The 2023–24 UMass Minutemen ice hockey season was the 92nd season of play for the program, the 31st at the Division I level, and 30th in Hockey East. The Minutemen represented the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season, played their home games at Mullins Center and were coached by Greg Carvel in his 8th season.
Season With about half of the team being made up of new players, UMass entered the season as a relative unknown by the general public. While most of the defense returned, headed by Ryan Ufko and Scott Morrow, both the goaltenders and forward units had been completely revamped. With so much unknown about the Minutemen, the team was unranked coming into the season but the swiftly made their mark on the year.
Cole Brady, the only returning netminder, got the start in the first two games. However, after surrendering 7 goals to Michigan, top prospect Michael Hrabal was swapped in and the team never looked back. Hrabal provided an instant boost and allowed the Minutemen to earn a split with the Wolverines. The following week, the freshman goalie did even better by backstopping Massachusetts to a sweep of Minnesota State, earning his first career shutout in the process. Part of the reason Hrabal was able to get wins in his first three games was that the new additions up front were working as well. While the scoring was sparked by the blueline, Jack Musa and Aydar Suniev were proving to be key contributors on offense and both finished in the team's top five as freshmen.
UMass jumped into the national rankings by late October and proceeded to climb up the ranks until they reached the top 10 by the beginning of December. When the team returned after the winter break, Brady was back as the team starter because Hrabal was still busy helping the Czech Republic win a bronze medal at the World Junior Championships. Unfortunately for UMass, the team didn't play too well in his absence and lost three consecutive games (two in a shootout). Once Hrabal rejoined the team, he was given complete control of the net for the rest of the season and the team would need every bit of his heroics to make the NCAA tournament.
With Hockey East as one of, if not the strongest, league in the nation, the Minutemen had a sizable hurdle in front of them with their conference schedule. In January and February, the team's offense declined a bit from what it had been before the break but was fairly consistent nonetheless. Hrabal's performed well under pressure, aside from a poor showing against #1 Boston College, but the team still had to struggle to find wins. Massachusetts entered the last couple of weeks of the regular season just above the cut line for the NCAA tournament. A sweep of Massachusetts Lowell gave the team a little breathing room but a pair of 1-goal losses to Maine put the Minutemen in a very precarious position as the conference tournament began.
With UMass sitting at 15 in the PairWise, they would have to win their quarterfinal match at Providence to have any chance at a tournament berth. Hrabal ended up having a great game, stopping 27 of 28 shots while the line of Ryan Lautenbach, Taylor Makar and Lucas Mercuri provided enough offense to carry the day. As they entered their semifinal match with BC, the Minutemen had moved up to 12th and were hoping to shore up their bid with a win over the nation's top team. Lucas Mercuri got UMass on the board first but after that very little went right for Massachusetts. BC scored the next 8 goals, flattening the Minutemen as they steamrolled their way to the conference title. The match had gone so poorly for UMass that they slipped down out of the playoff race. They were in a virtual tie with Colorado College and would need a very specific set of circumstances to push them ahead of the Tigers for the last spot in the tournament. In the final day of the conference tournaments, fortune was with the Minutemen and somehow UMass finished .0004 ahead of CC.
When the tournament began, Massachusetts found itself opposite #3 Denver. Remembering their less-than satisfactory performance against the Eagles, UMass came out fighting and tried to batter Denver into submissions with body checks. For a time the ploy appeared to work but the Minutemen were unable to get any goals to show for their efforts. In the second period, a seeing-eye shot from the blueline got through several bodies and sailed past a screened Hrabal for the opening goal of the game. Several minutes later the physical play finally paid off for UMass when they forced a turnover in the offensive zone. After a couple for failed attempts, Liam Gorman scored his first goal of the season and tied the match. With an upset in their sights, Massachusetts kept the pressure on Denver by checking them at every opportunity. However, despite getting several chances themselves, the Minutemen were unable to get a second goal and the teams headed into overtime. UMass had several great chances to win the game but they were unable to find the back of the Pioneer cage. In the back half of the second overtime, a shot from the high-slot beat a screened Hrabal for the apparent winner but the goaltender had been interfered with by a Denver attacker. Upon review, the referees determined that a Massachusetts player had pushed the Pioneer into Hrabal and allowed the goal to stand.
While the ending was bittersweet, UMass had managed to take the eventual national champions to the very limit and proved to be worthy of their berth in the tournament. The national voters indicated as much as UMass rose to 12th in the USA Hockey poll in spite of the loss.
