UMass Lowell hockey collected two of Hockey East's three major awards on Thursday at the conference's annual banquet held at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Cambridge, MA. Norm Bazin was named the Hockey East Association Coach of the Year and freshman forward Scott Wilson (Oakville, Ont.) was crowned the Rookie of the Year.

UMass Lowell sophomore goaltender Doug Carr (Hanover, Mass.) was also named a Hockey East Second-Team All-Star. Sophomore defenseman Chade Ruhwedel (San Diego, Calif.) and Wilson were tabbed as Honorable Mention All-Stars.

Coach of the Year

Bazin is the third coach in program history to win the Bob Kullen Coach of the Year award and the first since Bruce Crowder in 1995-96. In his first season behind the bench for the River Hawks, UMass Lowell is 23-12-1 overall, finished in a tie for second in Hockey East and hosted a home playoff series for the first time in a decade.

"Over the past four years, we have made a concerted effort to make our hockey venue (the Tsongas Center) one of the best in the country," said UMass Lowell Chancellor Marty Meehan. "Norm's success will allow us to build on these improvements when we are dealing with recruits and making investments in the building."

"The fact that he is an alumnus from our hockey program and our university has been value added to our hockey program," Meehan added.

Bazin has already set an NCAA Division I record for largest turnaround by a first-year head coach, guiding the River Hawks to 18 more victories than in 2010-11. The previous record was 17, held by Ric Schafer of Notre Dame in 1987-88.

Among his many accomplishments, Bazin and UMass Lowell swept a weekend series at Maine for the first time since 1985-86, became the first Hockey East team to win the longstanding UConn Hockey Classic and set a new Tsongas Center record with 10-consecutive home victories from Nov. 5, 2011 to Feb. 10, 2012.

The fans responded in a big way, setting a new regular season attendance record with 5,110 fans per game.

UMass Lowell nearly collected a clean sweep of the three major Hockey East awards on Thursday as Carr was the runner-up for the Athletic Republic Player of the Year, won by Maine's Spencer Abbott.

Rookie of the Year

Wilson became the first River Hawk to win the Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Year award since goaltender Peter Vetri in 2004-05. He is also just the fourth player in program history to earn the honor, joining Vetri, former NHL player Greg Koehler (1996-97) and future Hobey Baker finalist Greg Bullock (1993-94).

"Scott Wilson was an impact player for us this season," said Bazin. "He provided offense and proved that he could become effective away from the puck. He should be a player to watch out for in Hockey East in the future."

Wilson caught the league by storm, leading all Hockey East freshmen in points (28), assists (16) and points per game (1.08) in league play. He also tied Boston College's Johnny Gaudreau for the most goals (12) in conference action.

A Pittsburgh Penguins' draft pick, Wilson was named Rookie of the Week five times. He scored two game-winning goals in league play and assisted on three others.

Wilson also leads all NCAA rookies in points per game (1.06), is tied for the lead in goals (16), tied for second in points (37) and ranks tied for fifth in assists (21). His current point total is the most by a River Hawk freshman since Greg Bullock scored 59 in 1993-94.

All-Star Selections

A Second-Team All Star, Carr finished the Hockey East campaign with a 16-7-1 record in 24 games, posting a .927 save percentage and 2.17 goals against average. He ranked second in Hockey East in goals against average, second in winning percentage (.688) and tied for third in save percentage.

Over the course of the season Carr has made a splash on the national stage as well. He currently ranks sixth in overall winning percentage (.694), eighth in save percentage (.928) and is tied for ninth in goals against average (2.08) and shutouts (4).

Ruhwedel, the River Hawks' leading scorer among defensemen, tallied 18 points on five goals and 13 assists in 26 league games. The blue-liner finished tied for fifth in scoring among defensemen and tied for eighth in power play points (2g, 9a).

NCAA Selection Show

While UMass Lowell is currently out of the Hockey East Playoffs, it remains in position to qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1996. The NCAA Selection Show is on Sunday, Mar. 18, at 12 p.m. on ESPNU.

In anticipation of Sunday's NCAA Selection Show, the SportsZone in Dracut has offered to host the River Hawks for a "Watch Party" on Mar. 18 from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. Anyone is welcome to attend so please feel free to bring friends. However, if you could kindly RSVP to scott_donnelly@uml.edu for planning purposes, that would be appreciated.