Friday, October 20th at Clarkson (7 p.m.)
(Cheel Arena; Potsdam, N.Y.)
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Follow on Twitter: @RiverHawkNation @RiverHawkHockey Â
Commercial Radio:
River Hawk Network: (WCAP 980AM)/UMass Lowell Game Day App
Talent: Bob Ellis (Play by Play)
Saturday, October 21st at St. Lawrence
(Appleton Arena; Canton, N.Y.)
Watch Live | Listen Live | Live Stats | Buy Tickets
Follow on Twitter: @RiverHawkNation @RiverHawkHockey Â
Commercial Radio:
River Hawk Network: (WCAP 980AM)/UMass Lowell Game Day App
Talent: Bob Ellis (Play by Play)
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SCOUTING THE RIVER HAWKS: UMass Lowell is 1-3-0/0-2-0 after a weekend split with Omaha. The club is ranked 19th in the USCHO Poll. The River Hawks, coming off a 27-11-3 season, were picked for a second place finish in the Hockey East Coaches' Pre-Season Poll. UMass Lowell lost four of its top five scorers but returns John Edwardh who scored 19-goals and 39-points. John Edwardh leads the team in scoring with two-goals and four-points. Eight different players have scored goals, Edwardh, Tyler Mueller and Kenny Hausinger have two each. Sophomore goalie Tyler Wall played in 37 games a year ago. His 2.06 goals against average is the best among returning Hockey East goalies and his .918 save percentage ranks second among returners.
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS: Clarkson is 3-0-1/0-0-0 after a tie and a win at Western Michigan last weekend. The Golden Knights are rankled 10th in the USA Hockey poll and 12th in the USCHO poll. They have been picked for a fourth place finish in the 2017-18 ECAC Coaches' Preseason Poll. They were pegged for fifth place in the media poll. Clarkson lost its top four scorers but do return Sheldon Rempal who scored 11-goals and 23-points a year ago. Jake Kielly returns to the nets after starting 35 of the team's 39 games a year ago. He has a 1.23 goals against average and a .963 save percentage.
ABOUT LAST WEEKEND: UMass Lowell and Omaha split a pair of games at the Tsongas Center. The visitors won the first night, 4-2, and the River Hawks earned the split with a 5-2 win on Saturday.  John Edwardh, Mattias Goranson and Croix Evingson built a 3-0 mid second period lead in the series finale before Omaha narrowed the gap to a single goal. Kenny Hausinger broke the spell with a goal and Tyler Mueller added an empty net tally for the 5-2 final. Christoffer Hernberg made 24 saves to pick up his second collegiate win.
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. CLARKSON: This is the 27th meeting between the two schools in a series that dates back to 1978. UMass Lowell leads the series by the slimmest of margins, 13-12-1. The River Hawks are 9-1-1 in the last 11 meetings. Clarkson won ten of the first 13 games between the two teams. Â
LAST YEAR VERSUS CLARKSON: James de Haas scored late in the third period to give the Golden Knights a 4-3 win in Lowell. It was the River Hawks first loss of the 2016-17 season. After trailing 2-0 Clarkson had surged into the lead with two second period goals and a marker early in the third. UMass Lowell had evened the score at three on a C.J. Smith goal. Jake Kielly had made 28 saves in earning the victory.
A WIN TONIGHT WOULD...: ...make it two in a row for the first time this season. The River Hawks had opened the season by dropping three in a row for the first time since the 1999-2000 season.
NON-CONFERENCE, NO PROBLEM: UMass Lowell has more than held its own in non-conference play over the last six years. UMass Lowell is 71-25-6 (.726) in non-conference games since the 2011-12 season. The River Hawks are 17-7-3 against ECAC teams since Norm Bazin took over behind the River Hawk bench.
WHO'S NEXT: UMass Lowell moves ten miles down the road to play St. Lawrence on Saturday night at the Appleton Arena in Canton, N.Y. UMass Lowell holds a 12-8-1 edge over the Skating Saints in the all-time series, but St. Lawrence holds a 5-4-0 advantage in Canton. Five different players scored goals in UMass Lowell's 5-2 win a year ago in Lowell.
