Saturday, December 5th at UConn (3pm)
(XL Center, Hartford, Conn.)
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Game Notes | Video Preview
Follow on Twitter: @RiverHawkNation @RiverHawkHockey Tweet #UnitedInBlue

Commercial Radio:
River Hawk Network: (900AM, 1250AM, WCAP 980AM, WSMN 1590AM)
Talent: Bob Ellis (Play by Play); Jim Connelly (Analyst)

Non-Commericial Radio: WUML 91.5-FM:
Talent: Zack Tretheway (Play by Play); James Shirton (Analyst)
Carter Cotrupi (Producer); Alex Salucco (Engineer)

Sunday, December 6th vs. UConn (1pm)
(Tsongas Center; Lowell, Mass.)
PUCKS & PAWS DAY | TEAM IMPACT DAY
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Follow on Twitter: @RiverHawkNation @RiverHawkHockey Tweet #UnitedInBlue

Television: American Sports Network (Clearances) - NESN - (Channel Guide) - Sports Net NY (Channel Guide)
Talent: Tom Caron (Play by Play); Billy Jaffe (Analyst)

Commercial Radio:
River Hawk Network: (900AM, 1250AM, WCAP 980AM, WSMN 1590AM)
Talent: Bob Ellis (Play by Play); Jim Connelly (Analyst)

Non-Commericial Radio: WUML 91.5-FM:
Talent: Zack Tretheway (Play by Play); James Shirton (Analyst)
Carter Cotrupi (Producer); Matt Denaro (Engineer)

SCOUTING THE RIVER HAWKS: UMass Lowell is ranked 5th in both the USCHO poll and the USA Hockey Magazine poll and has been nationally ranked for 75 consecutive weeks. The River Hawks are 10-1-4 (6-0-3, 1st, HEA) through 15 games after Saturday night's 5-5 tie against Brown in the Championship Game of the Friendship Four Tournament in Belfast Northern Ireland.  The River Hawks took the Belpot with a 1-0 shootout victory.  Sixteen different players have scored goals, Senior Adam Chapie leads the team with seven.  Chapie and sophomore C.J. Smith (6g, 9a) each have 15 points. Senior goalie Kevin Boyle has started all 15 games for the River Hawks and has a 1.57 GAA and a .945 Sv%.   
 
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES: UConn is 3-10-0 (1-7-0, 11th, HEA) after dropping a 5-1 decision to Boston College on November 24th.  UConn was picked 9th in the Hockey East Coaches' Pre-Season Poll.  Fourteen different players have scored goals for the Huskies with freshman Max Letunov topping the charts with six goals and 15 points.   Goalie Rob Nichols has started 12 of the team's 13 contests and carries a 3.25 GAA and a .895 Sv% into today's contest.
 
LAST TIME OUT:  UMass Lowell came from behind to tie Brown, 5-5, in overtime.  C.J. Smith tied the game with 39-seconds remaining on the clock with an extra attacker goal.  The River Hawks earned the Belpot when Dylan Zink scored the only goal in the three round shootout.  UML goalie Kevin Boyle made 19 saves and was flawless in the shootout.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. UCONN:  UMass Lowell and UConn have met just 28 times with the River Hawks holding a 20-7-1 edge.  The two teams split the Hockey East series last season, but UMass Lowell won the non-conference match up in the championship game of the Frozen Holiday Classic in Bridgeport, Conn. 
 
QUICK START: UMass Lowell's 10-1-4 record is the team's best start through 15 games since moving to Division I for the 1983-84 season.  The 1981-82 ULowell Chiefs hold the school record winning their first 19 games and finished 31-4-0.
 
NINE STRAIGHT:  UMass Lowell has gone nine straight games (7-0-2) without a loss.  That is the fourth longest current unbeaten streak in the country trailing only Quinnipiac (13-0-2), Providence (9-0-3) and Boston College (11-0-0.)
 
UNDEFEATED IN CONFERENCE:  UMass Lowell has gone nine straight (6-0-3) without a loss in Hockey East action, the third longest stretch in program history.  The River Hawks went ten (9-0-1) in a row without a loss during the 1995-96 season.  The longest such streak , 12 games (10-0-2), was spread over two seasons, beginning in March of 2014 and ending in December, 2014.  
 
TEN WINS BEFORE THE BREAK:  Last Friday night's win, against Northeastern, was UMass Lowell's 10th win of the season.  It is only the seventh time in 33 years that the River Hawks have had 10-wins before the winter break, but it is the third consecutive year in which they have reached that milestone and  It is the first time that they have had 10-wins before December 1st.  In both the 1986-87 and 2001-02 seasons UMass Lowell had 12-wins at the break marking the best first halves in school history.  The River Hawks are one of six teams with 10 or more wins (Boston College, Quinnipiac, Neb-Omaha, North Dakota, St. Cloud.)  UML is also one of six teams with one or fewer losses.
 
FIRST PERIODS:  UMass Lowell has outscored opponents 15-3 in the first period.   The River Hawks are the third highest 1st period scoring team in Hockey East trailing just Providence (19) and Boston College (17.)  The three goals allowed in the 1st period is the fewest in Hockey East and the 12 goal differential is third in the conference. 
 
