Friday, October 14th at Colorado College (9:37pm ET)
(Broadmoor World Arena; Colorado Springs, Colo.)
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Follow on Twitter: @RiverHawkNation @RiverHawkHockey
Tweet #UnitedInBlue Tweet #HockeyEast

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

Saturday, October 15th at Colorado College (9:07pm ET)
(Broadmoor World Arena; Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Watch Live | Listen Live | Live Stats
Follow on Twitter: @RiverHawkNation @RiverHawkHockey
Tweet #UnitedInBlue Tweet #HockeyEast

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

SCOUTING THE RIVER HAWKS: UMass Lowell, with a 0-0-2 record, is ranked 7th in the USA Hockey Magazine poll and 8th in the USCHO poll after the first weekend of the season.  The team was picked for a fourth place finish in the Hockey East Coaches' Pre-Season Poll.  The River Hawk roster shows nine new faces including six forwards, one defensemen and two goalies.  The team does return its top two scorers in forwards CJ Smith (39-points) and Joe Gambardella (37-points).  The four goalies, including two freshmen, have a combined 99-minutes of collegiate experience.  UMass Lowell was 25-10-5 a year ago and is looking for its sixth consecutive 20-win season.   
 
SCOUTING THE TIGERS: Colorado College, with a 1-1-0 record, was picked to finish eighth in the pre-season NCHC poll.  The Tigers are 1-1-0 after splitting a weekend series against Massachusetts in Amherst.  Colorado College was shut out, 3-0, in the opener but came back to win the second night, 7-4.  Seven different players scored points during the opening weekend, five had goals.  Freshman Branden Makara leads the team with two goals, Trey Bradley leads the team in points with three, all assists.  Freshman Alex Leclerc played both games in net and carries a 3.57 goals against average and a .806 save percentage into the weekend.
 
LAST WEEKEND: UMass Lowell and Minnesota Duluth battled twice, at the Tsongas Center in Lowell, and decided very little with a pair of ties, 4-4 and 1-1.  The first night the River Hawks got goals from Joe Gambardella (2), Dylan Zink and Mattias Goransson in building a 4-1 lead, but still had to settle for a tie.  The second go around featured terrific goaltending as freshmen Tyler Wall turned aside 40 shots in the 1-1 tie.  Connor Wilson had the UMass Lowell goal.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. COLORADO COLLEGE:  This is only the 14th meeting between the two schools, in a series that dates back to 1984 when Hockey East and the WCHA had interlocking schedules.  The Tigers hold a 7-6-0 edge, but the River Hawks have won the last four contests.  The two teams have met once in the post-season.  Colorado College won that game, 5-3, in the 1996 NCAA Regional.  UMass Lowell swept CC a year ago with a couple of one-goal games at the Tsongas Center.
 
ON THE NATIONAL STAGE:  UMass Lowell has been nationally ranked, in either the USCHO or USA Today poll, for 92 consecutive weeks.  The stretch began when UMass Lowell appeared at #20 in the USCHO Poll on January 7, 2013.  Of those 92 weeks more than half, 59, have been spent in the top ten.
 
ROAD OPENERS:  UMass Lowell is 20-24-5, all-time, in road openers.  The River Hawks have only one tie to show in their last four initial road undertakings.
 
0-0-2:  This is the first time that UMass Lowell has ever started the season with back-to-back ties.  The River Hawks opened the 1995-96 season with a win against Rensselaer and then consecutive ties at Air Force.  In 2010-11 UMass Lowell started the season with a loss at Maine and ties at Niagara and RIT.
 
BIG ICE:  This weekend series will be the first time this year that UMass Lowell has played on an Olympic sized sheet of ice, 200 x 100.  Since Norm Bazin took over the coaching responsibilities "big ice" has not been an issue.  The River Hawks have a record of 28-8-5 on larger than the standard 200 x 85 ice sheets including a record of 10-2-1 on an Olympic sheet.  They've played one game at the Broadmoor World Arena during that time and emerged with a 3-1 win.
 
Non-conference, no problem:  UMass Lowell has more than held its own in non-conference play over the last five-plus years.  During that period of time the River Hawks have gone 37-13-5 (.722) against schools from other conferences.  A year ago UMass Lowell was 9-3-1 against non-conference opponents including winning three of four games against schools in the NCHC.  The River Hawks split two games with Minnesota Duluth and swept a two game series against Colorado College.
 
