If college hockey had a Comeback Player of the Year award, Carson Gicewicz of UMass would be the early favorite.
After missing all but two games at St. Lawrence last season with a knee injury, Gicewicz moved on to the Minutemen as a redshirt senior this season and is shooting the lights out with eight goals on 20 shots in 13 games.
He scored in five straight games and had a total of seven goals in those games for the surging Minutemen, who improved to 9-3-1 with 4-0 blanking of UNH on Wednesday. With a total of eight goals, he is tied for the national lead with three other players.
If anyone knew what UMass was getting in the 6-foot-3, 213-pound Gicewicz, it’s coach Greg Carvel. He recruited Carson and his older brother, R.J., at St. Lawrence before taking the job in Amherst.
In addition to that obvious inside track, the UMass staff has built a good relationship with Gicewicz’s advisers, Bartlett Hockey. Cale Makar is one of Bartlett Hockey’s clients, as was UMass assistant coach Jared DeMichiel during his playing days.
“Staying in touch with the program, being an alum of St. Lawrence, I followed Carson,’’ said Carvel. “We played against him my first year at UMass — he was a freshman — over in Ireland at the Friendship Four tournament.
“I remember in that game him being such a big force on the ice, even as a freshman. I didn’t know what his offense would be (at UMass), but I knew he’d have a big presence and he’d play to our identify, being a big strong team.’’
Gicewicz, whose career high is nine goals as a freshman at St. Lawrence, didn’t score in his first five games in Hockey East but has been filling the net ever since.
“It took him a while — he broke his foot when he got here, so he missed about three to four weeks of practice in September and October. That set him back a little bit. We had him at center, which probably wasn’t the right thing to do. We realized he was probably better suited on the wing,’’ said Carvel.
“He settled in with Jake Gaudet and Oliver Chau, senior players with a ton of experience here, and they also helped him, just narrowed down his focus on what he needed to do on the ice and a lot of that was get to the net. He scores a lot of goals at the net, which is what I expected him to do.’’
Gicewicz said he came in with high expectations for himself and credits his teammates for helping him get off to a fast start.
“I’m playing with some great guys, some older guys right now, and they’ve definitely helped push me in the right direction,’’ he said.
Carvel, who was looking to add offense after losing a total of 43 goals when John Leonard (27) and Mitchell Chafee (16) departed early for NHL contracts, said Gicewicz has had a major impact off the ice, too.
“He’s been a huge addition offensively, but I think even more important is what he’s brought to our locker room. He’s a real charismatic guy. He just has a very positive energy, the players love him,’’ Carvel said.
“It’s good, as a coach, when you have a guy in the room that’s always buzzing and keeping the energy high, especially through these times, with the pandemic, when there’s days and even games where you’re worried that the guys aren’t going to be mentally and emotionally prepared to play. He does a great job of keeping this group energized.’’
Gicewicz relishes being that guy.
“That’s my favorite part of hockey, being a part of a team. A lot of times during the season things can get repetitive and there’s some apathy that goes on in any team. Being able to break that and bring some energy every day is a goal of mine,’’ he said.
“It helps me and it helps the team get focused. That’s something I’ve always done and something I’ll always try to do no matter where I am. That’s what makes the game fun for me.’’
Better late than never, Gicewicz is savoring playing for Carvel after missing out at St. Lawrence.
“He recruited me and he was someone I always wanted to play for. When I left (St. Lawrence) it was a tough decision. That’s a great school, I love it up there and I’ll always love it up there.
“The opportunity to play this year for Carvy, I mean, his reputation as a coach and leader of people is outstanding and he hasn’t let me down. He’s a great coach and he’s perfect for what I was looking for this year,’’ he said.
Dunne is back
Clarkson junior captain Josh Dunne, who figures to be in high demand as an NHL free agent at season’s end, is back after missing the first seven games of the season with a lower-body injury.
Coach Casey Jones says the return of his top center, who is an imposing 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds, will help up and down the lineup.
“He’s a veteran down the middle. We were a little young on the back end and inexperienced in the net as it was. We had some young guys playing in the middle with a little bit of a learning curve for sure right out of the gate,’’ said Jones.
“He lengthens our bench since he’s such a good presence up front for us five on five and on the power play and he’s really an elite penalty killer. You can slot everybody properly.’’
The 10th-ranked Golden Knights are heading into an unusual weekend with games at Quinnipiac on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The Bobcats will travel to Potsdam later this month for a three-in-three at Clarkson.
“It’s an opportunity with a long trip to get multiple games on a weekend so that we have open weekends in case there’s a positive (test later on). That’s the way we modeled our second half. It is what it is,’’ said Jones.
“We’ve had that in playoffs before. It’s tough. There will be a lot of guys getting playing time this weekend. It’s just a matter of managing guys and being fresh. It’s an opportunity to play, so we’ll play. Any way they tell us we need to play, we’ll play.’’
Hockey East vs. ECAC
Tristan Mullin has added intensity and a physical presence to the Vermont lineup since transferring from Cornell a couple of weeks ago.
Four games is a small sample size, but he’s noticed slight differences between Hockey East and the ECAC.
“I think the ECAC is a little more structured, maybe a little more physical. A lot of the players are older, I’d say. You see a lot more true freshmen in Hockey East and maybe more younger guys. That’s the difference, and maybe a little more emphasis on skill and offense in comparison to the ECAC. In terms of level of play, I feel like they are fairly even,’’ he said.
Mullin was set to serve as a captain at Cornell this season. Now he’ll try to help show the way at Vermont.
“I had some great examples in how to lead and how to conduct myself. I hope it rubs off on the guys here and I can set a good example for them. Being named captain at Cornell was an incredible honor. It’s tough that things got canceled, but I’m lucky to be at Vermont and playing,’’ he said.
