SCOUTING THE RIVER HAWKS: UMass Lowell is ranked 11th in both the USCHO and the USA Hockey Magazine poll and has been nationally ranked for 88 consecutive weeks.  The River Hawks are 21-8-5 through 34 games and 12-6-4 in conference play to earn the fourth seed in the Hockey East Tournament. Nineteen different players have scored goals, four are in double digits; Sophomore C.J. Smith and Adam Chapie lead the team with 14 goals and Smith tops the leader board with 32 points.  Senior goalie Kevin Boyle has started 33 of 34 games and has a 1.84 GAA and a .932 Sv%.  
 
SCOUTING THE TERRIERS: Boston University is 21-10-5 and finished in a fourth place tie with UMass Lowell with a 12-6-4 record in Hockey East play.  The Terriers were seeded fifth based on the tiebreaker rules.  Boston University eliminated Massachusetts from the post season with a two-game sweep last weekend, 2-1 and 5-4.  Nineteen different players on the roster have scored goals, five are in double digits.  Danny O'Regan leads the team with 16 goals and 42 points.  Goalie Sean Maguire carries a 2.18 GAA and a .928 save percentage into tonight's contest.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. BOSTON UNIVERSITY:  This is the 108th meeting between the two schools and the third this season.  Boston University leads the all-time series 72-26-9, but the two teams split the season series, 1-1-0.  UMass Lowell Head Coach Norm Bazin holds an 8-5-1 record against the Terriers. 
 
UML/BU IN THE POST SEASON:  UMass Lowell and Boston University are meeting in the Hockey East playoffs for the tenth time and for only the second time in the quarterfinals and the first time ever at the Tsongas Center.  The Terriers hold a 9-2-0 edge including a two-games-to-one victory in the 2008 quarterfinals played at the Agganis Arena.  Boston University has defeated UMass Lowell twice in the semifinals and three times in the Hockey East Championship Game, including last year's final, 5-3.  The River Hawks first Hockey East Tournament Championship came in a 1-0 win against Boston University in 2013.  BU has also beaten UMass Lowell twice in the Hockey East Tournament third place game.
 
HOCKEY EAST TOURNAMENT:  This will be the River Hawks 28th appearance in the Hockey East Tournament and the tenth time in 27 quarterfinal appearances that UMass Lowell has been the host.  The River Hawks have won eight of the previous nine quarterfinal series played in Lowell and including the last three in a row and are 15-5-2 in home playoff games.  UMass Lowell has advanced to the Hockey East semifinals 16 times, 15 by winning a quarterfinal series.  A year ago UMass Lowell knocked Notre Dame out of the tournament winning the decisive third game, 6-4 at the Tsongas Center.  The River Hawks are 28-27-2 in quarterfinal games.  UMass Lowell won the Hockey East Tournament in both 2013 and 2014. 
 
THE TOURNAMENT NORM:  Since Norm Bazin took over behind the bench, UMass Lowell is 12-5-0 in the Hockey East Tournament with two Championships.  The River Hawks have the most wins (12) and top winning percentage (.706) during that four year period.   Boston University is second with a 9-4-0 (.692) record.  Boston College is third, 8-5-0 (.615.)  Notre Dame (.545), New Hampshire (.529) and Providence (.500) are at .500 or better.
 
QUARTERFINALS-GAME ONE:  When UMass Lowell wins game one of the quarterfinals it has advanced to the semifinals 12 times and missed the next round just once.  The team is 5-7-1 in game twos after a game one win.  They have advanced to the semifinals five times by winning game two, twice because of total goals and once by winning a "mini game."  Four times they have advanced by winning a game-three.  The River Hawks have lost game one nine times and advanced to the semifinals just once. 
 
PLAYING FOR ALL THE MARBLES:  If UMass Lowell makes it to the Hockey East Championship Game, they will be just the fourth team to play in the Championship Game in at least four consecutive seasons.  Boston College has done that twice and Maine played in seven straight between 1987 and 1993.  The River Hawks have played in three in a row, winning two.
 
LAST TIME OUT:  UMass Lowell secured a first round bye and home ice for the quarterfinals with a 3-1 win, Feb. 27th, against Boston College.   A.J. White, Tyler Mueller and John Edwardh scored goals for the River Hawks.  UML goalie Kevin Boyle made 19 saves in picking up his 20th win of the season. 
 
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, last Friday, 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.  The hockey program has 14 20-win seasons in their history.
 
ON THE NATIONAL STAGE: UMass Lowell is ranked 11th 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 88 consecutive weeks.  The stretch began when UMass Lowell appeared at #20 in the USCHO Poll on January 7, 2013.  Of those 88 weeks more than half, 55, have been spent in the top ten.
 
