32nd annual HOCKEY EAST CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Saturday, March 19th vs. No. 6 seed Northeastern (7pm)
(TD Garden; Boston, Mass.)
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Television: NESN (Channel Finder)/NBC Sports Network (Channel Finder)
NESN Talent: Alex Faust (Play by Play); Billy Jaffe (Analyst)
NBCSN Talent: Steve Schlanger (Play by Play); Anson Carter (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); Alex Salucco (Engineer)

SCOUTING THE RIVER HAWKS: UMass Lowell is ranked 8th in both the USCHO and the USA Hockey Magazine polls.  The River Hawks are 24-8-5 through 37 games and were 12-6-4 in conference play which earned the River Hawks the fourth seed in the Hockey East Tournament. UMass Lowell defeated Providence, 2-1, in triple overtime after sweeping Boston University, 3-2 and 5-0, in the HEA Quarterfinal best-of-three series. Nineteen different players have scored goals, four are in double digits; C. J. Smith tops the leader board 17 goals and 38 points.  Goalie Kevin Boyle has started 36 of 37 games and has a 1.73 GAA and a .937 Sv%.  
 
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES: Northeastern University is 21-13-5 and finished sixth in Hockey East with a 10-8-4 conference record.   The Huskies defeated Boston College, 5-4, in the semifinals after sweeping Notre Dame, 3-1 and 6-4, in the quarterfinals and Maine in the opening playoff round.  Nineteen different players on the roster have scored goals, six are in double digits.  Nolan Stevens leads the team with 18 goals, Zach Aston-Reese tops the points chart with 41.  Goalie Ryan Ruck carries a 2.27 GAA and a .912 save percentage into tonight's contest.  Northeastern has won 12 straight games since battling UMass Lowell to a 2-2 tie in February.
 
LAST NIGHT: UMass Lowell defeated Providence, 2-1, in triple overtime.  A. J. White had the game winner at 12:26 of the third overtime period.  Kevin Boyle had a school Division I record 58 saves in the contest.  It is second all-time behind Mike Geragosian's 62 saves in the 1972 ECAC Division II playoffs against Vermont.  At 112-minutes, 26-seconds it was the longest Hockey east semifinal game and longest in UMass Lowell hockey history.
 
LAST WEEK: UMass Lowell defeated Boston University, 3-2 and 5-0, to sweep their best-of-three quarterfinal series.  The River Hawks got goals from Joe Gambardella, Michael Louria and Adam Chapie in the first game and from C.J. Smith (2), Jake Kamrass, Gambardella and John Edwardh in the clincher.  UMass Lowell goalie Kevin Boyle stopped 57 of 59 shots during the weekend.  The shutout in the second game was his team record seventh of the season and the 11th of his career.  Boyle was a co-winner of the Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week award.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. NORTHEASTERN:  This is the 112th meeting between the two schools and the third this season.  The River Hawks holds the edge in the all-time series, 59-42-10, and has an edge in post-season play 10-4-0.  UMass Lowell took three of four points from the Huskies during the regular season.  The River Hawks won an overtime match in the opening round of the Friendship Four Tournament in Belfast, Northern Ireland, 3-2, on a Dylan Zink goal.  The two teams battled to a 2-2 tie at the Tsongas Center in February.   
 
UML/NU IN THE POST SEASON:  This is the ninth time that UMass Lowell and Northeastern have met in the Hockey East Tournament and they first time they have played one another in the Championship Game.  The River Hawks have won ten of the previous 14 playoff games between the two.  They last met in the 2009 semifinals.  UMass Lowell won that clash, 3-2, on a Chris Auger goal in the first overtime.
 
THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME:  This is UMass Lowell's sixth appearance in the Hockey East Tournament Championship Game.  The River Hawks are the fourth team to earn a spot in the Championship Game in at least four straight seasons.  Boston College has done it twice and the Maine did it in seven straight seasons between 1987 and 1993.  This is the River Hawks 28th appearance in the Hockey East Tournament and 17th appearance at the Hockey East Tournament Championship Weekend.  The River Hawks won the Lamoriello Trophy in both 2013 and 2014 and has a 40-44-3 record in Hockey East Tournament play.
 
THE TOURNAMENT NORM:  Since Norm Bazin took over behind the bench, UMass Lowell is a conference best 15-5-0 in the Hockey East Tournament with two Championships.  The River Hawks have the most wins (15) and top winning percentage (.750) during that four-plus year period.   Boston University is second with a .600 winning percentage.  Boston College (.588), Providence (.563) and New Hampshire (.529) are at .500 or better.
 
THE SEMIS:  UMass Lowell has won its last five semifinal games over a eight year period.  In 2009 they defeated Northeastern 3-2 in overtime, but lost the championship game to BU, 1-0.  In 2013 the River Hawks defeated Providence, 2-1, and followed that up with their first tournament championship in a 1-0 win against BU.  In 2014 UMass Lowell beat Notre Dame in the semis and UNH in the Championship Game by 4-0 scores.  Last year UMass Lowell defeated Vermont, 4-1, in the semifinal match up but lost the final to BU, 5-3.  Last night the River Hawks defeated Providence in triple overtime, 2-1, to move to the tournament final. 
 
