Oct. 16, 2010

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The River Hawk hockey club (0-1-1) hits the road again on Saturday, heading to the Blue Cross Arena to play RIT (0-2-0) at 7 p.m. tonight. UMass Lowell is fresh off of a tie with Niagara on Friday and searching for its first win of the season.

In the all-time series, the River Hawks are 4-1-0 against the Tigers with all but one of the contests played when both programs were in Division II. The lone victory for RIT came in the 1983 Division II NCAA Tournament.

The last time these teams clashed was on Nov. 29, 2008, a 6-3 UMass Lowell victory in the Tsongas Center. Of the current River Hawks that played in that game, captain Scott Campbell (Navan, Ont.) stole the show with three goals, including the game-winner, and two assists. Junior David Vallorani (Hamilton, Ont.) also played well, potting a goal and assist.

Fast forwarding to present day, UMass Lowell is coming off a 2-2 tie with the Purple Eagles last night. Michael Scheu (Buffalo, N.Y.) tied the game at 1-1 at 1:08 in the second period with a power play goal and Patrick Cey (Saskatoon, Sask.) leveled the score again in the third with the evening's final tally. Freshman goaltender Doug Carr (Hanover, Mass.) stopped a career-high 34-of-36 shots in the tie.

Tonight's match-up holds special meaning for River Hawk head coach Blaise MacDonald who played at RIT from 1981-85. The Tigers will be honoring their 1985 Division II National Championship team--MacDonald's finest year with the club as he scored five goals and 35 assists for a career-best 40 points. During his career with RIT, MacDonald tallied 119 points and was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in 1991.

After tonight's game, UMass Lowell returns home to prepare for its home opener against Providence College on Oct. 22 at 7 p.m.