Western New England University Hockey Begins!

Western New England University (WNEU) Hockey will begin it's season in an exhibition game this Saturday, October 20 at 7:00 PM at the Olympia Ice Center in West Springfield, MA. Their opponent will be UMass Dartmouth. 

WNEU plays in the D3 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) that is emerging as one of the best in the nation. Last season the CCC had 4 teams nationally ranked...Salve Regina, University of New England, Nichols, and Endicott College. Salve Regina lost in the National Championship Game in double overtime to St. Norbert.  In addition, Curry College finished with a very respectable 17-8-1 record. Rumors are that 2 additional strong teams will join the CCC next season.

Head Coach Greg Heffernan will be entering his 11th season and has added Patrick Tabb as his Assistant Coach. Tabb is the former Coach and Owner of the Springfield Pics in the tough USPHL Premier Junior Hockey League. He will bring a strong coaching background and help with recruiting through his wide spread contacts at the Junior Hockey and college levels. In addition, WNEU has a new Director of Athletics, Matthew LaBranche, appointed in July 2018. He will instill a spirit of winning across all sports. From 2000 to 2013 he coached Baseball at WNEU and won over 70% of his games, taking WNEU to the College World Series in 2011. Greg Heffernan is a well respected Coach, and along with Patrick Tabb, improved recruiting, and a new Athletic Director, look for steady improvement. You can almost "feel" it happening!
   

Leading the team this year will be senior forward and Joe Concannon Award finalist, Matt O'Dea. The Award is given to the best New England D3 American born hockey player. Last season it went to Colin Larkin of UMass Boston. Matt led WNEU last season with 32 points in 28 games with a +10 +/- rating.

WNEU Leader, Matt O'Dea

The home games will be played at the Olympia Ice Center where there is convenient parking, and comfortable seating. Over the last 2 years the Ice Center has placed new LED lighting in all 3 rinks, improved the team locker room facilities and will be adding a Strength and Conditioning Center. Here again, for those who love hockey there is an opportunity right here in Western Mass to see some of the best D3 Hockey in the nation. Get out there and support WNEU and our local hockey teams!

See you at the games!

Alfredo DiLascia

Image News Service

Sports News

Springfield / Chicopee MA

UMass Hockey Off to a Great Start, Shows a Lot of Promise

It is still very early in the season for UMass Amherst Hockey with only 3 games played. An impressive 6-1 win in the exhibition opener over the Royal Military College of Canada gave some insight into the team this season. This was followed by good 6-1 and 3-1 wins over RPI. Their official record is now 2-0. But let's step back and look at where they are.

Head Coach, Greg Carvel, seems to know that a high profile college sport is much more than just good coaching. It is about the overall program. This includes scouting, student and fan communications, community relationships, relationships with businesses, and donors...essentially the whole package. This is what it takes to build a PROGRAM, and Coach Carvel seems to understand this and does it well. Over the years there have been a lot of good coaches at UMass, but the one that stands out to me is Hall of Fame Basketball Coach, John Calipari. He had the total package and the results showed it with an amazing win record, conference titles, a No.1 national ranking, and a Final Four appearance.

Yet coaching for UMass Hockey goes beyond the head coach, he has 3 excellent assistant coaches. In fact, I firmly believe it is one of the best combined coaching staffs in the nation. I have seen and watched Assistant Coach, Jared DeMichiel, and Associate Coach, Ben Barr, out at hockey venues scouting various teams and players. They have very good insight into what makes a good player and fit for UMass, and just as important, they relate to the kids, they are well liked and respected. This includes those already at UMass. Recently Coach Carvel has added (Volunteer) Assistant Coach, TJ Syner. TJ was a past star player for UMass and since that time has played excellent hockey with several pro teams, he is a real good player. His experience and background will, no doubt, bring help to the team.

Scouting, bringing good players to UMass has been excellent. Last season was a huge step forward with 11 very good freshmen players, now with a year under their belts as experienced sophomores. Combine this with 8 new freshmen, and they are good ones, along with 4 seniors and 3 juniors. It is a young, yet very solid team. 

