Friday, December 2nd vs. UConn (7:15pm)
(Tsongas Center; Lowell, Mass.)
REPORT CARD NIGHT
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Commercial Radio:
River Hawk Network: (WCAP 980AM)/UMass Lowell Game Day App
Talent: Bob Ellis (Play by Play); Jim Connelly (Analyst)

Non-Commercial Radio: (WUML 91.5 FM)
Talent: Alex Salucco (Play by Play); Brianne Dillon (Analyst)

Saturday, December 3rd at UConn (3:30pm)
(XL Center; Hartford, Conn.)
Watch Live | Listen Live | Live Stats | Buy Tickets
Follow on Twitter: @RiverHawkNation @RiverHawkHockey  Tweet #UMLHockey50

Commercial Radio:
River Hawk Network: (WCAP 980AM)/UMass Lowell Game Day App
Talent: Bob Ellis (Play by Play); Jim Connelly (Analyst)

SCOUTING THE RIVER HAWKS:  UMass Lowell, with a 8-4-2 / 4-2-0 record after a weekend split with Notre Dame, Nov. 17-18, is ranked 3rd in the USA Hockey Magazine poll and 4th in the USCHO poll.  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).  That duo has been at the top of the offensive charts for the 2016-17 edition of the River Hawks.  Gambardella is atop the scoring chart with 19 points.  Smith leads the team with nine goals, Gambardella has seven and linemate John Edwardh and Jake Kamrass have six.  The four goalies, including two freshmen, entered this season with a combined 99-minutes of collegiate experience.  Freshman Tyler Wall leads the foursome with a 2.09 GAA and a .921 save percentage.
 
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES:  UConn, with a 4-6-5 / 2-3-1 record after a loss to Sacred Heart last Saturday, was picked to finish seventh in the Hockey East Coaches' pre-season poll.  The Huskies have won just once in their last eight games (1-5-2) and twice in their last 13 (2-6-5).  Sixteen different players have scored goals; six have three or more.  Sophomore Tage Thompson leads the team with eight goals and 16 points.  Thompson is sixth in goals and 11th in points among Hockey East players.  Senior Rob Nichols and freshman Adam Huska have split the goaltending responsibilities.  Each has two wins.  Nichols has a 2.56 GAA and a .911 save percentage.  Huska shows 2.94 GAA and a .918 save percentage.  
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. UCONN:  This is only the 31st meeting between the two schools in a series that dates back to 1969 when both were playing at a Division II level.  UMass Lowell leads the all-time series, 20-9-1, but UConn has won the last three contests and holds a 3-2-0 edge since becoming a member of Hockey East. 
 
LAST SEASON: UConn swept the season series a year ago winning a pair of one-goal games, 4-3 at the XL Center and 2-1 in Lowell.  Tage Thompson had three goals during that weekend including both game winners.   

LAST WEEKEND: UMass Lowell got to spend the Thanksgiving weekend with family as the River Hawks had no games scheduled during the holiday weekend for the first time since 2013.  It began a stretch of 41 days during which UMass Lowell will play only four games.  The last time the River Hawks were on the ice they split a pair of games at Notre Dame, winning the first night and losing the second, each by the score of 4-1.
 
NUMBER 3:  UMass Lowell is ranked third in the USAHockey Magazine Poll.  That is the highest the River Hawks have been ranked since opening the 2013 season in the number one spot in both the USA Hockey Magazine and USCHO Polls.
 
ON THE NATIONAL STAGE:  UMass Lowell has been nationally ranked, in either the USCHO or USAHockey Magazine poll, for 99 consecutive weeks.  The stretch began when UMass Lowell appeared at #20 in the USCHO Poll on January 7, 2013.  Of those 99 weeks more than half, 66, have been spent in the top ten.
 
A WIN WOULD:  If UMass Lowell wins tonight it would end a three-game losing streak against UConn.  It would also move the River Hawks into sole possession of second place in Hockey East ahead of Vermont who is idle this weekend.
 
