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The appetizers have been eaten; it is time, now, for the main course.  Hockey East, Hockey East and more Hockey East and the first serving for 20^th in the country UMass Lowell comes on the road.
 
“There is no question it will be exciting,” says River Hawk Head Coach Norm Bazin. “It will be a huge challenge for us and everyone else.”
 
The River Hawks (9-7-1 / 3-6-1,) with a five game winning streak in tow, travel to Burlington, Vermont for a pair of games, Friday and Saturday nights (7:00pm), with the Hockey East rival Catamounts of the University of Vermont (6-9-4 / 3-6-4).  The games are the first two of 17 consecutive league contests.
 
“This will be a huge challenge for us,” Bazin says about the opposition.  “They have a big D corps, they have strong forwards and their goaltender is playing very good hockey.”
 
The two teams met to open the season.  That game ended all even, a 1-1 tie at the Tsongas Center back on October 12^th.
 
“We're going to have to be good along the walls, good in transition and we are going to have to get to their goalie some way, somehow,” says Bazin.  “We are going to have to work to get to the net which will be a challenge.”
 
The current five game winning streak has also brought the River Hawks back into the national discussion.  UMass Lowell sits in the number 20 spot in the USCHO Hockey Poll.
 
11 of the River Hawks' 17 remaining games will be played on the road.  UMass Lowell has looked comfortable away from the Tsongas Center.  The team extended its winning streak to five with a weekend sweep (2-1, 6-2) at Clarkson in Potsdam, N. Y. last weekend.
 
“There are fewer distractions (on the road,)” says Bazin.  “There are better opportunities to bond.  I think we can be those road warriors, but let's judge it after this weekend.”
 
“I thought we played two good hockey games,” Bazin says the Clarkson games, “In the first one we got better as the game went along. The second one we started right where we left off.  We played a strong 60 minutes.”
 
UMass Lowell played with urgency in the North Country of New York State, now the focus is consistency. 
 
“I like the way it's progressing,” says Bazin.  “I like the tempo at which we are playing.  We're pressuring the puck and doing a better job of being in good position when we don't have the puck.  It's a matter is displaying that shift after shift.
 
Part of the equation is penalty killing.  The River Hawks have successfully killed off 23 consecutive man-down situations and 29 of 30 over a six game span. 
 
“We're being better with our details,” says Bazin.  “We're executing.”
 
During that six game run the penalty killing effectiveness has gone from 76.3%, last in Hockey East, to 84.1%, second in the ten team conference.
 
History suggests a donnybrook when these two teams meet.  UMass Lowell leads the all time series, 15-14-6.  Seven of the last 14 meetings, and five of the last eight in Burlington, have gone into overtime (1-1-5.)
 
UMass Lowell has played reasonably well at the Gutterson Fieldhouse since Vermont joined Hockey East for the 2005-06 season.  The twelve meetings at “The Gut” have been evenly split: four wins, four loses, four ties.
 
Most memorable was the River Hawks two game sweep of the NCAA Final Four bound Catamounts in Burlington in the opening round of the 2009 Hockey East Tournament.
 
Vermont is playing solid hockey.  The Cats have dropped only two of their last eight games (4-2-2.)
 
After the Vermont weekend, the River Hawks come in from the cold, at least briefly.  UMass Lowell will return to the Tsongas Center, Thursday, January 17^th to host Providence before heading back out on the road for a Saturday evening match up at Boston University.
 
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.