• Saturday night in the Mullins Center will feature several Halloween festivities including a Best Halloween Costume Contest, prizes and more. • Junior All-American winger James Marcou ranks 6th all-time at UMass in career assists (63) and ranks for 18th in career points (87). • Sophomore defenseman Matt Irwin has a six-game goal scoring streak dating back to last season's Hockey East Quarterfinal series at Northeastern. • Three of UMass' top six scorers are defensemen including Irwin who ranks second with six points (3g, 3a). • UMass is the only undefeated team remaining in Hockey East and is off to its best league start since 1995-96 (3-0). • After two home games, UMass is averaging 5,944 fans at the Mullins Center which ranks 8th nationally. • UMass has won four straight games at the Mullins Center dating back to last season. • 7 of UMass' 13 goals have been scored on the power play this year.

#17 Minutemen Face Hot Providence Team In Home & Home Series
• The #17 UMass hockey team hits the road for the first time this season as the Minutemen face hot start Providence in the first game of a home-and-home series on Friday night at Schneider Arena. The Friars then head to Amherst for a Halloween match-up on Saturday night in the Mullins Center where UMass has a four-game winning streak in place.
• The Minutemen are currently one of seven teams in the country to start the season unbeaten and only one of three teams with a perfect record.
• Saturday night in the Mullins Center will feature several Halloween festivities including a Best Halloween Costume Contest, prizes and more.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
• UMass Hockey will be broadcast live on 100.9 FM WRNX (Springfield) and WBIX 1060 AM (Boston) with John Hennessy calling the play-by-play and Brock Hines calling the color commentary. The pregame show will begin 30 minutes prior to the opening face-off.
• All UMass home hockey games will feature live video streaming and audio through the UMassAthletics.com All-Access Package. Road games featuring streaming video will be listed throughout the season.
• Nine games will be televised this year as well. Three games will be shown on ESPNU, three on NESN, two on COX Television in Rhode Island and one on WABI-TV in Maine.

Off To Best Start Since 2003-04
• With a 3-0 record, UMass is off to its best start of the season since going 4-0 to start the 2003-04 campaign. That season, the Minutemen finished the year as Hockey East Championship Finalists with a 19-12-6 record. At 2-0 in Hockey East play, the Minutemen are off to their best league start since 1995-96 when UMass started 3-0 in the league.
• Providence, then ranked 15th nationally, snapped the 2003-04 start to the season handing the No. 14 ranked Minutemen a 6-2 loss in the Mullins Center on Oct. 31.

THE SERIES WITH PROVIDENCE
• All-time, Providence leads the series with UMass 31-19-3 after UMass won two-of-three games last season. The series began in 1931 with the Friars winning 12 of the first 13 meetings. Since 2006-07, however, UMass leads the series at 4-3-2.
• The Friars are 21-9 against UMass in Providence for the series although it has been a balanced 2-2 series since 2006.

UMass Earns 8th Straight Home Win Over Maine, 5-3
• Highlighted by a Marou-to-Marcou game-winning goal, UMass earned its eighth straight home game over Maine, 5-3, last Friday night. The Minutemen jumped out to a 2-0 lead before Maine chipped back to keep things close after the first period. In the second period, James Marcou snarred a loose puck at the Maine blueline, skated towards the goal, and set up his brother Michael for a goal which stood as the game-winner.
• It was a physical game with a combined 99 penalty minutes on both teams.

UMASS FEATURED NINE TIMES ON TV
• Nine regular-season games this season will be televised live including three on ESPNU and three on NESN. Over the summer, ESPNU and COMCAST Cable reached an agreement to add the channel to the regular cable line-up which means the Minutemen will be seen in over 55 million households.
• The Jan. 2 Boston University game, the Jan. 10 game at Northeastern and the Jan. 24 meeting against Vermont in the Mullins Center will all be televised on ESPNU.
• The Nov. 28 game at Quinnipiac will be shown on NESN, while the Feb. 5 Boston College game and the Feb. 20 Merrimack game, both in the Mullins Center, will be featured as part of NESN's Friday Night Ice game package.
• Both road games at Providence (10/30, 1/30) will be aired on COX Television which is available throughout Rhode Island, while the March 6 game at Maine will be carried by WABI-TV.

UMASS ADDS 1060 AM WBIX IN BOSTON
• The UMass Radio Network has agreed to a deal with 1060 AM WBIX in Boston to carry the bulk of the Minutemen's basketball and hockey games in 2009-10. WBIX joins 100.9 FM WRNX in Springfield as the stations carrying UMass hockey this season along with 91.1 WMUA - UMass' student station which will carry selected games throughout the year.
• AM 1060, WBIX "The Business Station" is Boston's only all-business talk radio station. Based in Framingham, the station's daytime signal (40,000 watts) reaches north into southern New Hampshire, west into Worcester and south near Providence, Rhode Island. At night, the station can still be heard clearly throughout the Boston area.

NOLET & WATSON NAMED LOWES SENIOR CLASS AWARD NOMINEES
• Seniors Martin Nolet and Brett Watson were both named to the Lowes Senior Class Award Nominee List on Wednesday, Oct. 7. They are two of 20 nominees for the award as UMass is the only team to have two on the initial list.
• The award is given annually to the collegiate hockey senior who exhibits character, community service, classroom excellence and is a major contributor on the ice.

BUD LIGHT UMASS HOCKEY SHOW
• The Bud Light UMass Hockey Show is back in full swing with voice of the UMass hockey John Hennessy and head coach Don "Toot" Cahoon. The show airs on 100.9 FM WRNX and UMassAthletics.com. In addition to game previews and recaps, a pair of player guests will be on each week. Brock Hines also joins the show each week with his unique perspective on the team after serving as color commentator for 17 years. Fans can come by the show which is hosted live at The Hangar Pub & Grill on University Drive at 7 PM. Say hi to coach and the players and have some of the best wings in town! For a complete schedule of the show, check UMassAthletics.com where you can also submit your questions during the season to Coach Cahoon and have them answered live on the air.

STORY LINES vs. PROVIDENCE
• After the first three weekends of play, UMass ranks first among Hockey East teams in scoring offense (4.33 gpg) and third in scoring defense (2.33 gpg). Despite going 3-for-9 against Maine last Friday, the power play unit ranks first converting 7-of-24 (.292) chances. Defensively, UMass has killed off 10-of-13 penalties which ranks eighth in Hockey East.
• UMass is one of seven teams still undefeated after the first three weekends of the new season. Of those, only UMass, Quinnipiac, and Western Michigan sport perfect records without having a tie.
• UMass has won four straight games in the Mullins Center dating back to last season.
• UMass starts the year 3-0 for the first time since 2003-04 - the same season UMass finished as Hockey East Finalists.
• UMass starts Hockey East play 2-0 for the first time since 1995-96.
• 7 of UMass' 13 goals scored have been on the power play ... 9 different UMass skaters have at least one goal, while 12 have posted at least one point.
• Going back to last season, defenseman Matt Irwin has a six-game goal scoring streak in place. Irwin scored a goal in each of the three Hockey East play-off games last year and has three goals and three assists in the first three games of this season.
• For the second straight season, UMass earned a win over a defending NCAA National Champion with the 3-2 victory over Boston University. In 2008-09 the Minutemen defeated Boston College 4-3 in overtime. UMass is now 2-18 all-time vs. defending national champions. The win over BU was the first in eight games against the Terriers after they won a national championship.
• Brett Watson will once again serve as a team captain. Justin Braun will also wear the `C' on his sweater after being named an assistant captain midway through last season. James Marcou and Martin Nolet will both serve as assistant captains this year.
• Nine returning players dressed in 30-or-more games last season. Seven returners have played in over 60 games for their career led by Justin Braun's 114. Brett Watson and Martin Nolet have each played in over 100 games as well.

MARCOU AN ALL-AMERICAN
• James Marcou enters the weekend with 87 career points in 78 career games. His 32 assists last season was a single-season UMass record, while his 47 points were tied for the fourth-best single-season effort. His 63 career assists is tied for 6th overall at UMass, while his 87 points is tied for 18th all-time.
• Marcou is the active leading career scorer among all Hockey East Players.
• He became just the sixth All-American at UMass including the third in the modern era joining Thomas Pock (2004) and Jon Quick (2007).

THE S.W.ar.M. LINE
• UMass' top line of T.J. Syner, Casey Wellman and James Marcou may be one of the fastest and creative playmaking trios in the country. Against RPI, the line accounted for eight of UMass' 15 points in the game. Against Maine, the line combined for seven points (3g, 4a) with each player scoring a goal. For the season, the unit has 15 of UMass' 38 total points.
• The line features the 2008-09 Hockey East Rookie Leading Scorer in Wellman and the league's regular-season scoring co-leader in Marcou.
• In addition to time on regular shifts, Wellmand and Marcou are regulars on the power play, while Syner also plays on the penalty kill.

IN THE NATIONAL POLLS
• UMass earned a #17 national ranking in the USCHO.com Top-20 poll this week with 179 total votes after a 3-0 start to the season. In the USA Today/USA Hockey Top-15 poll, UMass was the second team listed in the Receiving Votes category with 40 votes.
• 11 teams listed on the polls are featured on UMass' schedule this year.
• Eight of the 10 teams in Hockey East are represented in the polls.

CAHOON BECOMES ALL-TIME WINNINGEST COACH IN UMASS HISTORY
• Head coach Don "Toot" Cahoon became the all-time winning head coach in UMass history on Dec. 12, 2008 with a 4-0 win over American International. The win over AIC gave Cahoon 121 career wins which surpassed UMass Hall of Famer Jack Canniff who had 120 wins in his career from 1967-79. He earned his 300th overall win as a head coach on Dec. 5, 2008 in a 5-1 win over Connecticut.
• Under Cahoon's tenure, UMass made its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance (2007) and played for the Hockey East Championship title in 2003-04.
• Cahoon now has a 132-166-31 record at UMass in 10 seasons. Overall, in 23 years as a head coach, Cahoon is 312-339-67.

MINUTEMEN LOOKING FORWARD TO 2009-10 CAMPAIGN WITH VETERAN LINE-UP
• With 21 letterwinners returning and six of its top 10 scorers coming back, the 2009-10 edition of the UMass hockey team looks poised to make this season one to remember. Included in the returning offensive leaders are All-American James Marcou and Casey Wellman, a pair of the top blue-liners in Hockey East in Justin Braun and Martin Nolet, and two seasonsed goalies in Paul Dainton and Dan Meyers.
• Marcou finished the 2008-09 league regular-season tied with Boston University's Colin Wilson as the Hockey East scoring leader. Wellman led the league in Rookie Scoring. It was the first time in UMass history that the Minutemen had the league scoring leader and the rookie scoring leader.
• With seven of the first nine games at the Mullins Center, a strong beginning to the season could set the tone early for the season. Five of those seven games are against Hockey East rivals including defending national champion Boston University and a pair of home games against New Hampshire.
• This will be head coach Don "Toot" Cahoon's 10th season at UMass. He has guided the Minutemen to three Hockey East Semifinal appearances, a Hockey East Championship appearance and UMass' first-ever NCAA Tournament berth and win. He is the all-time winningest coach in UMass program history with 129 career wins.

OFFENSIVE OVERVIEW
• Offensively, UMass was led by the top scoring line of Alex Berry-Cory Quirk-James Marcou which has attributed almost 35 percent of UMass point total. Marcou returns as one of the nation's top playmakers and finished the 2008-09 Hockey East regular season tied with Boston University sophomore Colin Wilson for the league lead in points. Quirk finished his career as just the seventh player to eclipse the 100-point barrier at UMass.
• Sophomore Casey Wellman anchored the "speed" line with wingers T.J. Syner and Shawn Saunders/Will Ortiz. Wellman led the league in Rookie Scoring and ranked in the top-5 nationally. Syner returns for his sophomore season as a versatile player who also sees time on the PK units.
• Junior Michael Lecomte anchored Chase Langeraap and Danny Hobbs/Chris Davis, while Brett Watson centered Briane Keane/Marc Conncannon and the graduated Chris Davis/Scott Crowder. These were two of the more physical lines last year, but the Minutemen will have to find players to step up to replace the phsyical play of Davis and Crowder and the size and scoring touch of Berry.

DEFENSIVE OVERVIEW
• Defensively, UMass is anchored by two NHL draft picks in Justin Braun and Martin Nolet. Braun and Nolet paired together for most of last season. Sophomore Matt Irwin has been a tremendous addition to the blueliners adding size, power, and the ability to join the offensive rush. Doug Kublin and Michael Marcou are two of the more true defensive players, while Kevin Kessler rounds out the group.
• As a group, the D-men average just over 6-foot-1, 200 pounds.
• In goal, UMass has the luxury of two very capable goalies in Paul Dainton and Dan Meyers. Both have fairly similar numbers and have been producing their best career seasons to date. Dainton has played the bulk of the minutes, but Meyers has proven capable of winning big games. Backing them up is the tandom of Kevin Moore who joined the team mid-way through last season and freshman Randy Wolcott who hails from Holyoke, Mass.