HOME COOKING:  There is nothing like home cooking for several of the UMass Lowell River Hawks.  Defenseman Dylan Zink has scored 10 of his 13 points and nine of his eleven assists in just seven home games.  C.J. Smith has scored 10 of his 17 points at home and Joe Gambardella has five of his seven goals at the Tsongas Center.   Goaltender Tyler Wall's numbers are close, but stronger at home.  Wall is 4-1-1 at home with a 1.82 goals against average and a .929 save percentage at the Tsongas Center and 4-2-0, 2.39, .913 on the road.
 
IN NHL BUILDINGS:  The XL Center in Hartford, where UMass Lowell and UConn will play on Saturday afternoon, once was home to the NHL's Hartford Whalers.  The River Hawks have a 41-41-8 record in buildings that have been the home to an NHL team.  UMass Lowell is 7-9-1 in the TD Garden/Fleet Center, 4-5-0 in the old Boston Garden, 1-2-0 at the CONSOL Energy Center, 1-0-1 at the HSBC Arena in Buffalo, 0-2-0 at the XL Center and 28-23-6 in the Matthews Arena, the original home of the Boston Bruins then known as the Boston Arena.  Excluding the Matthews Arena, UMass Lowell is 13-18-2 in NHL Buildings.
 
AMONG THE NATIONAL LEADERS:  UMass Lowell forwards Joe Gambardella and C.J. Smith rank in the top 20 in scoring nationally.  Gambardella is eleventh with 19 points (7g, 12a) and Smith (9g, 8a) is seventeenth with 17.  The duo ranks sixth and eighth among Hockey East players.  Defenseman Dylan Zink is second among Hockey East Defensemen and sixth in the nation with 13 points (2g, 11a).   Mattias Göransson is the number two scoring freshman defenseman in Hockey East and is eighth in the nation with 8 points (3g, 5a).
 
PROTECTING THE NET:  UMass Lowell goalie Tyler Wall is among the best in Hockey East at keeping the puck out of the net.  Wall ranks third in the league in both goals against average (2.09) and save percentage .921.  He is in the top dozen in the country in both categories among goalies who have played in at least half of their team's games.
 
GOOD CHEMISTRY:  The UMass Lowell line of C.J. Smith, Joe Gambardella and John Edwardh has been red hot.  The line has played together in thirteen of the River Hawks' fourteen games this season accounting for 22-goals and 49 points.  That's 45.8% of the River Hawks goals and 38.6% of the team's total offensive output.  They have been held off the score sheet just once.  Since being united for the final regular season game a year ago the trio has 32-goals and 71 points in 20 games.
 
HOT SHOT JUNIOR:  UMass Lowell forward C.J. Smith leads all juniors playing college hockey in career scoring with 42-goals and 91-points.  Mike Szmatula, playing at Minnesota is second with 81 points.  T.J. Moore of Holy Cross is second in goals with 36.  Smith's 49 assists finds him just three behind Anders Bjork of Notre Dame.
 
Multi-GOAL GAMES:  UMass Lowell forward C.J. Smith has four multi-goal games this season.  He is tied with Matheson Iacopelli of Western Michigan for the national lead in multi-goal games.  Smith had two goal games against Colorado College, Clarkson, Vermont and Notre Dame.  Smith has eleven multi-goal games in his career.
 
HITTING THE TARGET:  UMass Lowell center Joe Gambardella, with seven goals on just 31 shots on goal, has scored on 22.6% of his shots.  That ranks Gambardella as the fifth most accurate scorer in Hockey East.  John Edwardh is second among River Hawk players with six goals on 31 shots, a 19.4% success rate.
 
LOHIN BEHOLD:  UMass Lowell freshman center Ryan Lohin is heating it up around the net.  After picking up just three assists in his first eight games, Lohin has six points (3g, 3a) in his last six games.
 
