1927–28 Massachusetts Agricultural Aggies men's ice hockey season

The 1927–28 Massachusetts Agricultural Aggies men's ice hockey season was the 20th season of play for the program. The Aggies were coached by Lorin Ball in his 4th season.

1927–28 Massachusetts Agricultural Aggies men's ice hockey season
ConferenceIndependent
Home iceAlumni Field Rink
Record
Overall0–6–0
Home0–2–0
Road0–4–0
Coaches and captains
Head coachLorin Ball
Captain(s)Joe Forest
Massachusetts Agricultural Aggies men's ice hockey seasons
« 1926–27 1928–29 »

Season

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As the season began, MAC was again having to deal with warm weather. As the team waited for ice to form, the candidates practiced in Drill Hall and tried to get ready for the first game. team captain Joe Forest was back along with Abrahamson and Frese, all of whom had two years of varsity play under their belts. Cook and Nash had both seen action the previous year and were expected to jump up into starting roles. The big question was who would take over in goal.[1] Rudquist, last year's backup was available but so was Patch, a transfer from Dartmouth. The rink conditions didn't allow the team to get any on-ice training until early January but the team coalesced around their veterans.[2]

The Alumni Field Rink was in good enough shape for the first match and saw MAC outplay Bates for much of the game. Unfortunately, the team was stymied time and again by the Garnet goaltender and were unable to find the twine.[3] The story was much the same the following week when MAC travelled to meet Army. Poor ice prevented any real teamwork and the Aggie players were outclassed by the Cadets. After allowing a pair of quick goals in the third, Phinney was subbed in for Devine but that didn't spark any offensive pushback.[4] Rounding out the road trip, the team made a stop in Clinton to take on Hamilton. On the first good ice of the season, the team looked more composed and played a solid defensive game. Phinney looked good in his first start while Forest got the Aggies on the board for the first time all season. However, their efforts were not enough to save MAC and the team lost once more.

The following week saw the team play two games on back-to-back nights. To add to the difficulty score, the first matches were road games and forced the team to take an overnight train for the second before playing on short rest. The first of the two contests was against New Hampshire. The Wildcats were a much bigger team than MAC, averaging about 30 pounds heavier, and used their size to their advantage. UNH pushed the Aggies around on rough ice and built a comfortable lead by the start of the third. After the home team inserted subs into the lineup, captain Forest swiftly caged a pair of goals in about 1 minute to get the team within striking distance. The quick outburst forced the Wildcat starters back into the game and they nursed what remained of their lead to the end of the game. The second contest was played on a much better surface and MAC battled Bates hard in a rematch. The two were mostly even through the first two periods, however, the Aggies began to tire in the third and were eventually outpaced by the Bobcats.[5]

After a few days rest, the team played host to Amherst on a very cold day. With the ice in about as good of shape as it had been all season, the game was fast. Unfortunately, from the start it was apparent that the Lord Jeffs were the better of the two and the Sabrinas gave few opportunities to the Aggies. Amherst scored in each period and had total control of the game thanks to their oppressive defense. Patch got MAC on the board with just 20 seconds left in the game to prevent a shutout but that didn't stop the team from dropping its sixth consecutive game.[6] There were still a few games left on the schedule, however, the weather turned afterwards and made it impossible to play any of those matches. In terms of winning percentage, this was the worst season in the history of the program despite the fact that the team had not played particularly poorly during the year.

James Cunningham served as team manager.[7]

Roster

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No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team
  Howard J. Abrahamson Senior D Waltham, Massachusetts
  Richard H. Bond Jr. Sophomore D Dover, Massachusetts
  Albert C. Cook Senior RW 1902-06-03 Waverley, Massachusetts
  John W. Devine Junior G Arlington, Massachusetts
  Joseph H. Forest (C) Senior RW 1906-07-06 Arlington, Massachusetts
  Paul F. Frese Senior C Waltham, Massachusetts
  Robley W. Nash Junior D Abington, Massachusetts
  Eldred K. Patch Junior LW 1906-08-24 Stoneham, Massachusetts
  Paul T. Phinney Sophomore G 1908-03-23 Hyde Park, Massachusetts
  William G. Pillsbury Sophomore LW Amesbury, Massachusetts
  Peter H. Waechter Jr. Sophomore LW 1909-06-11 Walpole, Massachusetts
  Albert P. Zuger Sophomore RW 1907-03-11 New Haven, Connecticut

