There’s a reason why Canadians stick with hockey.
“The Canadian guys are not very good softball players,” said UMass junior forward James Marcou, who is no Tom Emanski but can use his New York roots to his advantage in the tactics of international scouting.
UMass forward James Marcou enters this weekend's series with New Hampshire tied for the Hockey East lead in scoring.
Either way, Marcou and the rest of the Minutemen have come to that conclusion this year because they’re spending much more time together when they’re away from the ice. Their familiarity has paid instant dividends as UMass is off to a 6-1-0 start (3-1-0 in Hockey East) and Marcou said there’s simply a better feel about the team in the locker room this year.
“We have a good bond going on with the team,” said Marcou, who leads Hockey East with an average of 1.86 points per game. “I don’t want to say in past years, [but] there’s been some cliques. But this year we’ve seemed to come together, and we’ve really overcame that. I think that’s a big reason why we’re doing so well.
“The older guys have seen what the separation can do to the team and we don’t want to let that happen.”
Marcou credits senior co-captains Brett Watson and Justin Braun for the proactive approach in team unity. The softball games started at the end of last year and have continued through this season, but the Minutemen are doing plenty of things away from the ice, whether it’s bowling or a team dinner.
The idea, obviously, is to bring everyone as close together as possible. Therefore, rather than letting seniors hang out with seniors on team buses or off-ice functions, the players are sort of self-policing their groups, forcing guys who don’t know each other as well to spend more time together during these activities.
“We try to include everyone,” said Marcou, who has a conference-best 10 assists and is tied for the Hockey East lead with 13 points. “After practice, we’ll have get-togethers, team bonding activities.
“You get to know everyone. I would say, just the way you can tell some of the guys are coming together, that you had no idea they had that in them or you learn something new about someone. Personally, off the ice, I think that’s a big part of our success this year.”
At one point, sophomore defenseman Matt Irwin dropped a few jaws when he told everyone it takes him 20 hours to get back home to British Columbia, and his story captivated the room. In the past—or maybe even in other locker rooms—Irwin’s tale could have taken up a few minutes of everyone’s time and then been forgotten. Now, his teammates are more understanding of his situation, which severely limits how often he can get home.
“He gets to go home once a year for five days and guys really notice that,” Marcou said. “He just tells the story, and we were all listening. That really opens a lot of guys’ eyes.”
There are no stat lines for bonding moments but at the very least, the Minutemen can hope this pays off in their nightly consistency, which has plagued them throughout the years.
Last season, for instance, UMass followed up a five-game unbeaten streak—highlighted by a victory against North Dakota—with a 3-1 loss to Merrimack. In the next game, the Minutemen knocked off Boston University, 5-1. UMass then proceeded to get shut out in two consecutive games before beating Boston College, 4-3, in overtime.
Take nearly any team in the country and it’s possible to find a couple of inconsistent stretches, but they typically relate to chemistry and fortitude. UMass has proven it can take down national powers, but it hasn’t always picked off the bottom feeders with enough regularity. Of course, that’s typically the difference between programs such as Boston University and Boston College and then those in the next tier.
“In recent years,” Marcou said, “we’ve had some big games and then fall off after the big game.”
This year, the goals have heightened in Amherst. There’s definitely some talent in the locker room headlined by Marcou, Braun, and goalie Paul Dainton. The chemistry just reinforces their beliefs.
“We definitely saw that we were one goal away from going to the semifinals in Hockey East,” Marcou said of last year’s team, which fell in overtime of Game 3 of a quarterfinal series against Northeastern. “I think that brought us together to say, ‘Hey, we can do this. We’re not that far away.’ That’s definitely a goal this year to get home ice and win Hockey East. I think we finally have come to that goal with all 28 guys that we’ve got in there.”
