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An early season test awaits the ninth-ranked UMass Lowell hockey team as it heads to the Rocky Mountains for two weekend games against nationally ranked opponents.   
 
UMass Lowell (0-0-1) visits the Magness Arena Friday night, 9:30pm, to face the seventh-ranked University of Denver (0-0-0) and battles 19^th ranked Colorado College (2-0-0) in the World Arena Saturday night, 9:00pm, in Colorado Springs.
 
“We're going to enjoy the travel, we're going to enjoy the team bonding aspect,” says Coach Norm Bazin. “And we're going to play two excellent hockey teams.”
 
It is the River Hawks first road trip of the season and their longest of the year.  “Any road trip early in the season can do a lot for your team chemistry,' according to Bazin.  “And we will work on that this weekend.”
 
UMass Lowell and both of its opponents are nationally ranked.  The River Hawks sit ninth in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll and tenth in the USCHO poll. Denver is ranked eighth/seventh and Colorado College sits in the number 19 slot in the USCHO poll.
 
“We're going to have a great barometer as to where we really are in the national landscape,” says Bazin.  “You use every weekend to measure where your club is.”
 
UMass Lowell has not faced Denver since 2006 when the River Hawks dropped a 2-1 decision in the Championship Game of the Wells Fargo Denver Cup Tournament.  Denver leads the all-time series, 7-2-0.
 
For Denver, the game will be the season opener.  The Pioneers battled the University of British Columbia to a 2-2 tie in an exhibition match up nearly two weeks ago.  The Denver roster shows 17 returning players and six new faces, but missing are the team's top two scorers a year ago and three of their top five offensive weapons.  They return all four goaltenders.
 
Colorado College also leads its series against the River Hawks, 7-3-0, but it has been a decade since the teams last faced off against one another.  UMass Lowell won that last meeting, 4-1, in October of 2002.
 
The Tigers were in action last weekend sweeping a pair of games from Clarkson by identical 5-4 scores.  Archie Skalbeck led the way with three goals.
 
The stop in Colorado Springs may be special to three members of the River Hawk family.  Bazin worked as an assistant at Colorado College for eight years.  Assistant Coach Jason Lammers was a member of the Tiger coaching staff for two years and junior forward Josh Holmstrom calls Colorado Springs home.
 
The River Hawks come off a 1-1 draw against the University of Vermont.  Holmstrom  got the UMass Lowell goal, junior goalie Doug Carr (Hamilton, Mass.) stopped 27 shots in net.
 
The coach saw far more positives than negative in the opening night performance.  “We got a lot of shots, created opportunities,” says Bazin.  “Late in the game we were tenacious in killing off seven minutes worth of penalties.”
 
UMass Lowell will return home October 26^th to welcome the defending National Champion Boston College Eagles to the Tsongas Center.
 
Tickets for all home games are available for public purchase. 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.
 
Tickets can be purchased at the Tsongas Center Box Office, which is open Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. during the week. Fans can also purchase tickets online at TsongasCenter.com or by calling 866-722-8780.
 
Season tickets will continue to be on sale through the River Hawk Marketing office and can be purchased by calling 978-934-4988.