March 18, 2009

LOWELL, Mass. – Freshman center David Vallorani (Hamilton, Ont.) was named to the Hockey East All Rookie Team, the league announced Wednesday.

Vallorani led UML rookies with 19 points on seven goals and 12 assists in 27 league games. He was third among Hockey East freshmen in scoring in league games.

He has nine goals and 18 assists for 27 points in 36 games so far this season. He totaled eight points (3 goals, 5 assists) in November and has 10 points (5 goals, 5 assists) in his last 12 games.

Vallorani led the River Hawks with eight multi-point games and finished fourth on the team in power play points with four goals and eight assists (all games).

He was named the Hockey East rookie of the month after five points in his first five collegiate games. It was the fastest start by a UML rookie since Greg Koehler recorded nine points (7 goals, 2 assists) in his first six games as a freshman in 1996-97.

Vallorani continued his solid play throughout the season and was selected to the league’s weekly Top Performers list a team-high seven times.

The River Hawks are 19-15-2 this season. They finished 14-11-2 in Hockey East, fourth in the league standings. UMass Lowell next plays Friday afternoon (5:00 p.m.) in the Hockey East semifinals against second-seeded Northeastern. The River Hawks are the fifth seed in the tournament.

This is UML’s first appearance in the Hockey East semifinals since 2002. Friday’s game is scheduled to begin at 5:00 p.m. Fans can listen to the game on WUML, 91.5 FM and on the internet by going to www.GoRiverHawks.com. The game will also be televised on the New England Sports Network (NESN).