UMass Freshman, Anthony Del Gaizo

Goal vs. RPI in Win

Photo by Alfredo

There are many good players on the team, including the new freshmen class. Just to point out 2 excellent recruits are the Del Gaizo brothers, Anthony and Marc. The USHL is one of the best, if not THE best Junior Hockey League in North America. Older brother, Anthony DelGaizo, was selected as the Player of the Year in the USHL...a major, MAJOR recognition. He had 72 points last season for the Muskegon Lumberjacks. Brother Marc, also with the Lumberjacks, not so bad either. As a defensive player he had 38 points. They are indicative of the types of players being recruited and drawn to UMass Hockey these days.

This coming Friday and Saturday, in Columbus, Ohio UMass will get their first big test with away games against #1 Ohio State. This will be a huge test, but I have the feeling that UMass will do well. We shall see.

The future looks good and very promising. Hockey is back at the Mullins Center...you can feel and sense the excitement. There is little question that the stands will be filled with cheering students and fans. The next home game at the Mullins Center in Amherst is on Friday, October 26 at 7:00 PM against Merrimack College. A chance to see some great D1 Hockey East play in Western Mass. See you at the game! 

Alfredo DiLascia

Image News Service

Sports News

Springfield / Chicopee MA 

Springfield Thunderbirds AHL Hockey, Impressive 6-3 Win Over Providence Bruins

For those who love hockey in Western Mass we are very lucky. We have several levels of TOP LEVEL hockey to watch, follow, and support at great, comfortable venues....without big city traffic and frustration.  All are within a short, and easy to get to, driving distance. Yesterday afternoon I had the opportunity to watch our AHL Team, the Springfield Thunderbirds at the Mass Mutual Center in Springfield. Parking is very convenient, right next to the arena and it is free. The Thunderbird organization is very "customer friendly" and helpful. The Mass Mutual Center is a great place to watch a game, not cold, comfortable seating, any seat offers a good view of the game, large center ice lighted scoreboard and ongoing video so you know what is going on...I don't know what else a hockey fan would want. And the AHL is top level hockey, only a half a notch below the NHL, and there are many recognizable names.

 

The Springfield Thunderbirds, a farm team of the NHL Florida Panthers, went against the always good,  Providence Bruins (NHL Boston Bruins Team). The Thunderbirds had an early goal by Blaine Byron but it was  reversed due to goalie interference. The Thunderbirds played well for the rest of the 1st period but weren't able to muster up any offense.  

 

The 2nd period was very different. The Bruins first scored to take a 1-0 lead, with the Thunderbirds coming off a double penalty, 5 on 3 situation. (By the way, the Thunderbirds had 3 double penalty, 5 on 3 situations in the game and overall they did great with their penalty kills.) Then, WOW, the Thunderbirds offense came alive in the 2nd with 3 quick goals in rapid succession by Zolnierczyk, Greco, and Byron to take a 3-1 lead. It ended up 3-2 going into the final period.

 

In the 3rd period the Thunderbirds put the game away with 2 goals by Jacob MacDonald, down from the NHL Florida Panthers, and a goal by Henrik Borgstrom for a final, and impressive, 6-3 victory.

 

As a side note it is very obvious why the Thunderbirds selected Paul Thompson as Team Captain. He is an excellent all around player and natural leader...and a very tough physical player. This kind of surprised me since he is a very nice, mild manner guy off the ice...kind of a Clark Kent guy...get the picture? He is a great asset to the team, this is obvious.

#15 Team Captain Paul Thompson

Photo by Alfredo

 

Earlier I mentioned several top levels of hockey in Western Mass. In addition to our AHL Team we have 2 D1 college teams, 2 D3 college teams, a top level national contender college Club hockey team, a couple of Junior hockey teams, and several very good high school teams including a perennial D1 state high school championship contender. Image News Service will try to cover as much as we can.

 

Support Western Mass Hockey! Attend games!