SENIOR CLASS:  The current UMass Lowell senior class is the second winningest senior class in the school's Division I hockey history.  Entering the post season, the senior group has a record of 96-42-17, a .674 winning percentage.  Only the 2015 class totaled more wins; 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 96 wins UMass Lowell trails only North Dakota (104), Quinnipiac (102) and Minnesota State (97.)  Among Hockey East schools Boston College is second with 94 and Providence is third with 89.
 
BACK-TO-BACK: UMass Lowell is playing its 16th two-game weekend series this season.  The River Hawks are 7-5-3 on the first night of back-to-back games and 10-3-2 in the second game.  The River Hawks have four weekend sweeps to their credit. The club has played only four "stand alone" game this season and won all four.  
 
DOUBLE DIGIT D:  Dylan Zink is the first UMass Lowell defenseman to have two ten-plus goal seasons during the Division I era.  Zink scored his tenth goal of the season, February 16th, at AIC.  Zink also had an even ten goals a year ago.  Division II ULowell defenseman Paul Lohnes had three ten-plus goal scoring seasons and had 27 goals during the 1981-82 campaign.
 
A TWENTY YEAR WAIT: When Dylan Zink scored three goals against Boston University, February 13th, it was the first time in twenty years that a River Hawk defensemen had turned a hat trick.  The last D-man to do it was Dave Barozzino who found the back of the net three times, March 26, 1996, against Michigan State in the NCAA Tournament.
 
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.
 
HAT TRICK TIMES THREE: Three different River Hawks (C.J. Smith, Dylan Zink and Nick Master) have scored hat tricks this season.  That's the most since the 1992-93 season when seven different players found the back of the net three times in a game.  The River Hawks are one of only four teams in the country with three hat tricks.
 
TICK, TICK, TICK: Adam Chapie's two goals in nine-seconds, against BU on February 13th, are the two fastest by a single player in UMass Lowell's 33-year Division I history.  Gary Bishop, who scored goals :08 apart in 1968, holds the school record.
 
FREINDLY CONFINES: UMass Lowell has the seventh best home winning percentage in the nation.  The River Hawks are 12-2-3 (.794) at home.  Their 1.41 GAA at home ranks them second in the nation.
 
ROAD WARRIORS: UMass Lowell has the nation's 15th 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. 
 
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 1.85 goals per game, just a couple of ticks behind Yale (1.66.)
 
VERSUS RANKED TEAMS AT THE TSONGAS: UMass Lowell is 5-0-3 in their last eight at home against ranked teams. This is their longest streak on record since the USCHO poll started in 1998.
 
TIGHTENING UP THE D:  Through the 34 game regular season, UMass Lowell has allowed 24 fewer goals than it did a year ago.  That translates to .71 goals per game.  A year ago the River Hawks had a 2.56 GAA at this point in the season.  The team carries a 1.85 GAA into tonight's game.
 
SPREADING IT AROUND: Since UML and BU last faced one another, the River Hawks have gotten 13 goals from ten different players over a four game span.
 
WINNER, WINNER, CHICKEN DINNER: Fourteen different players have scored game winning goals for the River Hawks this season.  Ryan McGrath leads the team with three.  Joe Gambardella, Adam Chapie, C.J. Smith, Nick Master and Michael Kapla each have two.  Chapie has ten career GWG, third most in the school's DI history.
 
IN THE CLUTCH: For the second consecutive season defenseman Dylan Zink is proving to be Mr. Clutch.  Seven of his ten goals this season have either given the River Hawks the lead or tied the score.  14 of his 20 career goals are defined as "clutch."  Forwards Nick Master is second with six "clutch" goals.  Four of Master's eight goals have given UMass Lowell the lead, two have tied the score.     
 
WHO'S HOT:
A. J. White, 15 points in his last 13 games, (7g, 8a, 15pts.)
Penalty Killing Unit, 16-for-17 (94.1%) with two shorthanded goals, 5 games
 
SETTING RECORDS: When UMass Lowell goalie Kevin Boyle shutout Massachusetts Saturday, January 16, 2016, it was his school record tying sixth shutout of the season.  The six shutouts matches Boyle with Connor Hellebuyck, who did it twice (2012-13 and 2013-14), and Cam McCormick (2001-02.)  Furthermore Boyle has given up no more than two goals in 24 of 33 starts.  In 15 of those starts he has allowed one goal or less.  The senior has a 1.84 GAA, fifth best in the country, and an 11th in the nation .932 Sv%.  His UMass Lowell career .659 winning percentage is second among UML Division I goalies.  He trails only Connor Hellebuyck who had a .750 winning percentage. 
 
TALE OF TWO HALVES:  Freshman Nick Master scored nine points (3g, 6a) in his first 18 games, but has 11 points (5g, 6a) in his last nine games.
 