HELLY OF A START: Two games into his NHL career, former UMass Lowell goalie Connor Hellebuyck (2012-14) is making his presence felt.  Hellebuyck backstopped the Winnipeg Jets to a 3-1 win against Minnesota in his debut.  Hellebuyck, who led the River Hawks to back-to-back Hockey East championships, stopped 14 of 15 shots in picking up his first NHL win.  He followed that up with 32-saves and a 6-1 win against Toronto this past Wednesday.
 
IN SEASON TOURNAMENTS:  UMass Lowell has not lost a single in-season tournament game since Norm Bazin took over the coaching reins for the 2011-12 season.  In that period of time the River Hawks have gone 10-0-1, with a shootout victory, in such tournaments collecting the first place honors at the Toyota UConn Classic, the Frozen Holiday Classic, the Mariucci Classic and most recently the Friendship Four Tournament in Belfast Northern Ireland.
 
OVERTIME WINNERS:  UMass Lowell's 3-2 win last Friday night was the River Hawks first overtime win since defeating Maine, 3-2, on December 6, 2014.  Michael Louria had the game winner in that one.  UMass Lowell had gone seven overtimes (0-1-6) without a win.
 
WITH THE EXTRA ATTACKER:  When C. J. Smith scored Saturday night, against Brown, with the goalie pulled for an extra attacker and 39-seconds left on the clock, it was the second extra attacker goal in as many nights.  Ryan McGrath found the back on the net in a similar situation 24-hours earlier in an overtime win, at the 19-minute mark, against Northeastern.  McGrath's goal was the first extra attacker goal UMass Lowell had scored in more than a year and the first that had led to a River Hawk win in nearly three years.  The last extra attacker goals came on October 18, 2014 as UML battled back to tie Quinnipiac, 3-3, on a Joe Gambardella goal.  The last time such a scenario led to a win was January 26, 2013 when Riley Wetmore scored to force overtime and Christian Folin scored to give the River Hawks a 5-4 win against Northeastern.  During the 2008-09 season the River Hawks twice scored extra attacker goals, enroute to a win, in a three game span.
 
SHOOTOUT:  When UMass Lowell grabbed the Belpot signifying the Friendship Four Tournament Championship by winning a shootout, 1-0, against Brown.  It was the third time that UMass Lowell had been involved in a tournament shootout and the third time it had won such a shootout.  It was also the second time that Brown was the victim.  Their previous duel was at the Denver Cup during the 2006-07 season and UMass Lowell won the shootout, 3-2, after the game had ended as a 1-1 tie.  The River Hawks also defeated Miami, 1-0, in a shootout in the opening round of the Frontier Classic in Anchorage during the 2003-04 season.
 
DOWN BUT NOT OUT:  UMass Lowell's Friday night win against Northeastern also marked the first time this season the River Hawks have won a game in which they trailed in the third period.  They last time they won in come-from-behind fashion in the third period was on December 6, 2014 when they trailed Maine 2-1 in the final period.  Tyler Mueller scored at 12:27 of the period to tie it and Michael Louria got the game winner at the 3:57 mark of overtime.
 
POWERING UP: UMass Lowell has scored power play goals in ten of their 15 games and in eight of their last nine games.  The man advantage unit is averaging a goal a game.  The River Hawks, with the second best PP unit in Hockey East, are undefeated (8-0-2) when scoring a power play goal and are 15-for-65 (23.1%) on the season.  Dylan Zink leads the team with four power play goals.
 
PENALTY KILLING:  The River Hawks have the 16th ranked penalty killing unit in the country and third in Hockey East with a 87.3% success rate (48-for-55.)  UMass Lowell was successful in their first 19 man down situations this season.
 
STAYING OUT OF THE BOX: UMass Lowell is the third least penalized team in Hockey East averaging just 9.8-penalty minutes per game.  That number places the River Hawks as the 20th least penalized team in the country.  UConn averages 10.2-minutes in the box per game, fourth best in Hockey East. 
 
CIRCLE OF DOMINANCE: UMass Lowell has the 17th best face-off win percentage in college hockey (52.1%) and the fifth best in Hockey East.  With four centermen winning more often than not, the River Hawks have won 515 of 989 puck drops.   Entering tonight's contest senior center Michael Fallon is the top face-off man winning 54.9% (89-73) of draws.  Freshman Nick Master (120 of 225, 53.3%) is second among River Hawk centers.  Junior Evan Campbell (107-98, 52.2%) and junior Joe Gambardella (151 of 301, 50.2%) are also over the .500 mark.
 
IN THE CLUTCH: Junior defenseman Dylan Zink, who had the overtime game winner against Northeastern eight days ago in Belfast, has become Mr. Clutch over the last two seasons.  Zink leads the River Hawks in clutch goals, goals that either tied the score or gave UMass Lowell the lead, with four this season.  The defenseman topped the "clutch" goal list during the 2014-15 season with seven.  Six of his ten goals put the River Hawks in the lead, one tied the game.  Eleven of his 15 career goals have been defined as "clutch."
 