 

Alfredo DiLascia

Image News Service

Sports News

Springfield / Chicopee MA   

UMass Amherst Hockey Impressive in First Win - 2018-19 Season

It was an exhibition game but you could get a sense of the potential of the UMass Amherst Hockey Team for the 2018-19 Season. They look good!  In a 6-1 convincing win over the Royal Military College of Canada, now sophomore and former Cathedral High star, Johnny Leonard, picked up where he left off last season as the teams top scorer as a freshman. He had 2 assists in the first period, and a goal in each of the 2nd and 3rd periods for a total of 4 points for the game. UMass showed a lot of balance, good defense, and 2 goals in each of the 3 periods for a total of 6 goals. Defensive sensation Cale Makar, back for his 2nd year as a sophomore, contributed 2 assists in the win.  

UMass Johnny Leonard

2 Goals, 2 Assists in the Win

Photo by Alfredo

Freshman defenseman Marc Del Gaizo scored his first career goal for UMass as he started the scoring in the first period. Marc has a twin brother, on the team, freshman forward Anthony Del Gaizo who are part of still another excellent recruiting class for the Minutemen. Credit to Head Coach Greg Carvel, and Coaches Ben Barr, and Jared DeMichiel, who are one of the best combined coaching staffs in the country.

Next weekend they get their first test against Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) on Friday, October 12th at 7:00 PM at the Mullins Center in Amherst. RPI is also in a building program under Head Coach, Dave Smith, attempting to bring back the glory years of RPI Hockey, that included National Championship Teams. Smith is in his 2nd year after 12 good years at D1 Canisius College in the Atlantic Hockey Conference. I had a chat with him back a couple years ago and one of the things I remember...he likes SIZE. So expect a strong physical game. 

UMass plays AT RPI on Saturday, then the following week they are off to back to back away games at nationally ranked Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio. After next weekend we should get a good early impression as to where they stand. 

It should be a good one! The Mullins Center is an excellent, fan friendly arena to watch a game, not cold, very comfortable with good lighting and comfortable seating. Hockey is definitely back at the Mullins Center...hope to see you at the game next Friday! 

Alfredo DiLascia

Image News Service

Sports News

Springfield / Chicopee MA 

UMass Amherst Club Hockey Opens Regular Season With an Impressive Win!

Last week they started with a win vs. a good Army team in an exhibition pre-season game. Last night they began their regular season at the Mullins Center against a tough Boston University Team. It started off as a real battle, with BU scoring first about half way through the first period. Then UMass Captain, Artie Potter, scored on a one timer from the front left side of the net to tie it up at 1-1. You could see the emotion as Potter, who is normally strong, but calm and cool in his play, raised a knee and pumped his fist on his score. Latter in the period he almost scored again on a breakaway but the puck "tinged" off the post. 

 #11 UMass Senior Captain Cam Fisher

One Tough "Cookie" Out There on the Ice!

About 10 penalties were called in the first period alone, a few of them double penalties against UMass creating a 5 on 3 situation, but the UMass penalty kill was excellent. They are fun to watch, a scrappy and a physical team. They meet their opponents head on when they attempt to bring the puck up ice, and will go after a skater and knock the puck away, demonstrating good defense by both offensive, as well as defensive players.  UMass has a good mix of experience and new talent with 12 new, and impressive, freshmen players. In watching them play you would never know they are freshmen. 

The game stayed even for awhile but then UMass pulled away with an impressive 7-2 win with the scoring spread over several players.  As UMass pulled ahead BU got frustrated and several fights broke out. I guess they call it "chippy", I always get a kick out of that. I call if fighting! 

Their next game will be another test as they play away at Boston College on next Friday, October 5. 

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Speaking of UMass, their D1 Hockey East Team will open up next Saturday at 8:00 PM, at the Mullins Center in an exhibition game vs. the Royal Military College of Canada. Those Canadian teams are ALWAYS tough, so it should be a good game. There is a lot of excitement around UMass this season since last season's excellent freshmen class now have a year under their belt. Combine this with a very good recruiting class and upper classmen, it should be a very good team. There is no question that hockey is back at the Mullins Center!  Attend some games, you will enjoy it...great hockey and the Mullins Center is a great and comfortable place to watch a game. 

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East Longmeadow's Frank Vatrano scored his first pre-season goal Thursday night for the NHL Florida Panthers. Looking forward to the start of the NHL regular season next week!

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Mike Finnegan is the new Director of Hockey Operations at American International College (AIC), still another Western Mass D1 Hockey Team. They play their home games at the Mass Mutual Center in Springfield, also an excellent and comfortable place to watch a game. Convenient parking is right across the street. Below is the link for their season tickets, which they are selling for the first time in program history. 

https://aicyellowjackets.com/news/2018/8/30/mens-ice-hockey-ice-hockey-to-offer-season-ticket-packages-in-2018-19.aspx?path=mhockey

AIC is also a building team, with good recruiting and improvement that is evident with Coach Eric Lang and his staff. UMass Amherst plays AIC at the Mass Mutual Center on January 5th, by the way.  



Alfredo DiLascia

Image News Service

Sports News

Springfield / Chicopee MA 

2018 - 19 UMass Club Hockey Off to a Good Start !

UMass Captain Artie Potter

Mixes it Up in Win Last Night

HOCKEY BEGINS!

Last year UMass Club Hockey finished one of their best season's in history as they went to the Nationals after some exciting end of season wins. This year they have added 12 new freshmen players and look again to be a strong young team with only 5 seniors listed on their roster of 32 players. They have a good combination of youth and experience, it appears to be just the right balance. 

Last night they played a good Army Team at the Mullin's Center in Amherst, MA. It seemed like they picked it up just as they left off last year with a high energy, hustling, very aggressive game. It was an exhibition game, but nonetheless it gave a good flavor of what to expect. It was a close battle in the beginning, but UMass pulled away for a 4-1 win. Senior Danny Baldino from Ayer, MA scored 2 goals in the win.

Next Friday, September 28, the real test begins when they play their first regular season game vs. a very good Boston University at the Mullins Center, game time 8:30 PM. If you want to see some great competitive hockey come to the game, the level of play and excitement will impress you.

Alfredo DiLascia

Image News Service

Sports News

Springfield / Chicopee MA  

The Increasing Problem in U.S. College Hockey

Patrick Tabb of the Olympia Ice Center in West Springfield, MA called my attention to a recent article in the New York Times, "College Hockey Has a Talent Glut, but Nowhere to Grow" by Gary Santaniello, March 23, 2017. It is time to lay the problem on the table in regard to college hockey. According to USA Hockey the number of players in the United States has increased by a whopping 24% over the past 15 years, to about 543,000 players! Yet NCAA Research has indicated that there are only 4,102 participants in Men's College Hockey. Whereas other major sports have grown, what this shows is that colleges are not offering enough opportunities for the fast growing sport of hockey in the United States.  Santaniello likened it to musical chairs, where the number of players have increased, but the chairs have not. This is a MAJOR problem in college sports. There is high demand, but not opportunity.

 Not Enough "Chairs" in College Hockey

What makes the problem even greater is that players from Canada and Europe flock to the United States to play college hockey. The recent NHL Draft was interesting and great to watch, but one should ask...Why so many players from Europe in the NHL Draft?  Oh, there are some great young players in Europe, but nobody can tell me that they are that much better than those from North America who deserve a chance to play in the NHL.

 

The net result of all this is shattered dreams. Shattered dreams since those young players who are good enough and deserve to play college hockey in the United States are NOT getting the opportunity to do so...not enough "chairs". The way the current system works is that there are the real outstanding players, the super stars, who are noticed and scouted from a very early age. Then there are the thousands of very good young hockey players who, it seems, are left to chance to get an opportunity to play college hockey with not enough teams or open roster spots to do so. It is like a roulette wheel for these players and their families, and we are talking about very good players here. Junior Hockey is big in the United States and Canada, and they seem to keep re-organizing themselves for greater opportunity and positioning. Yet the end result of the problem is still the same...not enough "chairs" to play college hockey.  

 

It is time for the NCAA and for colleges to wake up to the reality of HOCKEY in the United States. It is an extremely popular sport, with some very good athletes waiting at the door. But when the music stops, there are no "chairs"...only shattered dreams. Fix it!

 

Alfredo DiLascia

Image News Service

Sports News

Springfield / Chicopee MA