By CHRIS COLLINS
(Amherst, MA) — The University of Massachusetts hockey team’s bid for its first national championship just got that much harder. The university has announced that four players, including the team’s starting goaltender and leading playoff scorer, have been ruled ineligible to play in this week’s Frozen Four because of COVID 19 restrictions. UMass had been the odds-on favorite to take the title before the announcement. The Minutemen play Minnesota-Duluth Thursday night. The winner of that game will play for the NCAA championship on Saturday.