PENALTY KILLING: UMass Lowell Penalty Kill Unit has stepped it up.  After struggling early in the season with a man in the box, the PK unit has killed 22 straight and 31 of 33 (93.9%) over the last six games.  It has been a bit of a roller coaster, twice this season the River Hawks have given up three PPGs in a game. 
 
A HELPING HAND:  UMass Lowell defenseman Dylan Zink has been in a giving mood.  Zink has eight assists in his last six games.  He had back-to-back four assist weekends against Vermont and Maine.  He has assisted on 8 of UMass Lowell's last 18 goals.
 
BIG ICE:  UMass Lowell returns to the standard 200 x 85 sheet of ice this weekend after playing on the slightly larger sheet at the Compton Family Ice Arena.  Notre Dame's home sheet is 200 x 90.  Those were the third a fourth games this year on a larger than standard playing surface.  The October 14-15 series at Colorado College's Broadmoor World Arena was the first time this year that UMass Lowell has played on "Big Ice."  The River Hawks swept the series, 8-5, 4-0, on the 200 x 100 Olympic Sheet and followed that with a split of 4-1 games at Notre Dame.  Since Norm Bazin took over the coaching responsibilities "big ice" has not been an issue.  The River Hawks have a record of 31-9-5 on larger than the standard 200 x 85 ice sheets including a record of 10-2-1 on an Olympic sheet and a 15-6-2 record on the 200 x 90 sheet. 
 
ROAD WARRIORS:  UMass Lowell is 4-3-0 away from the Tsongas Center this season and has been a strong team on the road during the last five-plus seasons.  Since Norm Bazin took over behind the bench the River Hawks are 47-29-7, .608, as the visiting team and 67-38-8, .628, including neutral site games.
 
A WALL IN FRONT OF THE NET:  UMass Lowell freshman goaltender Tyler Wall has been named the Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week twice this season.  He was most recently honored November 7th after stopping 52 of 55 shots (.945 sv%) with a 1.50 GAA, as the River Hawks swept the two-game weekend series against No. 19 Vermont in the team's first weekend of conference play.  Wall previously was honored October 17th after UMass Lowell swept Colorado College. 
 
CIRCLE OF DOMINANCE: UMass Lowell has dominated in the faceoff circle during the opening eight weeks of the season winning 518 of 956 puck drops.  The .542 faceoff winning percentage is the ninth best in the nation and fourth in Hockey East.  Joe Gambardella leads the team winning 182 of 287, .634. Gambardella ranks third in Hockey East and eighth in the nation among centermen who have taken at least 100 draws.  Evan Campbell (102 of 192, .528) and Ryan Lohin (83 of 165, .503) are also above the .500 mark.  Nick Master (129 of 267, .483) is just under the break even point. 
 
GETTING OFFENSE FROM THE DEFENSE: UMass Lowell has the 12th highest scoring defense corps in the country.  The River Hawks blue liners have combined for six goals and 36 points.  Those numbers are also the third best in HEA.
 
POWER PLAY: UMass Lowell's power play is among the best in the country.  The River Hawks have scored 17 goals in 75 man advantage opportunities for a 22.7% success rate, the ninth best in the country and number one in Hockey East.  Eight different players have scored with the man advantage; C.J. Smith and Jake Kamrass each have four power play markers.  Joe Gambardella has three and Mattias Göransson has two PP goals.  Defenseman Dylan Zink has seven PP assists. 
 
POWER PLAY TRIFECTA: Three times this season UMass Lowell has scored three power play goals in a game.  That happened most recently in the River Hawks 4-2 win against Vermont last Saturday night.  Previously UMass Lowell found the back of the net three times with the man-advantage against Minnesota Duluth and Colorado College.  The River Hawks had not done that since hitting for three against Notre Dame in a 3-1 win, November 23, 2013.  In all UMass Lowell has five multi PP goal games.
 
PENALTY SHOT: Forward Jake Kamrass scored on a penalty shot Saturday night, October 29th, at Omaha.  The goal broke a 1-1 tie as UMass Lowell defeated Omaha 4-2.  It was the first successful penalty shot by a River Hawk since Adam Chapie scored on a penalty shot against Merrimack February 1, 2014.
 
