Minutemen go from doormats to champions
No longer afterthoughts, Minutemen raise trophy
Though they rarely ever need one in order to party, the student body has cause to celebrate in Amherst.
Historically overshadowed and overlooked, scoffed at by supporters of programs with massive legacies of Hockey East foes like Boston College and Boston University, the flagship university of the commonwealth stepped out of those lengthy shadows Saturday night. And when the clock turned to all zeroes on the scoreboard at PPG Paints Arena, the University of Massachusetts announced its reign atop the college hockey world in quite possibly the most decisive way possible: with a 5- 0 thrashing of St. Cloud State for the NCAA Division 1 Championship.
From doormats and afterthoughts to champions. UMass has come a long way.
It was just two years ago that the Minutemen were outclassed in the national championship game by Minnesota Duluth. And with no tournament last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it would have been easy to chalk UMass’s run to the title game in 2019 as a fluke, a flash in the pan by a program that managed to get hot at the right time.
Stun the college hockey world once, shame on the Minutemen. Shock the collegiate puck experts twice, you’ve officially arrived, UMass.
It wasn’t long ago that the line to get into Amherst favorite Antonio’s Pizza was longer than any line to get into the Mullins Center for a UMass hockey game. Fans would often cheer mascots playing between periods more enthusiastically than anyone wearing a maroon and white jersey.
And while the likes of Jonathan Quick, Cale Makar, Conor Sheary, Matt Irwin and Justin Braun had ascended to the NHL ranks out of Amherst, the Minutemen were still often viewed as second-class citizens in a loaded conference.
That’s all changed. When head coach Greg Carvel took over in 2016, there was hope for dreadful old UMass to become NewMass, a term social media grabbed hold of and optimism ran wild. It took a few seasons, but the glory days have arrived.
By the time Philip Lagunov scored the Minutemen’s third goal of Saturday night’s game on a gorgeous shorthanded tally, there was little doubt that the title was headed back to Western Mass. That didn’t stop the Hockey East tournament champions from potting a couple more goals for good measure or netminder Filip Lindberg turning aside every St. Cloud shot that came his way with ease; that was all just the icing on a cake that was a long time coming for the UMass faithful.
There’s been success in Amherst in the past, it just
pales in comparison to what the Minutemen were able to accomplish in this, a season made all the more challenging by strict COVID-19 regulations. And the road to the title wasn’t a leisurely skate around the rink, either; UMass had to essentially defeat all of Minnesota to take home the crown as three of its four NCAA tournament opponents hailed from the Land of 10,000 Lakes.
After cruising past Lake Superior State — out of Michigan — to open the tournament, UMass trounced Bemidji State, snuck past Minnesota Duluth in overtime and then started the celebration early in Saturday’s title tilt against St. Could.
Not a bad run by any means.
Ranked sixth at the end of the regular season, the Minutemen’s charge to the title isn’t a complete and total shock. They won the Hockey East tournament, blanking upstart UMass Lowell in the title game.
The Minutemen don’t have the myriad lottery picks of Boston University or Boston College. Their history might even take a backseat to other conference foes like Maine or New Hampshire.
But while the big names and deep legacy might not be there, it’s what’s now taken home in the Mullins Center that counts most: a national title and no doubt that UMass has, for now at the very least, turned Hockey East and the collegiate hockey spotlight to the town of Amherst.
The Minutemen have arrived and belong with college hockey’s elite.