UML / NHL: Five former River Hawks earned spots on opening night rosters as the NHL began its 99th season this week.  That number is the largest number for opening night.  Ron Hainsey, 1999-2001, begins his 4th season as a member of the Carolina Hurricanes and his 14th NHL campaign.  He has logged 835 games in his NHL career scoring 45 goals and 236 points.  Drafted by the Montreal Canadiens, he was the 13th pick of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft.  Carter Hutton, 2006-10, starts his first season with the St. Louis Blues and his fifth in the NHL.  He has a career record of 33-24-0-12 with four shutouts, a 2.56 goals against average and a .910 save percentage.  Christian Folin, 2012-14, begins his third full season with the Minnesota Wild.  The defenseman has two goals and 15 points in his NHL career.  Scott Wilson, 2012-15, starts the season on the Pittsburgh Penguins roster for the first time in his career.  Wilson scored five goals and six points in 24 games before an injury cut his 2015-16 season short.  The youngest in the group, goalie Connor Hellebuyck, 2012-14, is on the Winnipeg Jets opening night roster for the first time.  Hellebuyck was 13-11-1 with a 2.34 GAA and a .918 Sv.% after making his NHL debut midway through the 2015-16 season.
 
THE CC CONNECTION: UMass Lowell Head Coach Norm Bazin spent eight years, 2001-08, at Colorado College as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator and was instrumental in leading the Tigers to a 205-102-22 overall record (.623) and a 131-76-17 clip in WCHA play (.585).  During Bazin's tenure, Colorado College made six trips to the NCAA Tournament - four quarterfinal bids and a Midwest Region title/Frozen Four appearance in 2005 - and won the WCHA regular season title three times.  Among the players Bazin mentored include 19 WCHA all-stars, 13 All-Americans and two Hobey Baker Memorial Award recipients in Peter Sejna (2003) and Marty Sertich (2005). Additionally, 12 players during Bazin's time went on to play in the NHL.
 
LIGHTING THE LAMP: UMass Lowell sophomore forward Connor Wilson hit the back of the net for the first time in his collegiate career in Saturday's 1-1 tie with Minnesota Duluth.  Wilson scored a first period power play goal to give the River Hawks a 1-0 lead.  The goal came in the 29th game of his career.
 
A WALL IN FRONT OF THE NET: UMass Lowell freshman goalie Tyler Wall made his collegiate debut and turned aside 40 shots in earning a 1-1 tie with Minnesota Duluth on Saturday night. 
 
FRESHMEN: Six freshmen made their River Hawk debut during the opening weekend of the season.  Kenny Hausinger, Mattias Göransson, Guillaume Leclerc and Ryan Lohin all pulled on the River Hawk sweater for the season opener.  Göransson made it into the box score with a goal and an assist.  Two more made their debut on Saturday as James Winkler played on the wing and Tyler Wall made 40 saves in nets.
 
CIRCLE OF DOMINANCE: UMass Lowell dominated in the face off circle during the opening weekend winning 111 of 177 puck drops.  The .627 faceoff winning percentage is the best in the nation.  Evan Campbell led the way winning 10 of 14 draws, .714; Joe Gambardella was the busiest winning 45 of 66, .682. Ryan Lohin (21 of 35, .600) and Nick Master (28 of 51, .549) also won more than they lost.
 
50th Season of UMass Lowell Hockey:  This is the 50th season of hockey at UMass Lowell.  The varsity program began with the 1967-68 season.  That first team went 7-7-1.  After winning three Division II National Championships the program moved to Division I as an Independent for the 1983-84 season and joined Hockey East for its inaugural season of 1984-85.  The River Hawks are 823-691-113 all time with a winning percentage of .540.
 
Season Long Celebration:  UMass Lowell will celebrate the 50th year of River Hawk hockey throughout the season with a variety of promotions and events.  The celebration will be highlighted by the naming of five All-Era teams as selected by the fans in on-line voting.
 
PENALTIES: UMass Lowell was whistled for 11 penalties in Friday night's season opener.  That is the most penalties called against the River Hawks since March 9, 2013 in a 4-1 win at Providence when UMass Lowell players were sent to the box 12 times.  The PK unit was 10-for-10 as UMass Lowell won its first Hockey East regular season title.  The last time UMass Lowell took 11 penalties at home was in a 7-1 win against BU, November 5, 2011.
 
