Main Story: No. 19 UMass hosts Stonehill on Saturday, looking to rebound after splitting a home series with Northeastern. The Minutemen won the Hockey East matchup 4-1, then lost the nonconference game by the same score. Freshman Gavin Cornforth scored in both games, while goaltender Ethan Eskit set career highs with 27 and 34 saves.

By the Numbers
  • UMass is 8-4-0 after a loss.
  • The Minutemen went 17-9-1 in Massachusetts last season.
  • UMass returns 80% of its goals and 78% of its points from last season.
  • Jack Musa and Coleson Hanrahan are team captains for 2026-27.
Yes, But

UMass showed it can respond to an early deficit, scoring four unanswered goals in Friday’s win. But penalties proved costly in Saturday’s loss: a five-minute major and a minor created a Northeastern 5-on-3 power play that produced the go-ahead goal.

State of Play
  • The Minutemen enter the Stonehill game ranked No. 19.
  • UMass has a young roster, with 12 newcomers and an average age of 20.9.
  • Senior Jackson Irving is the only returning UMass goalie with collegiate experience; Eskit is among two new additions in net.
What’s Next

UMass hosts Stonehill on Saturday and will look to turn its bounce-back trend into another win. The game also offers a chance for the young roster to build consistency after a split weekend.

Bottom Line

UMass has scoring depth and a strong record after losses, but discipline and special-teams defense will matter as the Minutemen try to steady their start to the season.