#15 Massachusetts Hockey Opens 2025-26 Campaign Against Northern Michigan This Weekend

Games 1-2	#15 Massachusetts Minutemen (0-0-0, 0-0-0 HE) vs. Northern Michigan Wildcats (0-0-0, 0-0-0 CCHA)
Dates \| Times	Saturday, October 4, 2025 \| 7:30 p.m. Sunday, October 5, 2025 \| 4:00 p.m.
Location	Amherst, Mass. (Mullins Center)
Series History	vs. NMU: Northern Michigan leads 1-0-0
Live Statistics	Friday \| Saturday
Watch Live	ESPN+ \| International Stream
Listen (Radio)	WHMP FM 101.5, AM 1400
Listen (Online)	WHMP Streaming Player \| App: Download The Varsity Sports Network on your mobile device
Game Notes	Massachusetts \| Northern Michigan
Game Program	vs. Northern Michigan
Team Records	Massachusetts \| Northern Michigan
Twitter	@UMassHockey \| @UMassAthletics
Instagram	UMass Hockey \| UMass Athletics
Tickets	Saturday \| Sunday

STATE OF THE U
- University of Massachusetts hockey has youthful roster in its 10th season under head coach Greg Carvel in 2025-26 as the squad is comprised of 16 returnees and 11 newcomers, which includes 16 freshmen and sophomores.
- UMass saw the bulk of its roster turnover on the forward front, losing seven players to graduation and professional hockey. Cole O'Hara and Aydar Suniev tallied nearly 25% of the team's total points last season, with Suniev providing 38 (20g, 18a) and O'Hara tying the single-season points record with 51 (22g, 29a). Massachusetts also saw Lucas Mercuri (18g, 16a, 34pts), Dans Locmelis (7g, 24a, 31pts), and Kenny Connors (10g, 20a, 30pts) all ink their NHL entry-level contracts; Mercuri also joined Joey Musa and Ryan Lautenbach as graduates. The Minutemen return just four of their top-10 scorers from last season, two of whom were forwards: Jack Musa and Daniel Jencko. Musa tallied the third-most points in the 2024-25 season with 34, and Jencko posted the second most points among all freshmen with 16. The forward group returns seven total members from last season and welcomes nine new members, including transfers Owen Mehlenbacher and Matthew Wilde.
- Seniors Lucas Ölvestad, Owen Murray, and Kennedy O'Connor will provide a veteran presence on the Minutemen's back end this season. Sophomores Larry and Francesco Dell'Elce were lineup regulars in their rookie campaigns; Dell'Elce ranked seventh-highest last season in total points, leading his class with 24 (7g, 17a). The Minutemen have added two freshmen to their blue line this season, in Coleson Hanrahan and Landon Nycz.
- Massachusetts' goaltending tandem remains the same for the 2025-26 season. Michael Hrabal leads the group into his junior campaign after starting 35 of 40 games as a sophomore. He will be backed up by fellow junior Jackson Irving and sophomore James Norton.

TRENDING…
- During the 2024-25 season, the Minutemen were:
- 9-3-1 following a loss
- 15-8-3 in games played in the home state of Massachusetts
- 16-8-3 when scoring first
- 18-10-3 when holding opponents to 3 or fewer goals
- 20-1-3 when scoring 3 or more goals

IRONMEN
- Among players returning to the Minutemen for the 2025-26 season, four players played in all 40 games during the 2024-25 season: Jack Musa, Francesco Dell'Elce, Owen Murray, Larry Keenan
- Junior Jack Musa has yet to miss a game – he has played in all 77 possible games across the first two years of his collegiate career.

CALE MAKAR: SECOND NORRIS, FIRST OLYMPICS
- Cale Makar was awarded the James Norris Memorial Trophy for the second time in his career after being a finalist for the fifth time in six seasons. Makar posted 30 goals and 62 assists across 80 games in the 2024-25 season, putting him at ninth-most points across the league. Makar also had the most goals, assists, and points by a defenseman.
- Makar was also one of six players named Canada's Olympic Games Preliminary Roster. He will be making the trip to Milan, Italy in February 2026 for his first career Olympic appearance.

CAREER HIGHS
- Among the tenured Minutemen returning for the 2025-26 season, the following players posted career highs during the 2024-25 campaign:
- Lucas Ölvestad (C), 4g, 16a, 20pts, +8
- Owen Murray (C), 5g, 9a, 14pts, +5
- Jack Musa, 18g, 16a, 34pts, +18
- Nick VanTassell, 2g, 2a, 4pts

IT TAKES A VILLAGE
- During the first meeting between the two teams, the Minutemen earned an 8-0 victory against the Robert Morris Colonials. This was the highest tally recorded by the Minutemen during the 2024-25 season.
- 13 Minutemen had their names on the score sheet, with six different goal scorers and nine different players with an assist. Aydar Suniev led the way with 4 points (2g, 2a).