POWER PLAY: It's a small sample size but, UMass Lowell has the top power play in the country.  The River Hawks scored four goals in eleven man-up opportunities for a 36.4% success rate.  Four different players have scored with the man advantage.
 
IT HAD BEEN A WHILE: When UMass Lowell scored three power play goals in Friday night's season opening 4-4 tie against Minnesota Duluth it was the first time that had happened since hitting for three against Notre Dame in a 3-1 win, November 23, 2013.
 
OFFERING A HELPING HAND: Forward C.J. Smith had three assists in last night's 4-4 tie with Minnesota Duluth.  It was a familiar opponent.  The last time Smith had three assists in a game was October 31, 2015 in a 6-3 win at Minnesota Duluth.
 
SEASON OPENERS:  UMass Lowell are now 26-19-5 in season openers and 29-17-4 in home openers after last night's contest.  The River Hawks, with the tie, see their brief two game home opener winning streak come to an end.  UMass Lowell won their last two previous season and home openers defeating Rensselaer, 3-0, last year and Boston College, 5-2, in October of 2014.  The last home opener to end in a tie was October 12, 2012; a 1-1 tie with Vermont.  Since the opening of the Tsongas Center, UMass Lowell is 11-5-3 in the home opener.
 
GAME NUMBER 200 and COUNTING: Last night's game was Head Coach Norm Bazin's 200th game behind the UMass Lowell bench.  Since taking over the coaching reins Bazin has put together a 124-57-19 record and a .668 winning percentage.
 
THE LEADERSHIP: Senior defenseman Michael Kapla has been chosen to wear the "C", as Captain, on the front of his jersey.  The River Hawk leadership team also includes Alternate Captains senior center Joe Gambardella and junior defenseman Tyler Mueller.
 
THE SENIOR CLASS:  This four-member UMass Lowell Senior class is one of three in Hockey East with 70 wins or more.  The River Hawks seniors have a record of 72-33-15 and a .663 winning percentage.  Only Boston College (77) and Providence (75) have more.  The senior class has a shot at the school record set by the 2016 seniors who accumulated 100 wins over a four year period.
 
FIVE YEARS AMONG THE BEST:  Over the last five years UMass Lowell has won 124 games putting the River Hawks in an elite group.  Only four teams (North Dakota, Boston College, Quinnipiac and Minnesota) have won more.  UMass Lowell winning percentage, .668, is fourth best in the nation and second in Hockey East during that period.
 
Five Countries/16 States:  UMass Lowell's roster reflects a dramatic growth in the points of origin from which people have come to play college hockey.  The roster finds players from five different countries and 16 different states.  Twenty-one of the River Hawks 30 players were born in the United States, five hail from Canada, two are from Sweden and one each from Finland and France.  Massachusetts and Pennsylvania top the list of states with three players each calling those states home.
 
A GOOD START AT THE GATE: The Friday opening night crowd of 6,066 was the 36th crowd of more than 6,000 people since the opening of the Tsongas Center in 1998.  It was the 31st largest crowd and the 29th "Official" sell-out to attend a UMass Lowell game at the Tsongas Center.
 
Filling the Seats:  UMass Lowell topped Hockey East in both total home attendance and average home attendance during the 2015-16 season.  The River Hawks drew more than 100,000 fans for the second consecutive season and only the second time in the program's history.  The 19 games played at the Tsongas Center attracted 106,256 people, an average of 5,592 per game. The River Hawks ranked eighth in the nation in average home attendance filling the Tsongas Center to 93.2% of capacity.  Notre Dame was second, among Hockey East schools, in total attendance drawing 94,987 in twenty home games.  UConn had the second highest per game average attendance at 5,129 in 17 home games.
 
The NHL and UML:  Four members of the 2016-17 River Hawks have been drafted by National Hockey League teams.  Senior forward Evan Campbell was drafted by Edmonton on the fifth round in 2013.  Three incoming freshmen are also NHL Draft choices.  Goalie Garrett Metcalf was chosen by Anaheim in the sixth round of the 2015 draft.   Forward Ryan Lohin and goalie Tyler Wall were selected in the 2016 draft.  Wall was grabbed by the New York Rangers on the sixth round and Lohin by Tampa Bay in the seventh round.
 
IRON MAN:  UMass Lowell senior defenseman Michael Kapla has played in 122 consecutive games, the most of any active player in college hockey.  Kapla has never missed a game in his collegiate career.