Utah Hockey Club Goalie Key to UMass' National Title Hopes

A UMass goalie and Utah Hockey Club prospect is the key to victory as the school faces Western Michigan in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Apr 8, 2021; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; UMass Minutemen celebrate a goal by forward Garrett Wait (12) during overtime in the semifinals of the 2021 Frozen Four NCAA hockey tournament against the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The University of Massachusetts Minutemen netted an overtime winner to eliminate the University of Minnesota. With the surprise win, UMass faces the fourth-seeded Western Michigan Broncos. It's shaping up to be among the most evenly matched and difficult to predict matches on the road to the 2025 Frozen Four.

The key for UMass is their starting goalie, Utah Hockey Club prospect Michael Hrabal. The 2023 second-round pick is one of their top prospects. The 20-year-old net minder is a hulking 6'7" and over 200 pounds, putting him squarely in the mold of the modern star goalie in the NHL.

As the starter for the Minutemen the past two seasons, Hrabal's grown into a difference maker and carved out a path to the NHL. As a freshman, he won 16 games and had a 2.59 goals-against average. In 35 games as a sophomore, he improved his GAA to 2.38 to pair with a .924 save percentage.

The contest between UMass and WMU is expected to be a goaltending battle. WMU will start Hampton Slukynsky, a Los Angeles Kings prospect with incredible athleticism. He made 28 saves in the team's 2-1 victory over Minnesota State in the opening round.

Hrabal stood tall in UMass's opening round win. He withstood a barrage of offense from the University of Minnesota, a team sending three players to the NHL immediately after their season ending. Despite giving up four goals to an incredibly talented team, Hrabal was his best when they needed him most. His 25 saves kept the team in the game when they gave up chance after chance, and he was arguably a top performer in the contest.

UMass will need him to be even better against Western Michigan. WMU has been one of the best and most complete teams in the NCAA this season, and a good performance from Hrabal won't cut it. He'll need to be great to push the Minutemen on to the Frozen Four.

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