HRA-BALLIN'
- The third-highest Minutemen ever selected in the NHL Entry Draft at 38th overall, Michael Hrabal's sophomore season saw him land on Hockey East's Third Team All Star roster.
- With 36 games logged in the 2024-25 season, Hrabal posted a 2.39 GAA and a .924 save percentage with a 19-12-5 record. He was named Hockey East's Goaltender of the Week three times during the 2024 season (12/9, 2/17, 2/24) and Hockey East's Defender of the Week one time during the 2024-25 season (1/13).
- Hrabal's 1,028 saves in the 2024 campaign ranks second all-time in program history for a single season, and his 19 wins tied for third highest in a single season.

LONG TIME NO SEE
- In their first meeting since 1999, the Minutemen kick off the 2025-26 campaign with a pair of games against Northern Michigan; UMass lost their lone meeting against the Wildcats by a score of 3-0.
- Northern Michigan finished the 2024-25 season with a record of 5-27-2. The Wildcats were ranked ninth in the CCHA Preseason Poll.

SCHOLARLY SQUAD
- Among UMass' 20 Hockey East All-Academic Team recipients from the 2024-25 season, 14 return to the squad this season with Owen Murray, Kennedy O'Connor, Bo Cosman, Michael Hrabal, Jackson Irving, Francesco Dell'Elce, Cam Dunn, Larry Keenan, Charlie Lieberman, Finn Loftus, Jack Musa, James Norton, Lucas Ölvestad, and Nick VanTassell.
- Loftus, James Duerr, and Cam O'Neill were all named Hockey East's Top Scholar-Athletes and were selected to the 2024-25 Hockey East Academic All-Star Team.
- Transfer Owen Mehlenbacher was also named to his conference's all-academic team.

STANDING TALL (AND STRONG)
- UMass enters the 2025 season as the 11th youngest program in College Hockey with average age of 21.6 years old, yet they are the tallest team coming in at an average height of 6'1.8".
- Michael Hrabal is tied for second-tallest player and is the tallest goalie in Division I Hockey, standing at 6'7". Incoming freshmen Elias Zimmerman and Vaclav Nestrasil are tied for fifth tallest players, both at 6'6".
- UMass comes in as the fourth heaviest team, with an average weight of 193 pounds.

NHL REPRESENTATION
- The Minutemen were well represented in the NHL during the 2024-25 season ranking tied for sixth-most with Minnesota Duluth, North Dakota, Notre Dame, and Providence in number of alumni playing in the NHL last season with 14.
- UMass was named the top developmental program in NCAA Men's College Hockey by The Hockey News in August 2021.

MURRAY AND ÖLVESTAD LEAD MINUTEMEN IN 2025-26
- Senior defensemen Owen Murray and Lucas Ölvestad have been named captains for the 2025-26 season.
- Murray has appeared in 76 games over his first three seasons with the Minutemen, including a season-high 39 games in the 2024-25 season. He has totaled 22 points on seven goals in 15 assists, with career highs (5g, 9a) in his junior season.
- In his first season as a Minuteman, Ölvestad appeared in 28 games and registered 20 points on four goals and 16 assists. He led all defensemen with 13 points (3g, 10a) across 24 Hockey East Games. Ölvestad brought experience from a 2024 NCAA National Champion during his time with Denver.

PUTTING PEN TO PAPER
- Following the end of the 2024-25 season, five Minutemen inked their NHL Entry-Level Contracts: Lucas Mercuri (TBL), Dans Locmelis (BOS), Cole O'Hara (NSH), Kenny Connors (LAK), and Aydar Suniev (CGY).
- Connors' contract marked the 20th Minuteman to sign an NHL contract under the coaching of Greg Carvel. In total, 21 Minutemen have signed NHL contracts in the Carvel era.
- Ryan Lautenbach also signed an ATO with the San Diego Gulls of the American Hockey League (AHL).

NEW STATE UNLOCKED
- Massachusetts Hockey will travel to Omaha, Nebraska for a series with the University of Nebraska Omaha Mavericks. This marks the first time that the Minutemen will travel to Nebraska, as well as the first series between the two teams.
- UMass and Omaha have only faced off once, coming in a 2-3 overtime loss to the Mavericks just last year at the Ice Breaker Tournament in Las Vegas.

ROOKIE LAPS
- Ryan Ufko, who signed his NHL Entry-Level Contract following the conclusion of the 2023-24 season, made his NHL debut for the Nashville Predators on April 14, 2025. He became the 25th Minuteman to play in an NHL game.
- Aydar Suniev made his NHL debut with the Calgary Flames three days later, on April 17.

IN OUR CARVEL ERA
- Head coach Greg Carvel, in his 10th season of his UMass tenure, has led the Minutemen to six seasons of 20+ wins, including a 21-win showing in the 2024-25 season.
- Carvel earned his 166th victory of his UMass career in a 3-1 win over New Hampshire on February 22, tying him with Don "Toot" Cahoon as the program's all-time wins leader. He took sole possession of the record with a 5-3 win over UMass Lowell on March 1. Carvel now stands at the top of the list with 170 wins and counting.
- In the Carvel Era, the Minutemen are 8-4 in the NCAA Tournament with two trips to the National Final (2019 and 2021) and one National Championship (2021) and have made five NCAA Tournament appearances under Carvel.
- UMass is 22-40 all-time in the Hockey East Tournament, 12-9 under Carvel and 10-4 since 2019 with consecutive Hockey East Tournament titles in 2021 and 2022, the first two in program history.
- Overall, under Carvel (Hockey East and NCAA Tournament), UMass' postseason record is 20-13 with two Hockey East Championships, two Regional Championships and one National Championship.

A TRIP TO FARGO
- The Minutemen earned their sixth NCAA Tournament berth, which sent them to North Dakota for the Fargo Regional as the No. 3 seed. This marked UMass hockey's first trip to Fargo.
- Massachusetts faced the No. 2 seeded Minnesota Golden Gophers in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, their first meeting since a 4-3 overtime loss in the first round of the 2022 Tournament. This time, the Minutemen were able to knock out the Gophers and secure a 5-4 overtime win with a tap-in goal from Aydar Suniev.
- The Minutemen saw their season end with a narrow 2-1 loss to the No. 1-seeded Western Michigan Broncos, the eventual national champions. This was the first meeting between the two programs.

THE PROSPECT POOL
- The Massachusetts roster features seven NHL draft picks across five different franchises.
- UMass returns Nick Van Tassell (Ottawa, 2023 seventh round), Cam O'Neill (Ottawa, 2022 fifth round), Larry Keenan (Detroit, 2023 fourth round), and Michael Hrabal (Arizona, 2023 second round)
- Wisconsin transfer Owen Mehlenbacher is a Detroit seventh round pick from the 2022 draft.
- Sophomore Francesco Dell'Elce was selected in the 2025 NHL draft by the Colorado Avalanche in the third round.
- Incoming freshman Vaclav Nestrasil was selected 25th overall by Chicago in the 2025 NHL Draft. He became the highest drafted UMass forward and the second-highest draft pick in program history, trailing Cale Makar (Colorado, 2017 4th overall).

MINUTEMEN FROM AROUND THE WORLD
- UMass' 2025-26 roster is comprised of student-athletes from five different countries: Canada, Czechia, Slovakia, Sweden, and the United States.
- Six Europeans marks the most for the Minutemen in program history, with the previous high of five occurring most recently last season in 2024-25.
- There are three Canadian provinces (Manitoba, Ontario, British Columbia) represented and eight different states (Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey).
- Springfield native Kennedy O'Connor is the closest to home at 27 miles, while Vaclav Nestrasil and Michael Hrabal are the furthest from home (Prague, Czechia) at 3,963 miles.

HOME IS WHERE THE WINS ARE
- UMass went 94-34-13 at the Mullins Center over the past six seasons (2018-present) for a .713 winning percentage. This stretch included a 16-game unbeaten streak (15-0-1) that began on Jan. 11, 2019 against Vermont and came to an end on Nov. 30, 2019, with a 2-1 loss to Quinnipiac.

FAMILY TIES
- Lucas Ölvestad's father, Jimmie, played for the Tampa Bay Lightning from 2001-2003 and Lucas was born in Tampa during his father's NHL tenure. Jimmie Ölvestad went on to have an extended pro career with Djurgårdens IF back home in Sweden.
- Jackson Irving's father, Bruce, was a goaltender at Cornell.
- Cam O'Neill's brother Colin played hockey at UMass Lowell (2016-18) and his brother Jason played hockey at Providence (2017-21).
- Larry Keenan's grandfather Larry Keenan played in the NHL for the Toronto Maple Leafs (1961-62), St. Louis Blues (1967-71), Buffalo Sabres (1970-72) and Philadelphia Flyers (1971-72).
- James Duerr's brother Sam played hockey at Maine (2021-23) and Bentley (2023-25).

Scoreboard

#15 Massachusetts Hockey Opens 2025-26 Campaign Against Northern Michigan This Weekend

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Players Mentioned

Kenny Connors

Bo Cosman

Francesco Dell'Elce

James Duerr

Cam Dunn

Coleson Hanrahan

Michael Hrabal

Jackson Irving

Larry Keenan

Ryan Lautenbach

Charlie Lieberman

Dans Locmelis

Finn Loftus

Cale Makar

Owen Mehlenbacher

Lucas Mercuri

Owen Murray

Jack Musa

Joey Musa

Vaclav Nestrasil

James Norton

Landon Nycz

Kennedy O'Connor

Cole O'Hara

Cam O'Neill

Aydar Suniev

Nick VanTassell

Matthew Wilde

Elias Zimmerman

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics