Know Your Enemy: Game One

Get to Know The Terriers' First Opponent of the Season


The Terriers will end a more than six month wait for regular season hockey to start up again on Friday when they travel to Amherst to face off against the Minutemen.

The Minutemen began their regular season back on October 8th against RPI.  James Marcou led the way for UMass, earning Hockey East Player of the Week by assisting on four of the team's five goals as UMass won 5-2.




UMass also had two goals from Matt Irwin and goals from Justin Braun, Casey Wellman and Rocco Carzo in the victory.

The Minutemen, who posted a 10-14-3 record in Hockey East last season, are co-captained by senior forward Brett Watson (# 26) and senior defender Justin Braun (#27).  Watson is a John McCarthy type, starting his second season as co-captain of the Minutemen.  He had just 5 points on 5 assists last season, but is a vital component of the team, grinding it out as the point man on the UMass penalty kill.  In three seasons, Watson has 2 goals and 14 points overall.

Braun is a jack-of-all trades defenseman who jumps in on the attack, and gets time quarterbacking the Minuteman power-play.  In 114 career games, he has 15 goals and 57 points total.  Last season he had 23 points, good for sixth among Hockey East Defenders.  He was last season's team co-MVP with James Marcou.

Marcou led UMass in scoring last season with 47 points in 39 games en route to All-American Second Team honors.  He was interviewed at Hockey East Media Day.




The UMass goaltender is Paul Dainton, a sophomore who has played in 62 career games.  He has posted a 2.51 goals against average with a .912 save percentage.  In 3 games against BU, Dainton has put up a 2.28 GAA.

BU holds a 45-8-3 record all-time against the Minutemen.  The Terriers are 16-5-2 all-time at Mullins Arena.

If it seems like the Minutemen have a read on the IceDogs strategy, it's most likely because Don "Toot" Mahoon not only skated as a Terrier in the early 70's, but also served as an assistant coach under Jack Parker at BU three separate times.

We'll have more on the game, including links from all the media outlets from BU's side of the fence tomorrow to get you completely ready for the first night of Hockey East play this season.


Links:
UMass Athletics Preview of the Game
UMass Media Guide
UMass Quick Facts