A PAIR OF DRAFT PICKS ANCHOR BLUE LINE
• Martin Nolet and Justin Braun started each game last season as UMass' top defensive pair - their first season as line mates. Nolet was a 5th-round draft pick by Los Angeles in the 2006 draft (144th overall), while Braun was a 7th-round draft pick by San Jose in the 2007 draft (201st overall).
• Both players have been key on special teams as they are both on the top power play and penalty kill units.
• For the two seasons prior to 2008-09, Nolet started every game paired with captain Mike Kostka, while Braun was paired with David Leaderer.

BRAUN ONE OF HEA'S TOP D-MEN
• Senior defenseman Justin Braun is not only one of the best defensemen for the Minutemen, but he is one of the best in the entire league. Braun plays on the top power play and penalty kill lines and is one of the team leaders in minutes played. He averages over 30 minutes of ice time per game.
• The 2009 member of the Hockey East All-Conference Second Team was the 201st pick overall last season in the NHL Draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins who traded his rights to the San Jose Sharks.

GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY
• The 2009-10 UMass roster features players from 13 different states and Canadian provinces. From Massachusetts to California and Florida, UMass has a diverse group of players from across North America.
• Six Minutemen hail from Massachusetts while four represent New York and Quebec.
• Matt Irwin, Paul Dainton and Darren Rowe have the longest journey to get to UMass. Irwin and Dainton hail from British Columbia - a drive which would take over two days. Rowe's drive from Simi Valley, near Los Angeles, would also take roughly two days to complete.

MINUTEMEN EARN ACADEMIC HONORS
• 12 players earned Hockey East All-Academic honors in 2008-09 - The Minutemen had the third most honorees in the league. This was the fourth consecutive season the UMass had 10-or-more student-athletes honored on the team.
• Martin Nolet was also named to the Hockey East Academic All-Star Team for having the highest grade point average among all league defensemen.
• Nolet and Brett Watson were named to the Academic All-Conference Team for the third consecutive season.

PROSPECTIVE MINUTEMEN
• Several Minutemen spent part of their summers working out at NHL Prospect Camps. Martin Nolet (Los Angeles), Justin Braun (San Jose), Casey Wellman (Nashville), Matt Irwin (San Jose), and Rocco Carzo (Philadephia) spent time in the camps as part of their offseason training.

VS. RANKED TEAMS
• UMass is 1-0-0 against ranked teams this year after defeating #2 Boston University 3-2 on Oct. 18.
• In 2008-09, UMass was 6-12-3 against ranked teams. Of those, UMass faced six teams ranked in the nation's top-5 posting a 6-6-1 record. In 2007-08, UMass was 7-10-1 against ranked opponents including a 5-0-1 stretch against ranked teams through the holiday break. It was UMass best record ever against ranked teams.
• All-time, UMass is 47-177-20 against ranked opponents including a 4-7-2 record at neutral sites and a 5-20-4 record against non-conference teams.
• UMass posted its second ever win over a No. 1-ranked team on Friday, Nov. 14 in the 5-1 win over Boston University. The first came in 1994-95 with a 4-2 win over No. 1 Maine on Jan. 28. In the modern era, UMass is 2-12-1 against team's ranked No. 1.

FANS SET NEW ATTENDANCE RECORD
• After two home games, UMass is averaging 5,944 fans at the Mullins Center which ranks 8th nationally.
• With an average of 4,934
fans per home game, UMass ranked 13th nationally in attendance last season. • UMass averaged a program-best 5,017 fans at home games in 2007-08 which was an all-time best for the program. Against UMass Lowell (10/19/07), UMass set a new record for opening game attendance as 5,862 fans came through the turnstiles. Attendance has increased in each of the last four seasons.
• A Mullins Center record 8,389 fans turned out to see UMass defeat Boston College on Nov. 22 - a mark that also ranks as the ninth-best UMass hockey attendance for all venues. UMass had 7,212 and 8,291 fans pack the Mullins Center for the Boston University games (11/14; 2/27).

MULLINS MAGIC
• UMass is 3-0-0 at home this season and will play 15 home games in 2009-10. Of those, 13 are Hockey East games including 2-of-3 vs. New Hampshire, Merrimack, Boston College, and Vermont. UMass currently has a four-game home win streak dating back to last season.
• UMass was 9-8-1 last season at home in front of the Mullins Center crowd.
• The Minutemen lost just three games at home during the 2007-08 season going 8-3-4 (.667). The loss to New Hampshire on Jan. 11 broke a 13-game home unbeaten streak which dated back to the 2006-07 season.
• Over the last 64 games at the Mullins Center, UMass is 38-18-8 (.651) including a 14-3-4 mark in 2006-07.
• All-time, UMass is 125-115-27 in the Mullins Center including a 74-99-21 record among Hockey East foes. Under Don Cahoon, UMass sports a 81-61-15 record at home.

HARD TO BEAT WHEN SCORING 3'S
• UMass is 3-0-0 when scoring three-or-more goals this season.
• UMass was 15-4-0 last season when lighting the lamp three times or more in a game and 0-16-3 when they scored fewer than three goals.

FOUR-OR-MORE IS BEST
• Over the last 64 games where UMass scores four-or-more goals, the Minutemen are an amazing 60-3-1. Before the home loss against Vermont (1/25/08), the Mass Attack had not lost a game when scoring four-or-more goals since March 14, 2003 against New Hampshire in the Hockey East Semifinals (5-4).

HOCKEY'S A FAMILY LEGACY
• For four Minutemen, hockey is truly a family tradition. Djan Lefebvre, Eddie Olczyk, Shawn Saunders and Brett Watson all grew up around NHL rinks as their fathers played professionally. Lefebvre's father, Sylvain, played 14 seasons with the Montreal Canadiens, the Toronto Mapel Leafs, the Quebec Nordiques, the Colorado Avalanche and the New York Rangers. Olczyk's father, Ed, played 16 season's in the NHL, was head coach of the Pittsburgh Penquins, and currently serves as an announcer for NBC and NHL on Versus. Saunder's father, Bernie, played for the Quebec Nordiques, while Watson's father Jim and his uncle Joe both played 10 years for the Philadelphia Flyers as part of the franchise's only two Stanley Cup Championship teams.

BIG BROTHERS MAKING A DIFFERENCE OFF ICE
• Often times, student-athletes gain the bulk of their notoriety through their accomplishments in sport. Five Minutemen, however, are trying to make a difference in young peoples lives off the ice as well. Paul Dainton, Brian Keane, Chase Langeraap, James Marcou and Brett Watson each volunteer with the Amherst Big Brothers/Big Sisters Program. Each Big Brother has a `Little' who they spend time with each week.
• Each player had to go through an extensive background check that included visits to their dorm rooms and an interview process that took several months. They spend 3-4 hours per week with their Little Brother whose age ranges from 6 to 13 years.
• Renee Moss is the Director of the program and says she is thrilled to have the guys involved with the project that really came to life two years ago under Mike Kostka through an independent study project. Kostka put together a successful Big Brother/Big Sister Bowl-A-Thon to raise money from the group last spring.
• Brett Watson is also conducting a systematic evaluation of the local program, which will culminate in a list of recommendations about how to improve the program, and how to recruit more volunteers for his Commonwealth College Capstone Project.

QUICK-LY MOVING UP IN THE NHL RANKS
• Former UMass All-American Jon Quick enters the 2009-10 NHL season as the top-ranked goalie in the L.A. Kings program. This past summer he was invited to the U.S. Olympic Training Camp as one of three prospective goalies for Team USA. Last season, his first full NHL season, Quick posted a 21-18-2 record, 2.48 goals-against average and .914 save percentage in 44 games.
• This season, Quick is off to another strong start and recently signed a 3-year contract extension with the Kings for 5.4 million.

LOOK FOR DAN MEYERS' MOVIE PICKS ON UMASSATHLETICS.COM
• Known to the team as a movie fanatic, Dan Meyers has agreed to share his thoughts and movie critiques with fans with a blog on UMassAthletics.com. Meyers will pick out different movies and share his thoughts on them throughout the season.
• Meyers' movie collection is a big bonus for the team when traveling on long bus trips.

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• If you want to get the latest UMass hockey news straight to your e-mail account, then sign up for our online e-mail list. You will receive previews, game notes, boxscores, recaps and feature stories delivered right to you. To sign up, e-mail John Sinnett (jsinnett@admin.umass.edu) with the subject line "Sign Up For Hockey Newsletter".