AT THE GARDEN:  UMass Lowell is 7-8-1 at the building known as the TD Garden, but has won six of seven in the building since Norm Bazin took over behind the bench.  The River Hawks are 4-0-0 in the semifinal and 2-1-0 in the Championship Game under Bazin's watch.  The team was 2-5-0 in the old Boston Garden and a combined 9-13-1 on ice with a Causeway Street address.
 
FIVE YEAR RUN: For the first time in UMass Lowell's Division I hockey history the team has won 20 games or more in five consecutive seasons.  The 20th win of the season came, February 19th, against Massachusetts.  The five straight 20-win seasons  match the Division II run of the ULowell Chiefs who won 20-plus games per season from 1978-79 through the 1982-83.  UMass Lowell has averaged more than 24 wins per season during this five year stretch.  The hockey program has 14 20-win seasons in their history.
 
ON THE NATIONAL STAGE: UMass Lowell is ranked 8th in both the USCHO and the USA Hockey Magazine Polls.  The River Hawks have been nationally ranked, in either the USCHO or USA Today poll, for 89 consecutive weeks.  The stretch began when UMass Lowell appeared at #20 in the USCHO Poll on January 7, 2013.  Of those 89 weeks more than half, 56, have been spent in the top ten.
 
SENIOR CLASS:  The current UMass Lowell senior class is tied as the winningest senior class in the school's Division I hockey history.  Entering tonight's contest, the senior group has a record of 99-42-17, a .680 winning percentage.  The 2015 class also one 99 games.  That class went 99-47-13, .664.
 
SENIOR SUCCESS:  This UMass Lowell senior class is the winningest in Hockey East and has accumulated the fourth most wins in the country over the four year period.  With 99 wins UMass Lowell trails only North Dakota (106), Quinnipiac (109) and Minnesota State (100).  Among Hockey East schools Boston College is second with 97 and Providence is third with 91.
 
JOEY PLAYOFFS:  UMass Lowell junior center Joe Gambarderlla has scored 27 goals in 105 games as a River Hawk, but seven of those goals have come in just eleven post season games.  He has scored goals in four of his last five post-season games.
 
SETTING RECORDS: When UMass Lowell goalie Kevin Boyle shutout Boston University Saturday night, March 12, 2016, it was his school record seventh shutout of the season.  The seven shutouts moves Boyle ahead of Connor Hellebuyck, who had six shutouts in both 2012-13 and 2013-14, and Cam McCormick who turned in six blank sheets in 2001-02.  Furthermore Boyle has given up no more than two goals in five straight and 26 of 35 starts.  In 16 of those starts he has allowed one goal or less.  The senior has a 1.73 GAA, third best in the country, and an third in the nation .937 Sv%.  His UMass Lowell career .674 winning percentage is second among UML Division I goalies.  He trails only Connor Hellebuyck who had a .750 winning percentage.  His 41 wins is fourth most during the Division I era and seventh all-time.
 
AMONG THE NATION'S BEST:  UMass Lowell is the second best defensive team in the country.  That's what the stats say.  The River Hawks have allowed 1.78 goals per game, just a couple of ticks behind Yale (1.74.)
 
TIGHTENING UP THE D:  Through 37 games, UMass Lowell has allowed 29 fewer goals than it did a year ago.  That translates to .78 goals per game.  A year ago the River Hawks had a 2.57 GAA at this point in the season.  The team carries a 1.78 GAA into tonight's game.
 
BACK-TO-BACK: UMass Lowell is playing its 17th two-game weekend series this season.  The River Hawks are 9-5-3 on the first night of back-to-back games and 11-3-2 in the second game.  The River Hawks have five weekend sweeps to their credit. The club has played only four "stand alone" game this season and won all four.  
 
MODEL OF CONSISTENCY:  UMass Lowell has been a model of consistency, losing back-to-back games only twice this season.   The River Hawks have only had two losing streaks of three or more games since Norm Bazin took over behind the bench for the 2011-12 season and that has happened just twice.
 
VERSUS RANKED TEAMS AT THE TSONGAS: UMass Lowell is 7-0-3 in their last ten at home against ranked teams. This is their longest streak on record since the USCHO poll started in 1998.
 
FREINDLY CONFINES: UMass Lowell has the sixth best home winning percentage in the nation.  The River Hawks are 14-2-3 (.816) at home.  Their 1.37 GAA at home leads the nation.  The 14 home wins is a Tsongas Center single season record and equals the school record set at the Tully Forum in the 1995-96 season.
 
ROAD WARRIORS: UMass Lowell has the nation's 14th best winning percentage when playing away from the Tsongas Center.  The River Hawks have a combined Away/Neutral Site record of 9-6-2, good for .588 winning percentage. 
 
WHO'S HOT:
A. J. White, 17 points in his last 16 games, (8g, 9a, 17pts.)
Team Depth, 12 different players have produced 23 goals over a seven game span
Kevin Boyle, allowed two goals or less in fix straight games(5-1-0, 1.17, .958)
Penalty Killing Unit, 19-for-20 (95.0%) with two shorthanded goals, 8 games
 
FIRST OF ALL: UMass Lowell has given up the second fewest first period goals in the nation; 17.  Only Providence has allowed fewer goals (14) in the opening period.  When the two met last night each allowed just one goal.