UMass Lowell hockey was ranked seventh in the country in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Preseason Poll, as announced on Monday afternoon. The River Hawks were the second highest ranked Hockey East program and received 221 total votes overall.
UMass Lowell hockey is coming off one of the most successful seasons in program history following a historic 2011-12 campaign where it finished with a 24-13-1 record. Reigning Hockey East Coach of the Year
Norm Bazin set an NCAA record for largest turnaround by first-year head coach and the River Hawks completed the second-largest turnaround in NCAA history with 19 more victories than in 2010-11.
Bazin and his staff led the program to its first NCAA Tournament since 1996 where UMass Lowell defeated Miami University in the East Regional in a dramatic 4-3 overtime game.
The River Hawks return 18 players for the new season, including its three top scorers. Senior captain
Riley Wetmore (Swanton, Vt.) tallied 39 points last season, while Hockey East Rookie of the Year
Scott Wilson (Oakville, Ont.) scored 38 points and junior sniper
Derek Arnold (Foxboro, Mass.) had 34 points.
UMass Lowell also welcomes back Hockey East Second Team All-Star
Doug Carr (Hanover, Mass.) who compiled a 22-10-1 record between the pipes with a .928 save percentage and 2.13 goals against average, ranked 10th and 11th in the nation, respectively.
Competing in the state-of-the-art Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell, the River Hawks ranked 17th nationally in attendance and enjoyed their first-ever regular season average of over 5,000 fans per game.
The 2012-13 season opener is slated for Oct. 12 in the Tsongas Center against Hockey East foe Vermont—the night will feature a post-game fireworks display, the first of its kind at the Tsongas Center.
Tickets for all home games will be available for public purchase beginning at 10 a.m. next Wednesday. Game tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for seniors (65+) and children (12 and under). As always, UMass Lowell students receive free admission by scanning their ID as part of the
Mission: All In campaign.
Season tickets will continue to be on sale through the River Hawk Marketing office and can be purchased by calling 978-934-4988.
|
Rank |
School |
2011-12
Final Ranking |
2011-12 Record |
Weeks in Top 15 |
|
1 |
Boston College, 476 (20) |
1 |
33-10-1 |
1 |
|
1 |
University of Minnesota, 476 (12) |
4 |
28-14-1 |
1 |
|
3 |
University of Michigan, 408 (2) |
7 |
24-13-4 |
1 |
|
4 |
University of North Dakota, 407 |
6 |
26-13-3 |
1 |
|
5 |
Union College, 295 |
3 |
26-8-7 |
1 |
|
6 |
Cornell University, 233 |
13 |
19-9-7 |
1 |
|
7 |
UMass-Lowell, 221 |
9 |
24-13-1 |
1 |
|
8 |
University of Denver, 220 |
8 |
25-14-4 |
1 |
|
9 |
Miami University, 203 |
10 |
24-15-2 |
1 |
|
10 |
University of Notre Dame, 186 |
NR |
19-18-3 |
1 |
|
11 |
Western Michigan University, 182 |
14 |
21-14-6 |
1 |
|
12 |
University of Minnesota Duluth, 176 |
5 |
25-10-6 |
1 |
|
13 |
Boston University, 158 |
11 |
23-15-1 |
1 |
|
14 |
Ferris State University, 123 |
2 |
26-12-5 |
1 |
|
15 |
University of Wisconsin, 99 |
NR |
17-18-2 |
1 |