Departures Mikey Adamson Defenseman Transferred to Sacred Heart Tyson Dyck Forward Transferred to Wisconsin Noah Ellis Defenseman Transferred to Omaha Eric Faith Forward Graduation (retired) Henry Graham Goaltender Transferred to Boston University Jerry Harding Forward Graduation (retired) Cal Kiefiuk Forward Graduate transfer to Providence Matt Koopman Forward Graduation (signed with Wheeling Nailers) Reed Lebster Forward Graduate transfer to Michigan State Josh Nodler Forward Graduate transfer to Bowling Green Luke Pavicich Goaltender Transferred to Massachusetts Lowell Ryan Sullivan Forward Transferred to Miami Garrett Wait Forward Graduation (retired)
Recruiting Bo Cosman Forward 21 Milton, GA Liam Gorman Forward 23 Boston, MA; graduate transfer from Princeton; selected 177th overall in 2018 Michael Hrabal Goaltender 18 Prague, CZE; selected 38th overall in 2023 Jackson Irving Goaltender 19 Newbury, MA Dans Ločmelis Forward 19 Jelgava, LAT; selected 119th overall in 2022 Jack Musa Forward 20 Orange Park, FL Samuli Niinisaari Defenseman 25 Hamina, FIN; graduate transfer from Brown Cam O'Neill Forward 19 Odenton, MD; selected 143rd overall in 2022 Aydar Suniev Forward 18 Kazan, RUS; selected 80th overall in 2023 Sebastian Törnqvist Defenseman 20 Everlöv, SWE Nick Van Tassell Forward 19 Basking Ridge, NJ; selected 215th overall in 2023 Lucas Vanroboys Forward 24 Thamesville, ON; graduate transfer from Bentley
Roster As of August 11, 2023.
Standings
Schedule and results
!colspan=12 style=";" | Regular Season
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!colspan=12 style=";" | Regular Season
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NCAA tournament
Northeast regional semifinal
Game summaryBoth teams looked ready to play at the start. Denver was skating fast while Massachusetts played a more physical game, though the Pioneers didn't back down. Near the middle of the period, an odd bounce off of the end boards popped right out in front of the Denver cage to a streaking Michael Cameron. The Minuteman was unable to settle the bouncing puck and was forced to rush a close shot on Matt Davis. While the goalie stopped the relatively easy shot, the player lost his edge and slid into the netminder but the puck stayed out. Afterwards, the play began tilting in favor of Massachusetts thank to their forechecking and solid defensive play. Denver avoided another disaster when McKade Webster hit Zeev Buium with a clearing attempt. The puck rebounded towards the Denver cage but Davis was aware enough to stop the puck as it was rolling towards his feet. Denver was able to refocus after a TV timeout and play evened out for the final third of the period. Both teams got scoring chances in the final five minutes but the puck refused to cooperate and the game remained scoreless. With about two minutes left, Taylor Makar and Sean Behrens got into a battle behind the goal. Makar grabbed the Pioneer player as both fell down but the referees made no call. On the ensuing faceoff, Liam Gorman was called for a boarding minor and gave the nation's #16 power play a chance to score. UMass managed to kill off the rest of the period with a man down. Just before the final buzzer, the clock was stopped erroneously when the Minutemen cleared the puck into Denver's end of the ice. Rather than try to determine of there was any time remaining on the clock, the officials announced that the period was over. Because the faceoff would have been held at center ice with less than three seconds, neither team had any issue with the decision.
Denver continued to increase its offensive pressure in the second period and starting taking control of the game. Just past the 5-minute mark, a high cycle play ended up causing Michael Hrabal to get screened by both teams. With the goalie unable to see the puck, Boston Buckberger fired the puck from the top of the circle into the far corner for the first goal of the game. UMass resumed its physical play in the wake of the opening goal and tried to establish some zone time. While the Minutemen did get some scoring chances, Denver counterpunched and got several more chances of their own. The Minutemen continued to lay the body and eventually forced Denver into a turnover behind their own net with about seven minutes left in the period. The 4th-line for UMass threw the puck in front of the net for an attempt from Lucas Vanroboys but his shot was stopped by Davis. Davis also stopped the next shot off of the rebound but the puck then bounced to Liam Gormam. By then, Davis was sprawled out on his back and unable to stop the backhand, allowing Gorman to tie the game with his first of the season. Massachusetts seemed inspired by the goal and redoubled their efforts over the next several minutes. Davis came under siege by the UMass offense but he was able to weather the storm and keep the match tied. Vanroboys got a further chance with about 2 minutes to play but he was taken down on his way to the cage. Once more, the referees decided against calling a penalty, however, as Vanroboys' stick hit a Denver player in the head both could have ended up receiving minor penalties.