs either as a team or
sending individuals (women's track, men's gymnastics). Football went 6-5,
so it appears that the pressure is in women's lax coach Francesca
McClellan's shoes now, because the hockey team's on pace for a winning
record. At this rate it won't be long before Mallen has his program in a
position comparable to that basketball coach down the hall in 301 Mullins.
 
Leigh
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