Oct. 15, 2011

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UMass Lowell hockey takes aim at a weekend sweep in Mankato, MN against Minnesota State on Saturday night at 8:07 p.m. The River Hawks (1-0-0) haven't started the season with back-to-back victories since 2001-02 and haven't swept an opponent during opening weekend since 1993-94--coach Norm Bazin's senior year at UMass Lowell.

On Friday night, UMass Lowell knocked off the Mavericks, 4-2, in front of 3,013 fans in the Verizon Wireless Center. Junior captain Riley Wetmore (Swanton, Vt.) scored two goals and freshman Terrence Wallin (North Providence, R.I.) had a goal and two assists.

The victory made Bazin the third coach in program history to win his debut with the River Hawks.

Minnesota State (1-2-0) hopes to recover from back-to-back losses, but has struggled to score in the early part of the season. The Mavericks have just four total goals--all by different skaters.

Perhaps the most important element to Minnesota State's success will be the play of its goaltenders. Austin Lee (Bloomington, Minn.) started on Friday and carries a .945 save percentage with a 2.05 goals against average through two games. Back-up Phil Cook (Wheaton, Ill.) struggled in his only start, allowing four goals and making 34 saves.

The River Hawks will return to action quickly after the weekend series as they play Connecticut in a neutral site contest at the Conway Arena in Nashua, NH on Tuesday at 7 p.m.