On eve of Fenway experience, memories surface for UMass
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BOSTON - Conor Sheary was jealous. The University of Massachusetts sophomore forward skipped a high school practice to watch his older sister Courtney, who played for the University of New Hampshire women's hockey team, compete in the first Frozen Fenway in 2010.
"It was awesome for her, but now I get my chance," said Sheary, a native of nearby Melrose. "This is pretty special that we get to play here. ... Not in a million years would I have even imagined this."
UMass plays Vermont at 4 p.m. in a Hockey East doubleheader at Fenway. The game is a part of the 16-day Frozen Fenway.
"I came to a bunch of (Red Sox) games growing up and I always thought what it would be like to be on the field," said Shrewsbury native Colin Shea, standing at about where third base would normally be, his eyes darting around the park. "Now I get to play hockey on the field."
The atmosphere made UMass coach Toot Cahoon nostalgic for his days playing pond hockey growing up in Swampscott and Marblehead.
"It's great to be outdoors," he said smiling. "The sound of it is terrific. The echo off the boards ... you can hear everything very vividly."
Cahoon brought the team to the park late Thursday night after the Minutemen's 4-4 tie at Providence. The players stared wide-eyed at the rink in front of them, snapping cell phone pictures from all angles. They seemed similarly wowed as they waited to take the ice Friday for the their 1:30 p.m. practice.
"We'll try to take it all in today so we can focus on the game tomorrow," Shea said.
The game is an important one to focus on. Besides the bragging rights of winning what will certainly be their only game ever at Fenway Park, there are important Hockey East points on the line.
"It's a matter of being able to take the opportunity to play at Fenway Park and all the pageantry of being able to play in this fantastic venue and put that aside and focus on the game itself," Cahoon said. "The experience is going to be a good one regardless of the outcome for these kids because it's such a unique opportunity. But the experience is going to be a whole lot better if you can get the job done."
Only eight teams make the conference tournament and UMass and Vermont are in ninth and 10th place, respectively.
The Catamounts (4-14-1 overall) are in a deep hole with just three points at 1-10-1. Their lone win came against the Minutemen in the teams' annual pre-Thanksgiving tilt.
With eight points, UMass (6-8-5, 2-6-4) is one behind seventh place New Hampshire and two behind sixth place Northeastern, which has played one more game than the Minutemen and UNH.
Since the beginning of December, Vermont has lost six of its last seven games, including Wednesday's 3-1 loss at Maine. The Catamounts have scored the fewest goals per game (2.32) and allowed the most goals per game (4.00) in the conference.
Sebastian Stalberg leads Vermont with 20 points (eight goals, 12 assists). Senior goalie Rob Madore (3-11-1) has seen most of the action in goal. His 3.83 goals against average and .873 save percentage rank last in Hockey East.
Cahoon expected UMass fans would make their presence known.
"I know there's going to be a good turnout from UMass," he said. "Every time we've come into Boston in a big setting, the UMass people have come out in droves. I expect we'll feel like we're at home."
Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Follow UMass coverage on Twitter at twitter.com/GazetteUMass. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at http://www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage.
