Carvel, UMass hope lessons and reactions to tough season stick
As he sat in the bowels of Conte Forum after a season-ending loss to Boston College last March, UMass men’s hockey coach Greg Carvel took stock of where it all went wrong.
After three straight trips to the NCAA Tournament, including two appearances in the championship game and a national title, the Minutemen struggled to a 13-17-5 record and a ninth-place finish in Hockey East.
“A lot of adjustments need to be made,” said Carvel. “I know how this program found success, and we’ve gotten away from that. There were a lot of lessons learned this year.”
One of the first areas Carvel focused on in the offseason was himself, and the way he communicated with his players. As the new season begins, he continues to challenge and push his team, but aims to do so in a positive way.
“There’s a way to be intense, and I didn’t like the way the intensity was coming out of me,” he said. “So I made a promise to the team, and myself, that I would make some positive changes. If I’m not leading the way and showing the guys that I’m trying to be better, then I can’t expect anything from them.
“I’ve enjoyed it. We’re always talking about positive changes in our lives. Sometimes you need a crap season like we had last year to kind of hit the bottom of the barrel a little bit to make significant changes.”
One element that was missing last year was a goalie coach. During UMass’s run of success, assistant coach Jared DeMichiel, who was a goalie at RIT from 2006-10, was working with Filip Lindberg and Matt Murray as the Minutemen enjoyed an embarrassment of riches in net.
But by the end of the 2021-22 season, all three were gone, with Lindberg and Murray signing pro contracts and DeMichiel moving on to Michigan State to become associate head coach.
That left Carvel in charge, and he acknowledged the goalie situation did not go well. Enter Steve Mastalerz, who played in net for the Minutemen from 2011-15 and returns to the program as director of player development, with part of his duties being to work with goalies Cole Brady, Michael Hrabal, and Jackson Irving.
“That was an issue last year,” said Carvel. “We’re really excited to have him, because he’s a quality person, a really good person to work with every day. He’s a proven goalie coach. Our goalies really like him.”
Depth also was an issue, particularly on defense, where Ryan Ufko and Scott Morrow were asked to shoulder much of the burden. Both have returned for their junior season. Forming the first line of forwards are juniors Taylor Makar, Lucas Mercuri, and Ryan Lautenbach.
“We weren’t as deep in goal or defense last year, and I think we’re deep in those positions,” said Carvel. “I think offensively we have as good a top-nine forwards as we’ve ever had here.”
That will be put to the test in the coming weeks. After opening the season with a 5-3 win over AIC and an exhibition win over Dartmouth, UMass will host No. 6 Michigan for a pair of games this weekend, followed by a trip to Minnesota State before concluding the month with a home-and-home series against No. 1 Boston University.
“It will be a test for sure,” said Carvel. “It will be challenging, but that’s OK. When you play Michigan and BU, you’re going to bring the best that you’ve got. We won’t have to ask the guys to get excited. They’re going to know that if we don’t play at the top of our level, they’ll be tough games.
The Wolverines are coming off a season-opening split at home against Providence. Carvel reached out to Friars coach Nate Leaman for some insight on the upcoming series.
“I think it’s important that teams in the same conference help each other out in these situations,” said Carvel. “I’d be happy to do the same. I know I have in the past. We have to help each other in our league when we’re not facing off head to head.”
Weekend plans
After splitting the series in Ann Arbor, Providence will host Stonehill for its home opener Friday night . . . BC is back at Conte Forum after knocking off defending national champion Quinnipiac last week. The Eagles will host Long Island for their home opener Friday . . . BU travels to New Hampshire for an 8 p.m. start . . . A couple of Atlantic Hockey-Hockey East matchups are on tap, as UConn and Holy Cross will play a home-and-home beginning Friday at Worcester, while Northeastern will host Bentley on Saturday . . . Merrimack gets its season underway with a pair of games at Arizona State.