WHEN RANKED TEAMS VISIT: UMass Lowell is unbeaten, at the Tsongas Center, in their last fifteen games (10-0-5) against nationally ranked teams.  The streak is their longest since the USCHO poll began in 1997. Their last home loss to a ranked team on Feb. 6, 2015, when they were beaten by third ranked BU, 5-2.  The River Hawks opened this season with two ties against fifth ranked Minnesota Duluth, knocked off no. 12 St. Lawrence Oct. 21, 5-2 and swept Vermont 3-1 and 4-2 last weekend.
 
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 830-694-115 all time with a winning percentage of .542.
 
All-ERA TEAM:  The third of five All-Era teams will be honored during the second intermission in tonight's game.  This team, determined by fan voting, spans the decade from 1987 to 1997.  Voters chose to honor goalie Dwayne Roloson, defensemen Scott Meehan and Carl Valimont and forwards Craig Charron, Jeff Daw and Christian Sbrocca.
 
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.
 
PUNCHING THE CLOCK: Through fourteen games, UMass Lowell has played from behind for just 138:50 and only in portions of four games.  UMass Lowell has held the lead for 515:57 of the 790-minutes of hockey the team has played this season.
 
IRON MAN:  UMass Lowell senior defenseman Michael Kapla has played in 134 consecutive games, the most of any active player in college hockey.  Kapla has never missed a game in his collegiate career.
 
100 Games CLUB:  UMass Lowell senior center Evan Campbell became the fourth member of the River Hawk team to have played in 100 games when he skated October 15th against Clarkson.  Campbell enters tonight's game with 27 goals and 53 points in 108 games.  Michael Kapla (134), Joe Gambardella (123) and Dylan Zink (116) have all surpassed the century mark.  C.J. Smith (93) and Tyler Mueller (92) are closing in on the milestone.   
 
QUICK START: UMass Lowell has scored 48 goals this season, more than a third of them have come in the first five-minutes of a period.  The River Hawks have scored 17 goals in the first five-minutes of a period, the second most in the country.  This year, UMass Lowell has scored goals in the first five minutes of 17 of 42 periods.  The River Hawks have taken a 1-0 lead in the first five minutes in eight of the fourteen games they have played this year.  They have also scored twice more before the six minute mark. 
 
BACK-TO-BACK: UMass Lowell is playing back to back games for the eighth time this season.  The River Hawks are 4-2-1 on the first night and 4-2-1 the second. They have one weekend sweep to their credit.  A year ago UMass Lowell played 18 two-game weekend series and the results were similar night to night.  The River Hawks were 10-5-3 on the first night of back-to-back games and 11-5-2 in the second game.  The River Hawks had five weekend sweeps. The club played only four "stand alone" game during the season and won all four.  
 
WEIGHING IN: UMass Lowell is the eighth biggest team in the nation based on weight.  The River Hawks tip the scales at 193.67 pounds.  Western Michigan at 198.63 pounds is the heaviest team in the country.
 
WHO's NEXT: The River Hawks have a home-and-home series next weekend with valley rival Merrimack.  Friday the two teams will meet at the Tsongas Center before wrapping up the series Saturday night at the Lawler Rink in North Andover.  UMass Lowell leads the all-time series 75-37-11.  A year ago the two teams battled to a pair of 1-1 ties.  The series against Merrimack will be the final two games UMass Lowell plays before the winter break for final exams and the holidays.
 
FRESHMEN: Eight freshmen have made their River Hawk debut during the first four weekends of the new 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 the following night as James Winkler played on the wing and Tyler Wall made 40 saves in nets.  A seventh freshman made his debut two weeks ago when Colin O'Neill skated against Colorado College.  Nick Marin was added to the list October 29th at Omaha.
 
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.  Both numbers are the highest in college hockey.  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.