{"id":27641,"date":"2005-10-06T14:26:05","date_gmt":"2005-10-06T19:26:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2005\/10\/06\/200506-massachusetts-season-preview\/"},"modified":"2010-08-17T19:56:18","modified_gmt":"2010-08-18T00:56:18","slug":"200506-massachusetts-season-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wwwproxy.uscho.com\/2005\/10\/06\/200506-massachusetts-season-preview\/","title":{"rendered":"2005-06 Massachusetts Season Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"
For Massachusetts, last season was without question a tale of two years. In 2004, the Minutemen posted a 10-10-1 record. In 2005, however, the wheels came off and they plummeted to 3-13-1. Coming on the heels of the breakthrough 2003-04 season in which they finished third in Hockey East, the freefall was disheartening.<\/p>\n
On the positive side, however, UMass brings back almost its entire roster and should also have key contributor Matt Anderson available for the entire slate of games. The team’s demise and Anderson’s season-ending injury on Dec. 9 line up almost perfectly, both in terms of timing and also in logic. Anderson led the team in points per game with a 7-13–20 mark in 18 contests.<\/p>\n
“We really like the fact that we’ve been able to hang onto our upperclassmen,” coach Don Cahoon says. “We like the leadership we have with that group. We think in each position we have a star-level player within the league format: Gabe Winer in goal, Marvin Degon on defense and Stephen Werner as a forward. So we’re really pleased about the leadership we’re going to get in each one of those areas. <\/p>\n
“Now the question will be how well do the young kids adjust to the college level of play. We have 16 freshmen and sophomores. How much do the sophomores and juniors elevate their game to become more of a factor within Hockey East?<\/p>\n
“Stay tuned, because I don’t have the answers to those questions right now. But I think that they’re the key to how high we can finish and how well we’ll do in the course of the season.”<\/p>\n
Up front, Werner (14-13–27) and Anderson will be the senior mainstays. Werner scored 38 points as a freshman so he could easily finish his collegiate career with a big-number season. Sophomore P.J. Fenton (13-12–25), a member of the Hockey East All-Rookie Team, and junior Kevin Jarman (7-14–21) are the other primary scoring threats along with Matt Burto (7-6–13). <\/p>\n
“We think that we have a little bit more depth with the incoming players,” Cahoon says. “P.J. Fenton has emerged. Matty Burto has emerged. We have guys like Kevin Jarman, who we think are on the cusp of being real good players in this league going into their junior year. So some of those people have to come to the forefront to give us a little bit more offensive ability. <\/p>\n
“I’m happy with the forward group. I think it will be the deepest we’ve had since I’ve been here.”<\/p>\n