Friday, December 9th vs. Merrimack (7:15pm)
(Tsongas Center; Lowell, Mass.)
THIRD JERSEY NIGHT
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Game Notes | Video Preview
Follow on Twitter: @RiverHawkNation @RiverHawkHockey
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 10th at Merrimack (7pm)
(Lawler Arena; North Andover, Mass.)
Watch Live ($) | Listen Live | Live Stats | Buy Tickets
Follow on Twitter: @RiverHawkNation @RiverHawkHockey
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 8-5-3 / 4-3-1 record after taking just one of four points in a weekend series against UConn, is ranked 7th in the USA Hockey Magazine poll and 9th 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 22 points. Smith leads the team with nine goals, Gambardella and linemate
John Edwardh have seven.
Jake Kamrass has six. The four goalies, including two freshmen, entered this season with a combined 99-minutes of collegiate experience. All four have played with
Tyler Wall getting the most time. He has a 2.16 GAA and a .917 save percentage.
SCOUTING THE WARRIORS: Merrimack, with a 6-6-3 / 1-2-3 record has played just one game in the last 19 days. That was a 5-2 win at Providence. The Warriors were picked to finish ninth in the Hockey East Coaches' pre-season poll. The offense has been spread around. Nineteen different players have scored goals; only three have scored more than two. Senior Hampus Gustafsson leads the team with eight, Brett Seney tops the point chart with 13. Sophomore Drew Vogler has shouldered most of the netminding responsibilities. He has a 2.61 GAA and a .908 save percentage.
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. MERRIMACK: This is the 124th meeting between the two schools in a series that dates back to 1971 when both were playing at a Division II level. Merrimack won the first ten games between the two schools, but UMass Lowell leads the all-time series, 75-37-11 and holds a 53-18-9 advantage since Merrimack became a member of Hockey East. The River Hawks swept their only post-season confrontation, two-games to none, in 1994.
LAST SEASON: A year ago UMass Lowell and Merrimack were both undefeated when they met for a pair of early season 1-1 ties.
C.J. Smith and Ben Bahe exchanged goals in the first meeting played at the Lawler Rink, Brian Christie and
Michael Kapla found the back of the net 24 hours later at the Tsongas Center.
Kevin Boyle and Collin Delia were the opposing netminders and combined for 87 saves on 91 shots.
LAST WEEKEND: UConn took three of four points from UMass Lowell with a 3-2 win on Friday night in Lowell and a 2-2 tie Saturday in Hartford. Collin O'Neill had two goals for the River Hawks in the opener while
Michael Kapla and
John Edwardh scored goals at the XL Center.
Tyler Wall made 18 saves in the loss and
Garrett Metcalf kicked aside 34 shots in the overtime tie.
On the National Stage: UMass Lowell has been nationally ranked, in either the USCHO or USAHockey Magazine poll, for 100 consecutive weeks. The stretch began when UMass Lowell appeared at #20 in the USCHO Poll on January 7, 2013. Of those 100 weeks more than half, 67, have been spent in the top ten.
97, 98, 99 and COUNTING: UMass Lowell senior center
Joe Gambardella is poised to join the century club. He has 99 career points on 36 goals and 63 assists. His next point will make him the 44th player in program history to reach the milestone and the 23rd in the Division I era. Gambardella has 13 points (3g, 10a) in his last nine games. The last River Hawk to reach 100 points was Joe Pendenza who acheived the mark during the 2013-14 season.
C.J. Smith could follow on Gambardella's heels. He has 92 career points.
A WIN WOULD: If UMass Lowell wins tonight it would end a three-game winless streak. It would also move the River Hawks into a second place tie in the Hockey East standings.
FOUR GOALIES: The River Hawks have used four goalies this season for the first time as a Division I program.
Sean Cleary,
Christoffer Hernberg Garrett Metcalf and
Tyler Wall have all seen action between the pipes in the first nine weeks of the season. The last time Lowell used four different goaltenders in the same season was 1982-83 when Dana Demole played in 29 games, Kip Manseau, Mike Luitgaarden, and Dave Short all played in at least three. The team also used four goaltenders during the 1976-77 season and used five during the 1979-80 season.
METCALF DEBUT: Freshman Goalie
Garrett Metcalf made his collegiate debut Saturday, October 3rd, at UConn. The Salt Lake City, Utah native made 34 saves as the River Hawks and Huskies battled to a 2-2 tie. Metcalf became the fourth goalie to appear in a game for UMass this season and the ninth freshman to play in a game this year.
3rd JERSEY: As part of the celebration of 50 years of UMass Lowell hockey the River Hawks will, tonight, unveil a third jersey. The design is based on the uniform worn by the Lowell Tech teams of the early 1970s.
AT THE BREAK: UMass Lowell heads into the final weekend of hockey prior to the winter break with eight wins and a chance to reach double digits for only the eighth time in their 33 year Division I history. They've reached ten wins at the break in four of the last five years. Twice the River Hawks have accumulated an even dozen wins before the break. That was in both 1986-87 (12-2-1) and 2001-02 (12-2-0). In all seven cases where UMass Lowell reached double digits before the break the team went on to win a minimum of 20 games in the season.
