I know that this is long, but those of you with an interest in either UMass-
Amherst or Bowdoin hockey might find the media notes interesting. Enjoy!
GAME NOTES
UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AT AMHERST MINUTEMEN (7-2-0)
vs.
BOWDOIN COLLEGE POLAR BEARS (4-0-0, 3-0-0 ECAC EAST)
Friday, December 3, 1993
at Dayton Arena, Bowdoin College
7:00 p.m.
THE SERIES:
Friday's game will be the first between UMass-Amherst and
Bowdoin since 1978. The UMass-Amherst team is playing its first season in
1993-94 after the program was suspended following the 1978-79 season. The game
will be the 31st all-time between the two schools. Bowdoin leads the series
23-7-0, including an 8-0-0 record against the Minutemen in Dayton Arena.
Bowdoin won the last game in this series, 7-4 in 1978.
THE COACHES:
Terry Meagher is in his 11th season behind the Bowdoin bench,
and his record to date is 177-78-9. Joe Mullen has been given the
responsibility to restart the UMass-Amherst program, and he is 7-2 in his
first season behind the Minuteman bench. Mullen's overall college coaching
record is 87-48-2, including an 80-46-2 record as the coach at UMass-Boston
from 1979-85.
HOCKEY EAST:
UMass-Amherst will be a full member of the Hockey East
Conference starting January 1, 1994. Merrimack is the Minutemen's only Hockey
East opponent this season (two games), but UMass-Amherst will play a full
Hockey East schedule beginning with the 1994-95 season.
POLAR BEAR LEADERS:
The "Killer G" line of juniors Charlie Gaffney
(Warwick, R.I.), Joe Gaffney (Warwick, R.I.), and Marcello Gentile (Newton,
Mass.) pace the Bowdoin offensive attack. Charlie (3-12-15), Joe (1-12-13),
and Marcello (12-2-14) are the Polar Bears' top three scorers. They have
accounted for 57.1 percent of Bowdoin's goals (16/28) and 60.9 percent of the
team's points (42/69). Captain Tim O'Sullivan '95 (Dorchester, Mass.) (1-1-2)
leads the defensive unit, and his +9 plus/minus rating is the best among the
Bowdoin blue-line corps. Paul Croteau '95 (Lewiston, Maine) (1-2-3, +7) and
Peter Schuh '96 (Shrewsbury, Mass.) (0-0-0, +3) are the other Bowdoin
defensemen to play in all four games this season. Matt Bowden U95 (Warwick,
R.I.) solidified his position as the Polar Bears' number one goaltender with
his 36-save performance against Colby on Wednesday. Bowden has a 2-0 record
this season with a .915 saves percentage and a 3.00 goals against average.
MINUTEMEN LEADERS:
Freshman defenseman and team captain Jaynen Rissling
(Edmonton, Alberta) continues to lead UMass-Amherst in scoring with 15 points
(five goals, 10 assists) so far this season. Three Minutemen have tallied 12
points: Mike Evans '97 (Brooks, Alberta) (10-2-12), Blair Wagar '97 (Sturgis,
Sask.) (6-6-12), and Rob Bonneau '97 (Springfield, Mass.) (9-3-12). Defenseman
Tiger Holland '97 (Braintree, Mass.) leads the Minutemen with a plus/minus
rating of +17. Tony Giusto '97 (Wolcott, Conn.) has a +15, and Rissling has a
+10. Goaltender Dave Kilduff '97 (Penticton, B.C.) has tallied 124 saves,
allowed 17 goals and recorded one shutout in 383 minutes of play for an .879
saves percentage and a 2.7 goals against average. Rich Moriarity '97
(Wilbraham, Mass.) has allowed only three goals while posting 59 saves for a
.952 saves percentage and a 1.2 goals against average.
POLAR BEAR NOTES:
Charlie Gaffney has tied Chris Simon '84 for 15th
place on the Bowdoin career scoring list with 111 career points (36 goals and
75 assists) in 54 games. Charlie is also tied for 10th place for career
assists (with Paul Sylvester '78 and Mark Rabitor '81). Gentile has 12 goals
this season, an average of three a contest. Gentile has scored at least one
point in 17 consecutive games, the fourth-longest streak in Bowdoin
history...Gentile's next goal will tie him with Ron Marcellus '82 and Steve
Ilkos '88 for tenth place in Bowdoin history with 54 career goals...Gentile is
also tied for fifth in Bowdoin history with 17 career power play goals (with
Brendan Hickey '89)...The Gaffney-Gaffney-Gentile line is averaging four
goals, 6.5 assists, 10.5 points a game this season...Bowdoin's last win over a
Division I opponent came on January 18, 1985, in a 9-6 victory over Notre Dame
in the first round of the Forester Classic. Since that win, the Polar Bears
are 0-10-0 against Division I competition...
MINUTEMEN NOTES:
UMass-Amherst is 0-1 vs. ECAC Division I teams, 0-1
vs. Hockey East teams, 2-0 against ECAC East teams, and 5-0 vs. ECAC
North/Central/South teams this season...The Minutemen are undoubtedly the
youngest team in the country. With the exception of one, every player is a
freshman. Steve Corradi '94 (East Sandwich, Mass.), a four-year starter on the
UMass-Amherst baseball team, is the lone upperclassman...UMass-Amherst has
outscored its opponents by a 55-20 margin this season, including a 16-4 bulge
in the first period...In UMass-Amherst's last season of competition (1978-79),
the Minutemen posted an 1-18-1 record...The Minutemen have been impressive
killing penalties, allowing just four power play goals in 55 opportunities
this season, a 92.7 percent kill rate...Of Evan's ten goals, eight have been
on the specialty teams, four on power plays and four in shorthanded
situations...UMass-Amherst has outshot its opponents 377-191 this
season...UMass-Amherst is 6-0 at home in the new Mullins Center and 1-2 on the
road this season.
RECENTLY:
Bowdoin defeated Colby on December 1 by a 5-2 score, and the
Polar Bears defeated New England College on November 27 by a 6-3 margin.
UMass-Amherst defeated Trinity, 7-0, in their last game played on November 30,
and the Minutemen lost to St. Lawrence, 5-4, on November 27.
Craig Cheslog
Bowdoin College
Sports Information Director
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