UMass hockey has done something that it didn’t do when the school had two-time Stanley Cup winners Jonathan Quick or Conor Sheary — earn the No. 1 ranking.
Coming off a 7-4 win over UConn Friday night that pushed their record to 12-1, the Minutemen received 26 first-place votes Monday to take the top spot in the USCHO Division 1 men’s poll. UMass jumped from No. 3 which had been its highest ranking in school history.
St. Cloud State had been No. 1, but after two ties and a loss dropped to No. 2. Minnesota State held the third spot and Minnesota Duluth was fourth. Notre Dame rounded out the top five.
Holding on to No. 1 will not be easy as UMass plays a home-and-home series against No. 8 Quinnipiac (13-2) this coming weekend.
Quick and Sheary are two of the better known UMass alumni. Quick play goal at UMass from 2005-07 and led the team to its only NCAA tournament bid in 2007. He won Stanley Cups with the Kings in 2012 and ’14 and the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2012. Sheary played for the Minutemen from 2010-14 and won Stanley Cups with the Penguins in 2016 and ’17.