HOME COOKING: There is nothing like home cooking for several of the UMass Lowell River Hawks. Defenseman
Dylan Zink has scored 11 of his 14 points and ten of his twelve assists in just eight home games.
C.J. Smith has scored 10 of his 18 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 4-2-1 at home with a 1.99 goals against average and a .920 save percentage at the Tsongas Center and 4-2-0, 2.39, .913 on the road.
AT THE LAWLER RINK: The Lawler Rink, home of Merrimack College hockey, holds a special place in UMass Lowell hockey history. It was on that ice surface that UMass Lowell won its first Division II National Championship. In 1979 the Chiefs defeated Illinois-Chicago, 10-6, and Mankato State, 6-4, to claim the trophy. Two years later ULowell grabbed its second title beating Mankato State, 8-7 in OT, and Plattsburgh State, 5-4, at the Lawler Rink.
AMONG THE NATIONAL LEADERS: Joe Gambardella and
C.J. Smith rank in the top 20 in scoring nationally. Gambardella is ninth with 22 points (7g, 15a) and Smith (9g, 9a) is 31st with 18. The duo ranks fifth and tenth among Hockey East players. Defenseman
Dylan Zink is second among Hockey East Defensemen and tenth in the nation with 14 points (2g, 12a). Mattias Göransson is the number two scoring freshman defenseman in Hockey East and is 12th 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 goals against average (2.16) and sixth in save percentage .917. 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 fifteen of the River Hawks' sixteen games this season accounting for 23-goals and 55 points. That's 44.2% of the River Hawks goals and 39.6% 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 33-goals and 77 points in 22 games.
HOT SHOT JUNIOR: UMass Lowell forward
C.J. Smith leads all juniors playing college hockey in career scoring with 42-goals and 92-points. Mike Szmatula, playing at Minnesota is second with 81 points. T.J. Moore of Holy Cross is second in goals with 37. Smith's 50 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 35 shots on goal, has scored on 20% of his shots.
John Edwardh is second among River Hawk players with six goals on 36 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 seven points (3g, 4a) in his last eight games.
PENALTY KILLING: UMass Lowell Penalty Kill Unit has stepped it up big time. After struggling early in the season with a man in the box, the PK unit has killed 28 of 29 and 37 of 40 (92.5%) over the last eight games. It had been a bit of a roller coaster before that, twice this season the River Hawks have given up three PPGs in a game.
PUTTING THE "POWER" BACK IN POWER PLAY: UMass Lowell's power play broke an zero-for-19 slump when
Michael Kapla scored in the second period against UConn. Despite those struggles the power play is among the best in the country. The River Hawks have scored 18 goals in 83 man advantage opportunities for a 21.7% success rate, the 12th best in the country and number two 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 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.
A HELPING HAND: UMass Lowell defenseman
Dylan Zink has been in a giving mood. Zink has nine assists in his last eight games. He had back-to-back four assist weekends against Vermont and Maine. He has assisted on 9 of UMass Lowell's last 21 goals.
BACK-TO-BACK: UMass Lowell is playing back to back games for the ninth time this season. The River Hawks are 4-3-1 on the first night and 4-2-2 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.
PUNCHING THE CLOCK: Through sixteen games, UMass Lowell has played from behind for just 176:54 and only in portions of five games. UMass Lowell has held the lead for 520:49 of the 975-minutes of hockey the team has played this season.
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.
ROAD WARRIORS: UMass Lowell is 4-3-1 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 47-29-8, .607, as the visiting team and 67-38-9, .627, including neutral site games.
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 seven goals and 39 points. Those numbers are also the fourth best in HEA.
CIRCLE OF DOMINANCE: UMass Lowell has dominated in the faceoff circle during the opening nine weeks of the season winning 585 of 1,085 puck drops. The .539 faceoff winning percentage is the ninth best in the nation and fourth in Hockey East.
Joe Gambardella leads the team winning 194 of 320, .606. Gambardella ranks fifth in Hockey East among centermen who have taken at least 100 draws.
Ryan Lohin (102 of 191, .534) and
Evan Campbell (120 of 232, .517) are also above the .500 mark.
Nick Master (144 of 292, .493) is just under the break even point.
WHO's NEXT: Following this weekend's series against Merrimack the River Hawks will have a bit of a break for final exams and ther winter holidays before returning to action at the Ledyard Bank Classic at Dartmouth, December 30-31. They open the tournament against Colgate and then will face either Army or Dartmouth the second day. UMass Lowell has a winning record against each of the teams in the Classic. They are 10-7-0 against Colgate, 19-6-0 against Army and 4-3-0 against Dartmouth. The River Hawks have won four of the last six in-season tournaments they have been invited to.
WHEN RANKED TEAMS VISIT: UMass Lowell is unbeaten, at the Tsongas Center, in their last 15 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.
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.
IRON MAN: UMass Lowell senior defenseman
Michael Kapla has played in 136 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 110 games.
Michael Kapla (136),
Joe Gambardella (125) and
Dylan Zink (118) have all surpassed the century mark.
C.J. Smith (95) and
Tyler Mueller (94) are closing in on the milestone.
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.
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.
