Athletics

UMass Hockey Opens 2019-20 Season, Raises Commemorative Banners at Mullins Center Oct. 11

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The UMass hockey team celebrates following one of their many wins during the 2018-19 season
The UMass hockey team celebrates following one of their many wins during the 2018-19 season

Coming off the first Frozen Four appearance in program history, defending national runner-up Massachusetts hockey opens up the 2019-20 season Friday, Oct. 11 at the Mullins Center against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). The Minutemen will raise a pair of banners prior to the 7 p.m. faceoff commemorating the team's major accomplishments from last season - winning the Hockey East regular season championship and their appearance in the national championship game. Fans are encouraged to be at their seats 15 minutes prior to the scheduled faceoff to witness the banner-raising ceremony.

A limited number of mini-banners will be distributed to fans entering the arena on a first-come, first-served basis.

UMass hockey fans unable to make it to the Mullins Center Friday will be able to watch the game live on NESN, the first of 16 Minutemen games scheduled to be televised this season. Once again this season, all games will also be broadcast on the radio by WHMP-AM.

The Minutemen, ranked as high as third in the nation in preseason polls and led once again by reigning Hockey East Coach of the Year Greg Carvel, return a solid core of players from last year's historic season, including Hockey East scoring champion and All-American Mitchell Chafee, and have also added nine highly-regarded freshmen. Four players have been drafted by NHL teams; forward John Leonard (San Jose Sharks), goaltender Filip Lindberg (Minnesota Wild), and defensemen Marc Del Gaizo (Nashville Predators) and Zac Jones (New York Rangers).

Tickets for all UMass hockey home games are available online at UMassAthletics.com, or by calling 1-866-UMASS-TIX.