2020–21 UMass Minutemen ice hockey season

Despite high hopes, UMass got off to a rocky start. After winning their opening weekend, the Minutemen were swept by Boston College in a battle of top-10 teams. While the Maroon offense scored in both games, it was their goalies, who were normally stout in net, that let them down. The losses, however, weren't too damaging as BC was ranked #2 at the time and the team had plenty of time to recover. Unfortunately, the very next weekend the team could only manage a split with Merrimack. The Warriors were one of the league's worst teams (at least by reputation) and when the Minutemen could only manage a single shot on goal during the third period, they looked bad. The game was also marked by an odd occurrence; UMass typically rotated their starting goalies, having Matt Murray and Filip Lindberg alternate starts, which had happened in the first two weeks. However, Murray had started both games against Merrimack. When it happened again after a week off, Greg Carvel admitted that Lindberg had been injured and would be out for several weeks.[3]

In the offseason, the coaches, in conjunction with both starting goalies, had agreed that it was time for one of the two to become the primary starter. The rotation at the start was supposed to be a way to determine which player would get the starring role but Lindberg's injury decided for the team. Murray got his shot in goal and won seven consecutive games in December and January. The run included three shutouts and the team was ranked near the top of the Hockey East standings. After the loss to Merrimack, the offense had also recovered; the team scored at least 4 goals in each game during Murray's winning streak. One of the biggest surprises was Carson Gicewicz, who scored 7 goals in that span, and nearly tied his career high in goals after just 12 games. Gicewicz had transferred from St. Lawrence, and was finally able to play for Carvel, who had recruited Gicewicz originally.

Murray's and Massachusetts' winning streak came crashing to an end in mid January. Boston University, who had played just 2 games to that point due to COVID-19, swept the Minutemen in consecutive games, scoring 4 goals in each outing. To make matters worse, they did so while being outshot by at least 15 goals in both games. The two poor efforts gave Lindberg, who had recovered by that point, a chance to earn the starting role. Less than a week later Lindberg was in net and shut out Providence and allow just one goal in the second game. The team could only earn ties since the offense had gone dormant, but the sterling performance set Lindberg in goal and he continued to pay dividends.

The next week the team faced its long-time rival Massachusetts–Lowell and swept the weekend. The Minutemen were able to win at the Tsongas Center for the first time in over a decade while Lindberg was named as the Hockey East defensive player of the week.[4] Lindberg's 0.50 goals against average since returning left little doubt that he was the team's starting goaltender and, with him acting as a wall in the crease, the offense was able to return to life. Unfortunately, everything was put on pause for several weeks due to the coronavirus. Due to a growing number of cases on the Amherst campus, UMass paused all athletic programs for several weeks.[5] This prevented the Minutemen from being able to improve their conference ranking and, due to Hockey East using a power index rather than winning percentage,[6] the four losses to BC and BU left the team unable to rise higher than third in the conference.

After a three-week layoff, UMass returned with a vengeance. The Minutemen poured it on in a 8–1 drubbing of Providence and then earned a hard-fought win over Boston College. The victories put them solidly in the top-10 for national rankings even with a disappointing effort against Maine to end the regular season. Massachusetts was essentially guaranteed a spot in the NCAA tournament but the Minutemen were determined to make a statement.

As the #3 seed, they opened the postseason against Northeastern and got off to a great start, scoring twice in the first 9 minutes. The Huskies were able to cut the lead in half in the second period but Lindberg allowed nothing afterwards and UMass skated to a 4–1 victory. They met Providence in the semifinal and the Friars were looking for revenge after the previous game. The game started with a flurry of goals, 3 in the opening 9 minutes, but it was Providence who took an early 2–1 lead. Zac Jones tied the game before the period was over and, after a wild first 20-minutes, UMass put the clamps on Providence. Bobby Trivigno scored early in the second and then the defense shone, allowing just 3 shots against in the period. Providence was forced to open up the game in the third but all that served to do was give UMass the chance to extend its lead and eventually win the game 5–2.

The win sent Massachusetts to just its second Hockey East championship game (the first since 2004) and they were facing a surprising Lowell squad that had defeated both BC and BU. The Lowell defense played a tremendous game in the final, limiting UMass to just 22 shots in the contest. Henry Welsch allowed 1 goal in the first and then shut the door on the Minutemen but Lindberg was perfect in the game, stopping all 16 shots and leading UMass to its first Hockey East Championship. This was the first conference title for the program since 1972, before the NCAA even used numerical divisions. Trivigno was named Tournament Most Valuable Player, leading the Minutemen with 6 points.[7]

Even with the Hockey East title, UMass was only able to jump up to 5th in NCAA selection committee's rankings and had to settle for a #2 seed in the tournament. The Minutemen began the tournament against Lake Superior State, who were making their first appearance in 25 years, but UMass wasn't about to give them a welcome return. After a mostly even first period, Massachusetts blew the game open in the second, outshooting the Lakers 18–7 and took a commanding 3–1 lead. After Jake Gaudet scored his second of the game in the third there was little hope for LSSU and UMass coasted to a 5–1 win.[8] In the regional final, UMass was in control of the game from the start but Bemidji seeped up to the challenge for a time. Enter Carson Gicewicz, who opened the scoring on a penalty kill after the 14-minute mark and then tallied again before the end of the first. Gicewicz completed his hat-trick in the second, the only one in his collegiate career,[9] and put the game out of reach for the Beavers. BSU tried to get back into the game but the UMass defense was too good and Lindberg earned his fourth shutout of the season.[10]

Massachusetts headed to its second Frozen Four (the other coming in 2019) and were looking forward to a rematch with Minnesota Duluth. Just days prior to the game, the Minutemen lost 4 players due to COVID protocols; While Duluth would be without their backup goalie, UMass lost the services of their leading goal scorer, Gicewicz, and their starting goalie, Lindberg, as well as Jerry Harding and Henry Graham.[11] Missing two star players were bad enough but the loss of Graham meant that the team was down to just a single goaltender on the roster. Zac Steigmeyer, a senior and assistant equipment manager, had played goalie in high school and was dragooned into service as an emergency backup.[12] When the team made it onto the ice, they faced a very experienced team with a defense nearly as impressive as their own. The Bulldogs took over the game in sports, especially in the middle frame, but they were never able to distance themselves from the Minutemen. Zac Jones opened the scoring near the end of the first on the power play and then the team had to weather an offensive storm from UMD. Matt Murray hadn't played a game for two and a half months but his performance didn't show any rust. He allowed two goals but turned aside 36 shots, including everything in the third, to allow UMass to tie the game and send the match into overtime. In the extra session the Minutemen took control and carried the play for nearly the entire time. Umass fired 13 shots on goal, compared with UMD's 2, and it only seemed like a matter of time before they would break through. When Trivigno flew around the back of the net and slid the puck across the front of the goal for a Garrett Wait tap-in, the small but enthusiastic crowd erupted.[13]

After overcoming their biggest challenge of the season, UMass received good news; both Gicewicz and Lindberg tested negative for COVID and drove overnight to Pittsburgh so they could play in the championship game. The Minutemen were making their second consecutive appearance in the title match and faced St. Cloud State in their first championship appearance. UMass got off to a good start, getting a goal from Aaron Bohlinger to open the scoring, and then the two teams played a mostly defensive battle for the remainder of the first. While killing off a penalty, a UMass defender grabbed the puck out of the air and threw it into center ice. A penalty for delay-of-game could have been called but nothing was forthcoming, much to the displeasure of the St. Cloud bench. Just minutes later, Massachusetts scored their second goal of the game. Upon review, however, it appeared that the play was offside and that the goal would be disallowed. Fortunately for the Minutemen, the play was allowed to stand and their two-goal lead held. The controversial calls didn't take the fight out of St. Cloud, who quadrupled their shot total in the second, but when Philip Lagunov scored an astounding goal on the penalty kill, the game looked to be slipping away from the Huskies. Matthew Kessel's power play marker later in the period all but sealed the game and the two teams played a fairly pedestrian third period, ending with UMass up 5–0 to win the program's first national championship.[14]

Trivigno was named Tournament Most Outstanding Player, making up for having been suspended for the Championship game two years earlier.[15] Filip Lindberg set an NCAA record with a 0.33 GAA in the tournament, breaking the single-tournament record of 0.50 held by several goaltenders including Parker Milner (2012), Tim Regan (1972) and Ken Dryden (1967).

Henry Graham sat out the season.

† incoming freshman [29]