SCOUTING THE RIVER HAWKS: No. 17 UMass Lowell opens its 48th season of play on Friday vs. No. 4 Boston College. The River Hawks are coming off a 7-3 exhibition win last Sunday at the Tsongas Center against St. Thomas. UMass Lowell returns 13 players from last season's Hockey East Tournament Championship roster, which includes four of the top eight scorers from last season and 54.4% of the offense. The River Hawks welcomes 16 new faces (14 freshmen, two transfers) for the upcoming season. UMass Lowell has been ranked in the Top 20 of the national poll for 42 straight weeks.

SCOUTING THE EAGLES: Thirteen different Eagles registered a point, including rookie Alex Tuch's two goals and sophomore Adam Gilmour's three assists, in Boston College's 6-4 triumph over the University of New Brunswick in Saturday's exhibition bout at Kelley Rink.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. BOSTON COLLEGE: The Eagles lead the all-time series, 62-33-8, in 103 all-time meetings dating back to November 11, 1978. BC has won 10 of the last 13 meetings vs. the River Hawks, including the NCAA Northeast Regional Final last March at the DCU Center in Worcester, Mass by a 4-3 score. Coach Bazin owns a 2-6-1 career record vs. BC. Senior defenseman Zack Kamrass (Atlanta, Ga.) and junior forward Ryan McGrath (O'Fallon, Mo.) have both notched two career points against the Eagles. Tonight's game marks the third season opener against Boston College, the Eagles won both previous meetings in 2004 and 2011.

RIVER HAWKS IN SEASON/HOME OPENERS: The River Hawks own a 24-19-4 record all-time in their season opener and a 9-9-2 all-time in the season opener at home. UMass Lowell is 14-12-4 all-time in its opener in Hockey East play. The River Hawks also own a 28-16-3 record all-time in home opening contests.

RIVER HAWKS TO "BLUE OUT" TSONGAS CENTER ON FRIDAY: UMass Lowell will "Blue Out" the Tsongas Center with a sea of blue T-shirted fans when the two-time defending Hockey East Tournament champion River Hawks host Boston College on Friday, October 10. The last regular season meeting between these two teams drew a record crowd to the Tsongas Center as the home team battled from behind to forge a 2-2 tie.  The crowd of 7,649 was the largest to witness a hockey game, professional or collegiate, at the Tsongas Center in its 17 years of operation.  It was the second time a crowd has surpassed the 7,000 plateau in a building with an official seating capacity of 6,003. The River Hawks will "Blue Out" the building for the home opener.  "United in Blue" t-shirts, courtesy of UMass Lowell Online and Continuing Education, will be placed on all 6,003 seats in the building.  The "Blue Out Night" is the second such promotion.  The night will also feature the unveiling of the 2014 Hockey East Championship banner which will be raised to its permanent home in the Tsongas Center rafters.

UMASS LOWELL 20-WIN SEASONS: The River Hawks registered their third consecutive 20-win season for the first time in their Division I history on February 14, 2014 vs. Massachusetts. It marked the 16th 20-win season in program history and the 11th at the Div. I level.

WEEKLY/MONTHLY AWARDS:
Zack Kamrass
HEA Defensive Player of the Week        Oct. 6th

SUCCESS IS THE NORM: Norm Bazin is in his fourth season at UMass Lowell. He has compiled a 78-35-7 record (.679) in 120 games in three seasons for the River Hawks. He owns a 116-66-14 mark (.628) in 196 games in his career collegiate coaching record, which includes three seasons spent at Hamilton College. He recorded his 100th career coaching victory on Nov. 23 vs. Notre Dame at the Tsongas Center. Bazin is a two-time Hockey East Coach of the Year honoree and was named the 2013 Spencer Penrose Award Winner given annually by the American Hockey Coaches Association to the Division I Coach of the Year. Bazin has led the River Hawks to three straight NCAA tournament appearances, back-to-back Hockey East Tournament Championships (2013, 2014) and one Frozen Four appearance (2013).

RIVERHAWKS ON THE RADIO:  The River Hawks can be heard every week throughout the season on ESPN NH Radio (900AM) and (1250AM), as well as on the following local affiliates: WCAP (980AM) in Lowell and WSMN (1590AM) in Nashua, N.H. Bob Ellis (PxP) and Jimmy Connelly (Color Analyst) have the call of all River Hawk hockey games throughout the season. The game is accessible via the ESPN Radio app (http://espn.go.com/mobile/products/products?id=7451658). UMass Lowell home games are also available on WUML Radio (91.5 FM) with Zack Tretheway (PxP) and James Shirton (Color Analyst) broadcasting on campus and in the surrounding Lowell community.