VISITING THE NORTHERN FRONTIER: This is the eighth time in UMass Lowell's hockey history that the team has traveled to the North Country of New York State to play both Clarkson and St. Lawrence. The Results have been a 50/50 proposition. The River Hawks are 3-4-0 at St. Lawrence and 4-3-0 at Clarkson. They have two sweeps to their credit and they have been swept twice. UMass Lowell last swept the North Country teams in 2001 and were last swept in 1999. Oddly, this is only the second time that UMass Lowell plays at Clarkson the first night of the trip.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN: UMass Lowell is 79-41-10, a 646 winning percentage when playing away from the Tsongas Center in the six-plus years that Norm Bazin had led the program. The River Hawks are 55-31-9, .626, as the road team and 24-10-1, .700, in games played at a neutral site.
HOME SWEET HOME: UMass Lowell is 73-28-12 (a .699 winning percentage) at the Tsongas Center since Norm Bazin took over behind the bench for the 2011-12 season. The last time the River Hawks has a losing record at home was 2010-11 when the home team went 4-12-0.
BACK-TO-BACK: This is the third of 16 weekends during which UMass Lowell will play back-to-back games. The River Hawks split a pair of games, losing the first night and winning the second, last weekend. They were swept in their opening weekend series. A year ago the River Hawks went back-to-back 18 times. The River Hawks were 11-6-1 on the first night and 11-5-2 on the second. UMass Lowell authored seven sweeps and were swept just twice.
AN IMPRESSIVE DEBUT: Freshman defenseman Croix Evingson made his collegiate debut a memorable one. The Anchorage, Alaska native scored on a breakaway after stepping out of the penalty box to give UMass Lowell a 3-0 lead in last Saturday's game against Omaha. The goal proved to be the eventual game winner in a 5-2 victory. Evingson also picked up an assist on the River Hawks first goal.
HERNBERG SPARKLES: Junior goalie Christtopher Hernberg picked up his second collegiate victory in UMass Lowell's 5-2 win against Omaha. Hernberg stopped 24 of 26 shots on goal. His biggest save came early in the third period of what was a 3-2 game when he kicked out the right leg to stop a Tristan Keck backhander from point blank range. The win was the first for Hernberg since January 29, 2016 when he beat Arizona State 4-1 making 19 saves.
MAKING THE LIST: UMass Lowell goalie Tyler Wall is one of 20 netminders named to the Mike Richter Award Watch List. The announcement was made by the Herb Brooks Foundation.  The award is given the nation's most outstanding goalie. Former River Hawk Connor Hellebuyck won the inaugural award in 2014.Â
The NHL and UML: Six former River Hawks have earned spots on National Hockey League opening night rosters. Two are currently with the defending Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins. Defensemen Chad Ruhwedel and forward Scott Wilson are suiting up for the Pens. Christian Folin is manning the back line for Los Angeles. Defenseman Ron Hainsey has taken his game to Toronto. Goalies Connor Hellebuyck and Carter Hutton are protecting the nets for Winnipeg and St. Louis respectively.
51ST SEASON OF UMASS LOWELL HOCKEY: This is the 51st 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 851-704-116 all time with a winning percentage of .544 and 591-584-109 record (.503) as a Division I program.
ON THE NATIONAL STAGE: UMass Lowell has been nationally ranked, in either the USCHO or the USAHockey Magazine poll, for 119 consecutive weeks. The stretch began when UMass Lowell appeared at #20 in the USCHO Poll on January 7, 2013. Of those 119 weeks, more than two-thirds, 83, have been spent in the top ten.Â
A CALL FROM THE HALL: Former UMass Lowell center iceman Jeff Daw has been inducted into the UMass Lowell Athletic Hall of Fame. The ceremonies took place on the evening of October 12 as part of the Rise UP celebration. Daw played four seasons for the River Hawks (1992-96), recording 141 points (68g,73a) in 157 career games. His 157 games played ranks third all-time in school history, while his 68 goals rank third and his 141 points are fifth among Division I players. He ranks 15th all-time in both categories. His teams won 88 games in four years, the most for a UMass Lowell Division I class at the time, and made two NCAA Tournament appearances. Daw also served two seasons as team captain (94-95, 95-96). He recorded 26 of his 34 clutch goals over his final two seasons of play.
The NHL and UML-Part II: Three current River Hawks have been drafted by National Hockey League teams. 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. Freshman defenseman Croix Evingson was chosen by the Winnipeg Jets in the seventh round of the 2017 draft.
20 WINS AGAIN: UMass Lowell has won 20-games in a season for six consecutive years, the most in program history. The six straight puts UMass Lowell in an exclusive club. Only six schools in the country have more twenty or more in each of the last six seasons. Joining the River Hawks are Minnesota, Boston College, Denver, Quinnipiac and North Dakota. It is also the fourth time in six years that UMass Lowell has won at least 25 games in a season.
SIX YEARS AMONG THE ELITE: UMass Lowell has the fourth most wins in the country over a nearly six-year stretch. Since the 2011-12 season, the River Hawks have won 151 games. Their .673 winning percentage is the third best in the country trailing only Boston College and Quinnipiac. North Dakota with 157 wins tops the "wins" list, but their .669 winning percentage drops them down to fourth on the list.
NCAA TOURNAMENT: UMass Lowell is one of only four teams in the country to go to the NCAA Tournament at least five times in the last six years. North Dakota and Denver have made six visits while Minnesota has also made five visits.
RIVER HAWKS IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT: UMass Lowell has made 13 appearances in the NCAA Tournament; eight have been as a Division I program. The River Hawks have made one appearance in the Frozen Four. That was in 2013 when they were eliminated by eventual National Champion Yale. Since the Regional Format was established, UMass Lowell has won all seven regional semifinal games that it has played, but the club is 1-6-0 in the regional final. The ULowell Chiefs did win three Division II National Championships (1979, 1981, 1982) in a four-year period. The team is 7-7-1 in Division I Tournament play and 18-10-1 overall.
OCTOBER 6th...!: This year's season/home opener took place on what is the earliest date on the calendar, October 6, that UMass Lowell has ever played a regular season hockey game. Prior to this the earliest start to the season came on October 7, 2005. The River Hawks lost that game at Colgate, 6-2. The latest UMass Lowell has ever started a Division I season was November 1, 1983, their first year as a Division I program. In that game the Chiefs were defeated by Providence, 8-3.
SEASON, HOME AND HOCKEY EAST OPENERS: UMass Lowell is now 26-20-5, all-time, in season openers and 2-2-1 in the last five. The River Hawks are 29-18-4 in home openers but are under .500 when they open the season at home, 9-10-3. UMass Lowell is 16-13-5 in Hockey East openers and 14-16-4 in Hockey East home openers. The River Hawks are 22-24-5 in their first road game of the year.
THE HOCKEY EAST TOURNAMENT: UMass Lowell has earned a spot in the Hockey East Tournament in 29 of the league's first 33 years making to the semifinals in 18 of those seasons. The River Hawks have a record of 41-44-3 in tournament play and have grabbed three tournament titles.
MAKING A RUN AT SIX: UMass Lowell is bidding to go to the Hockey East Championship Game for a sixth consecutive season. The River Hawks have appeared in five straight, winning three. Only one team, the University of Maine, has a longer streak of Championship Game appearances. Maine played in the finale seven straight years ending in 1993. The River Hawks have grabbed the title in 2013, 2014 and 2017.
THE TOURNAMENT NORM: Since Norm Bazin took over behind the bench, UMass Lowell is 25-12-0 in the post season, including both the NCAA and Hockey East Tournament play. Bazin is 6-5-0 in the NCAA Tournament and 19-7-0 in the HEA Tournament. The River Hawks won the Hockey East Tournament in 2013, 2014 and 2017 and reached the NCAA Frozen Four in 2013.
152 WINS: UMass Lowell Coach Norm Bazin has been behind the River Hawk bench for 152 wins. With a record of 152-71-21, Bazin is second on the River Hawk All-Time coaching list and tops the list for wins at the Division I level. His 151st win moved Bazin ahead of Blaise MacDonald. MacDonald compiled a record of 150-178-42 during his ten years behind the UML bench. Bill Riley tops the coaching win list with a 363-270-22 record. Bazin's .666 winning percentage is the best in the programs history.
PLUS-81: UMass Lowell Head Coach Norm Bazin is 81 games over .500 behind the River Hawk bench in six-plus seasons and that has moved the program above the .500 mark for the first time in the school's 35-year Division I history. UMass Lowell is 591-584-109 since beginning Division I play in 1983-84. Bazin is 152-71-21 in Lowell.
WHEN RANKED TEAMS VISIT: UMass Lowell is unbeaten, at the Tsongas Center, in their last 17 games (12-0-5) 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 the 2016-17 season with two ties against fifth ranked Minnesota Duluth, knocked off no. 12 St. Lawrence Oct. 21, 5-2, swept Vermont 3-1 and 4-2 Nov. 4/5th, defeated BU Feb 10th and BC Feb 23rd.
PROTECTING THE LEAD: Since Norm Bazin took over the coaching reins at UMass Lowell, the River Hawks are 116-5-9 when leading after two-periods. They are also 28-17-9 when the score is tied after two periods. The River Hawks were 22-1-2 when leading after two periods a year ago.
THE SENIOR CLASS: The six-member UMass Lowell senior class has accumulated a record of 74-36-14, a .653 winning percentage. The class ranks second in Hockey East in wins and third in winning percentage. Only Providence, 77 wins, has more victories during the previous three years. The 74-wins places the UMass Lowell senior class sixth in the nation in wins. The class which includes forwards Ryan Collins, John Edwardh, and Jake Kamrass and defensemen Chris Forney, Tyler Mueller and Tommy Panico has won one Hockey East regular season title, a tournament championship, four in-season tournaments and made two appearances in the NCAA tournament. The class has a shot at matching or surpassing the 2016 senior class which is the winningest in the school's Division I history with an even 100 wins.
27 WINS: UMass Lowell's 27 wins a year ago fell one short of equaling the school's Division I record. UMass Lowell won 28 games in 2013 when the team went to the Frozen Four. They finished the season 28-11-2.
BY THE CLOSEST OF MARGINS: UMass Lowell is 45-31-21 in one-goal games since the 2011-12 season. Also, during that time period the River Hawks are 12-9-21 in games decided in overtime.
THREE IS THE MAGIC NUMBER: When UMass Lowell scores three or more goals in a game it is 128-18-6, .862 during the last six-plus years. The River Hawks were 25-3-1 a year ago. When scoring two goals or less in a game the River Hawks are 25-51-15, .357, since 2011-12.
ATTENDANCE LEADERS: UMass Lowell led Hockey East in average attendance, a year ago, drawing 5,542 per game. It was the second consecutive year that the River Hawks topped the leader board. The club closed out the 2016-17 regular season with crowds of 6,000 or better in each of its last six home games. Prior to this stretch UMass Lowell had never had more than three-consecutive home games with crowds of more than six-thousand. The River Hawks averaged nearly 900 more people than its nearest competitor. UMass Lowell is leading Hockey east in attendance this season drawing an average of 5,374 per game through first three home contests.
OPENING NIGHT CROWDS: The season opening crowd of 5,426 was the tenth consecutive opening night crowd of more than five-thousand people. The streak started with a crowd of 6,193 to see UMass Lowell beat Providence, 4-1, at the Tsongas Center in 2008. During the ten year streak opening night crowds have averaged 5,907. The last sub 5,000 opening night crowd was in 2007 when the River Hawks opened against Alabama-Huntsville.Â
WINS ON THE WALL: With 26 wins a year ago, UMass Lowell goalie Tyler Wall broke the school record for wins by a Division I goalie. Marty Fillion set the record with 24 wins during the 1995-96 season. Kevin Boyle matched that number with 24 during the 2015-16 season. The school record is held by Dana Demole who won 27 during the 1982-83 season, the school's final year as a Division II program.
MORE FOR THE WALL: UMass Lowell netminder Tyler Wall has the third lowest career goals against average in the nation at 2.06. Only Michael Bitzer of Bemidji State (1.88) and Minnesota State's Jason Pawloski (1.97) have better numbers. Wall's figures are the best in Hockey East.
CLUTCH AND IMPORTANT GOALS: John Edwardh continues to perform in the clutch. Both of his goals this season are defined as "clutch" either tying the score or giving the River Hawks the lead. He led UMass Lowell in clutch goals last season with 13. Twelve of Edwardh's 19-goals gave UML the lead; another tied the score meaning that 68.4% of his goals were scored in clutch situations.  Â
GOALS COMING BACK: Despite losing two 100-point scorers, UMass Lowell returns a roster that scored 94-goals a year ago. That figure is the second best in Hockey East. Northeastern tops the list with 95.
100 GAMES CLUB: Three members of the UMass Lowell hockey team have played at least 100 games in their collegiate careers. Tyler Mueller (120), John Edwardh (103) and Chris Forney (102) have all reached the century mark. Mueller is tenth in the country among active players in games played and number one in Hockey East.  Tommy Panico with 85 games played is next on the list.
THE LEADERSHIP: Senior defenseman Tyler Mueller has been chosen to wear the "C", as Captain, on the front of his jersey. The River Hawk leadership team also includes Alternate Captains defenseman Chris Forney and forwards John Edwardh, Ryan Lohin and Connor Wilson.
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