I CAN SEE FOR MILES AND MILES AND MILES: The UMass Lowell hockey team is spending an inordinate amount of time on the road this season, especially during the first half of the year.  By season's end, the River Hawks will have logged 11,469.56 miles thanks in large part to trips to Minnesota-Duluth, Pittsburgh and Belfast, Northern Ireland.  Most of the travelling, 10,747.76 miles, takes place during the first half of the schedule.  The longest individual trip in School history was the 1994 journey to play in the Great Alaska Faceoff Tournament in Fairbanks in 1994.  The round-trip totaled more than eight-thousand miles. 
 
BACK-TO-BACK: UMass Lowell is playing back-to-back games for the eighth time this season.  The River Hawks are 4-1-2 in the first game and 5-0-2 in the second game after defeating Northeastern last Friday night and battling Brown to a 5-5 tie last on Saturday. 
 
ON THE NATIONAL STAGE: UMass Lowell is ranked fifth in both the USCHO Poll and the USA Hockey Magazine Poll.  It is the fifth week in a row that the River Hawks have been in the top five in both polls and it was the first time the team has been ranked in the Top Five in both polls since January 19, 2015 when they came in at number five in both polls.  UMass Lowell is 20-12-6 when ranked in the Top Five in the USCHO poll.  The River Hawks have been nationally ranked, in either the USCHO or USA Today poll, for 75 consecutive weeks.  The stretch began when UMass Lowell appeared at #20 in the USCHO Poll on January 7, 2013.  Of those 75 weeks more than half, 47, have been spent in the top ten.
 
KEVIN BOYLING HOT: UMass Lowell goalie Kevin Boyle has given up no more than two goals in twelve of fifteen starts.  In eight of those starts he has allowed one goal or less.  Boyle has three shutouts and has allowed three goals or more just three times.  The senior has a 1.57 GAA and a .945 Sv%.  The senior is now tied with Carter Hutton as the school's all time ties leader with ten.
 
AMONG THE LEADERS: UMass Lowell goalie Kevin Boyle is among the Hockey East and national leaders in almost all goaltending categories.  Boyle leads Hockey East and the nation in minutes played (917:09.) He tops the conference in saves with 410.  Boyle ranks in the top five nationally in save percentage at .945, GAA (1.57), shutouts (3) and wins with ten.
 
HEATING UP: C.J. Smith has become a consistent offensive producer. Smith is on a career best nine-game point scoring streak.  During that period Smith has five-goals and nine-assists for 14-points.  The River Hawks have won seven games and tied two during that stretch and Smith has had a hand in three of the game winners (1g, 2a) and also scored the game tying goal against Brown.
 
UMASS LOWELL VS. OTHER CONFERENCES: The River Hawks have played six non-conference games this season holding a record of 4-1-1.  UMass Lowell has taken three of four from the NCHC after sweeping a two game set from Colorado College and splitting two games with Minnesota-Duluth.  UMass Lowell also defeated ECAC member RPI, 3-0, in the season opener and tied Brown, 5-5.  The River Hawks, still with six non-conference games to play, will continue chipping away at that number on Monday, December 28th, when they face Clarkson at the Three Rivers Classic in Pittsburgh. 
 
BY THE SLIMMEST OF MARGINS: Ten of UMass Lowell's first 15 games this season have been decided by one-goal.  The team is 5-1-4 in those games and 35-19-17 (.613) since Norm Bazin took over the program for the 2011-12 season.  
 
ONE IS THE LONELIEST NUMBER: UMass Lowell has been limited to just one goal four times this season but that has resulted in just one loss.  The River Hawks are 1-1-2 when held to just one goal.
 
SUCCESS IS THE NORM: Norm Bazin is in his fifth season at UMass Lowell with a 109-48-17 record (.675) in 174 games. He owns a 147-79-24 mark (.636) in 250 games now in his eighth season as a collegiate head coach, including three seasons at Hamilton College. Bazin is the sixth head coach in program history and the fifth Div. I boss (Riley, Crowder, Whitehead, MacDonald). He recorded his 100th career coaching victory on Nov. 23, 2013 vs. Notre Dame at the Tsongas Center and his 100th behind the River Hawk bench on October 9, 2015. He is also the fastest to the 100 win mark in school history. His first UMass Lowell win came against Minnesota State, 4-2, on October 14, 2011. Bazin is a two-time Hockey East Coach of the Year 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 NCAA tournament appearances, back-to-back Hockey East Tournament Championships (2013, 2014) and one Frozen Four appearance (2013). 
 
PROTECTING THE LEAD: Since Norm Bazin took over the coaching reins at UMass Lowell, the River Hawks are 84-3-6 when leading after two-periods.  They are also 18-10-5 when the score is tied after two periods.  UMass Lowell is 35-19-17 in games decided by one goal.  Also, during that time period the River Hawks are 10-6-14 in games decided in overtime.  When UMass Lowell has a two-goal lead at any point in the game they are 87-3-2 and 40-0-2 at the Tsongas Center.