[8]

Standings

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Intercollegiate Overall
GP W L T Pct. GF GA GP W L T GF GA
Amherst 7 4 2 1 .643 12 7 7 4 2 1 12 7
Army 8 1 7 0 .125 6 36 9 1 8 0 9 44
Bates 10 5 5 0 .500 21 26 12 6 5 1 26 28
Boston College 7 2 4 1 19 25
Boston University 9 6 2 1 .722 42 23 9 6 2 1 42 23
Bowdoin 8 3 5 0 .375 16 27 9 4 5 0 20 28
Brown 12 4 8 0
Clarkson 10 9 1 0 .900 59 13 11 10 1 0 61 14
Colgate 4 0 4 0 .000 4 18 4 0 4 0 4 18
Cornell 5 2 3 0 .400 11 29 5 2 3 0 11 29
Dartmouth 10 6 4 0 64 23
Hamilton 8 5 2 1
Harvard 6 5 1 0 .833 28 8 9 7 2 0 45 13
Holy Cross
Massachusetts Agricultural 6 0 6 0 .000 5 17 6 0 6 0 5 17
Middlebury 8 7 1 0
MIT 4 1 3 0 .250 6 35 4 1 3 0 6 35
New Hampshire 9 7 1 1 33 26
Norwich 4 0 2 2
Princeton 12 5 7 0
Rensselaer 4 2 1 1
St. Lawrence 4 2 2 0
Syracuse
Union 5 0 4 1 .100 10 21 5 0 4 1 10 21
Williams 8 6 2 0 .750 27 12 8 6 2 0 27 12
Yale 13 11 2 0 .846 88 22 18 14 4 0 114 39
YMCA College 6 2 4 0 .333 10 15 6 2 4 0 10 15

Schedule and results

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Date Opponent Site Result Record
Regular Season
January 12 Bates* Alumni Field RinkAmherst, Massachusetts L 0–2  0–1–0
January 18 at Army* Bear Mountain Rink • Bear Mountain, New York L 0–3  0–2–0
January 21 at Hamilton* Russell Sage RinkClinton, New York L 1–2  0–3–0
January 27 at New Hampshire* UNH Ice RinkDurham, New Hampshire L 2–4  0–4–0
January 28 at Bates* Bartlett Street Rink • Lewiston, Maine L 1–2  0–5–0
January 29 Amherst* Alumni Field RinkAmherst, Massachusetts L 1–4  0–6–0
*Non-conference game.

[9]

Scoring statistics

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Name Position Games Goals
Joe Forest RW - 3
Robby Nash D - 1
Chub Patch LW - 1
Howard Abrahamson D - 0
Richard Bond D - 0
Al Cook RW - 0
John Devine G - 0
Paul Frese C - 0
Paul Phinney G - 0
William Pillsbury LW - 0
Peter Waechter LW - 0
Al Zuger RW - 0
Total 5

References

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  1. ^ "Ten Games for Hockey Team". The Massachusetts Collegian. December 7, 1927. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  2. ^ "Hockey Candidates Start Real Practice". The Massachusetts Collegian. January 5, 1928. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  3. ^ "Bates Hands Sextet Defeat in Fast Game". The Massachusetts Collegian. January 18, 1928. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  4. ^ "Army Victorious Over Aggie, 3-0". The Massachusetts Collegian. January 25, 1928. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  5. ^ "Hockey Team Loses Two Close Contests". The Massachusetts Collegian. February 1, 1928. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  6. ^ "Sextet loses to Amherst 4-1". The Massachusetts Collegian. February 8, 1928. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  7. ^ "The Index 1929". University of Massachusetts. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  8. ^ "1927-1928 Roster". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  9. ^ "UMASS HOCKEY 2022-23 RECORD BOOK" (PDF). UMass Minutemen. Retrieved July 18, 2023.