Watch | Listen | Stats | Notes

The UMass Lowell hockey team prefers to focus on the little things knowing that if they do that, the big picture will take care of itself.
 
The big picture, at the moment, is anything but clear.
 
# 10/12 UMass Lowell (19-9-2 / 13-8-2, 28 pts.) and # 17 Merrimack College (14-12-6 / 12-8-3, 27 pts.) face off one another twice this weekend.  The two schools separated by 10 miles of geography and one point in the Hockey East standings battle  Friday night (7:00pm), at the Tsongas Center and again Sunday afternoon (4:00pm) at the Lawler Rink in North Andover.
 
That one point in the standings is the difference between first and fifth place in a historically tight race for the top spot in the league and home ice in the playoffs.  With four games left in the regular season four teams, UMass Lowell, Boston College, New Hampshire and Providence, claim a share of the top spot.
 
Merrimack is one point back in fifth place and one point further back, two points back of the first place battle, is sixth place Boston University.
 
“I have been told that it's closer than it's ever been before,” says UMass Lowell Coach Norm Bazin.  “We're not really concerned about that stuff.  I hear it from the media and I'm glad they've got it analyzed and diagnosed to the tenth degree, but really we're just trying to play the last four regular season games and play them well and build our game up to a high level so that we are playing our best hockey at the right time.”
 
If UMass Lowell is not playing its “best hockey,” the team is getting close to that mark.  The River Hawks have won five in a row and lost only two of their last 18 games, (15-2-1)
 
UMass Lowell comes off consecutive weekend sweeps of Massachusetts and Boston University and a Tuesday night win at defending national champion Boston College.
 
“We're playing fairly consistent hockey,” says Bazin.  “We were aggressive in our puck pursuit.  You play against great opponents; it brings out the best in you.”
 
The River Hawks have shown poise under pressure responding quickly when opponents have scored.  UMass Lowell has gotten the next goal six of the last seven times they have been scored upon over a five game span and in five of those cases the response has come less than five minutes later.
 
“The resiliency has been very strong,” says Bazin.  “We have been able to take the momentum back.”
 
Junior center iceman Joseph Pendenza (Wilmington, Mass.) was named the Hockey East Athletic Republic Player of the Week after a two goal, four point weekend.  He added two more assists in the Tuesday night win at Boston College.  Pendenza has been red hot scoring six goals and 19 points in his last 13 games.  UMass Lowell is 10-1-0 in games in which he has scored a goal this season.  He leads the team in scoring with 30 points including 12 goals.
 
Freshman Goalie Connor Hellebuyck (Commerce, Mich.) was named the Athletic Republic Player of the Month after winning all five games in which he played and carrying a 1.61 goals against average and a .933 save percentage for the month of February.   He was also a co-winner of the Hockey East Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week honor.  Hellebuyck stopped 40 of 41 shots on goals during the weekend sweep of Boston University.  He has won 11 straight starts.
 
Both teams are playing well, Merrimack recently lost consecutive games for the first time since November and has climbed into the number 17 slot in the USCHO national poll.  The River Hawks are ranked tenth in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's College Hockey Poll and 12^th in the USCHO poll. 
 
The Warriors won the first between these two long time rivals, 1-0, four weeks ago and Bazin expects the games to be anything but easy.
 
“We'll have to match their work ethic,” says Bazin, and be equally strong along the walls and get pucks past their shot blockers and to the net.”
 
History comes down on the River Hawks side of the ledger.  UMass Lowell leads the all time series 69-36-9, but has won only three of the last seven meetings between the two.
 
UMass Lowell and Merrimack play this home and home series with a day off in between games.  It's a break for the norm, and Bazin likes the change in routine.
 
“It's very healthy not to have the same routine,” says Bazin.  “You get to the post season and they throw one o'clock starts at you, they throw Sunday games at you, they throw Thursday games at you; you've got to be flexible, you have to be adaptable.
 
After this weekend's battle on the river, UMass Lowell will have just two games remaining on the regular season schedule.  The River Hawks and Providence College will wrap up the regular season with a home-and-home series March 8^th and 9^th.
 
After that the Hockey East standings should be sorted out. Maybe.
 
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.