STAYING OUT OF THE BOX: UMass Lowell is the second least penalized team in Hockey East averaging just 9.1-penalty minutes per game.  That number places the River Hawks as the 16th least penalized team in the country.  Boston University averages 10.7-minutes in the box per game ranking the Terriers as the 28th least penalized team in the country. 
 
PENALTY KILLING:  The River Hawks have the 13th ranked penalty killing unit in the country and second in Hockey East with a 85.6% success rate (101-for-118.)   UMass Lowell has killed 48 of 55 (87.3%) shorthanded situations in the seventeen games since the winter break.  The River Hawks have allowed just 17 power play goals in 34 games this season, the fewest in Hockey East.
 
CIRCLE OF DOMINANCE: UMass Lowell has the 20th best face-off win percentage in college hockey (51.1%) and the fifth best in Hockey East.  With four centermen winning more often than not, the River Hawks have won 1,123 of 2,198 puck drops.   Entering tonight's contest senior Michael Fallon (193 of 356, 54.2%.)  Junior Evan Campbell is second, (191-169, 53.1%) and freshman Nick Master (274 of 522, 52.5%) and Joe Gambardella (316 of 630, 50.2%) are also over the .500 mark.
 
THREE IS THE MAGIC NUMBER: When UMass Lowell scores three or more goals in a game it is most likely to win.  That has been the case in the Norm Bazin era.    When scoring two-goals in a game, the River Hawks are just under the .500 mark since Bazin came aboard for the 2011-12 season.  That all changes when a third goal is scored.  Below is a closer look at the numbers.
  
                When Lowell scores 0 goals:           0-9-0          .000
                When Lowell scores 1 goal:           5-13-5          .326
                When Lowell scores 2 goals:       16-19-8          .465
                When Lowell scores 3 goals:       34-11-3          .740
                When Lowell scores 4 goals:         28-3-1          .887
                When Lowell scores 5 goals:         18-0-1          .972
                When Lowell scores 6 goals:         13-0-0        1.000
                When Lowell scores 7 goals:           4-0-0        1.000
                When Lowell scores 8 goals:           4-0-0        1.000
 
FIRST OF ALL: UMass Lowell has allowed the fourth fewest first period goals in the country.  The River Hawks have allowed just 16 first period goals just behind two Hockey East rivals Providence who has allowed 13 and Notre Dame, 14.
 
BY THE SLIMMEST OF MARGINS: Seventeen of UMass Lowell's first 34 games this season have been decided by one-goal.  The team is 7-5-5 in those games and 37-23-18 (.590) since Norm Bazin signed on for the 2011-12 season. 
 
DID YOU KNOW?:
Goalie Kevin Boyle is 11-2-3 with a 1.42 GAA and a .943 Sv% at the Tsongas Center this year...A.J. White has played in 140 straight UMass Lowell games...Michael Kapla has never missed a game in his UMass Lowell career, he has played in 114 straight games... UMass Lowell has been limited to just one goal eight times this season but that has resulted in just four losses... With trips to Duluth, Pittsburgh and Belfast, Northern Ireland UMass Lowell has logged more than 11-thousand miles this season... The only Division I teams that UMass Lowell has never played are Bemidji State and Mercyhurst... Five former River Hawks have played in the NHL this season; Connor Hellebuyck (Winnipeg), Scott Wilson (Pittsburgh), Christian Folin (Minnesota), Carter Hutton (Nashville) and Ron Hainsey (Carolina)... The River Hawks wrapped up their non-conference schedule with a 9-2-1 record... When River Hawk sophomore C.J. Smith scored three goals in the January 30th 8-1 win against Arizona State, it was the first "cycle" hat trick (a shorthanded, even-strength and power play goal) by a UMass Lowell player in more than a decade.  Ed McGrane was the last to do so in 2002.
 
PROTECTING THE LEAD: Since Norm Bazin took over the coaching reins at UMass Lowell, the River Hawks are 92-5-7 when leading after two-periods.  They are also 20-10-5 when the score is tied after two periods.  UMass Lowell is 37-23-18 in games decided by one goal.  Also, during that time period the River Hawks are 10-6-18 in games decided in overtime.  When UMass Lowell has a two-goal lead at any point in the game they are 96-4-3 and 47-0-2 at the Tsongas Center.
 
FILLING THE SEATS: UMass Lowell leads Hockey East and is 8th in the nation in average home attendance with one home weekend left in the 2015-16 season.  More than 95,000 fans have filled the Tsongas Center for the team's first 17 home games.  UMass Lowell is averaging 5,615 per game (92.2% of capacity), one of three HEA schools drawing more than five-thousand per game.  A year ago the River Hawks drew more than 100,000 fans for the first time in the program's history.  The twenty games played at the Tsongas Center attracted 102,390 people, an average of 5,120 per game.