AMHERST — After another tough loss for his team, Greg Carvel admitted Saturday there was one thing keeping him optimistic – UMass hasn’t played with a fully healthy lineup yet this season.
The 11th-ranked Minutemen (9-4-1, 4-3-1 Hockey East) enter this weekend’s home series against Maine (8-5-3, 4-4-2) with three injuries to veterans. Sophomore defenseman Marc Del Gaizo has played in just two games this season, and he exited one of them in the first period with an injury. Junior center Jake Gaudet has missed the last nine games with a lower-body injury and senior captain Niko Hildenbrand has missed the last three contests for UMass.
Gaudet and Hildenbrand are important losses for UMass because of the energy and leadership they bring to the ice. Carvel said every player on the team is important by embracing their role, but it has been a challenge to replicate how much those two forwards in particular set the tone for the Minutemen.
“We don’t rely on those guys to score a bunch of goals, but we rely on them to be physical, block shots, win faceoffs, check really well and be tough to play against,” Carvel said. “When you look at the scoresheet, you probably think there’s not a lot coming out of the lineup, but there definitely is. They’re heart and soul kids, those are will kids, their skill level might not be really high, but their will level is, that’s why we miss them.”
The UMass locker room has confidence in every player to be able to fill the void in their own way, but senior defenseman Jake McLaughlin said the current deficiencies do coincide with the strengths of the injured veterans. He said he has tried to be more vocal with three freshmen and two sophomores joining him on the blue line, but the best way for him to be an effective leader is to continue to let his play be a guiding light for the younger players.
“I’m not too much of a vocal guy, but my example on the ice and how I dictate how I play out there shows the guys hopefully and hits home with some of the guys,” McLaughlin said. “I do try to be vocal especially with the D on the back end there being the older guy, but all in all, my play dictates how guys see me.”
In the absence of those three key veterans, UMass has struggled with consistency in its mentality and carrying over strong performances from one night to the next. It has been something Carvel has harped on a lot with his team in recent weeks as UMass has dropped points in its last three weekend series.
It all comes down to effort and energy for the Minutemen, something that was never in short supply when the program was fighting for respect. But junior captain Mitchell Chaffee said he thinks if UMass continues to make its energy level a priority that the issue will resolve quickly.
“It’s like the power play, we know we need to be better there, but it all comes down to working hard and competing,” Chaffee said. “Whoever comes to the rink and who’s working hard and competing is usually going to win the game. That’s a big focus for us this week is just trying to compete and be ready.”
UMass has put a lot of stress on its depth this season as Carvel has been forced into playing 16 different forwards among the 12 or 13 spots available every game. The coach has tried to shift around lines in recent games, too, looking for a spark, but so far nothing has been consistent long-term. No line or player has been safe from the shuffle in search of the magic formula, but there is good news on the way for the Minutemen.
Everyone was on the ice for practice Tuesday, although Carvel said he isn’t sure if any of those players will be ready to go Friday against Maine. In the meantime, though, Carvel said the growing pains UMass has experienced this season will only help the team when it returns from the winter break – presumably healthy – and gets into the heart of its Hockey East schedule.
“It’s part of maturing,” Carvel said. “I’m excited, we’re learning lessons right now that we need to and when we get full complement of players back healthy, it’s going to help us in the long run that we’re stumbling a bit here. It’s part of coaching and it’s part of growing as a team.”
Josh Walfish can be reached at jwalfish@gazettenet.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshWalfishDHG. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage.