SCOUTING THE RIVER HAWKS: UMass Lowell, coming off a 27-11-3 season, were picked for a second place finish in the Hockey East Coaches' Pre-Season Poll. The River Hawks were ranked in the top ten in both the USCHO and the USA Today polls. UMass Lowell lost four of its top five scorers but returns John Edwardh who scored 19-goals and 39-points. Sophomore goalie Tyler Wall played in 37 games a year ago and put up some impressive numbers. 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 WILDCATS: New Hampshire went 15-20-5 a year ago and has been picked to finish eighth in the Hockey East Coaches' Pre-Season poll. The Wildcats return three of their top five scorers from a year ago. Michael McNicholas is the top returner after scoring 13-goals and adding 30 assists for 43-points. Goalie Dan Tirone played in 38 of the team's 40 games a year ago with a 2.99 goals against average and a .910 save percentage.Â
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. UNH: This is the 119th meeting between the two schools in a series that dates back to 1983. UNH leads the series 60-43-15, but UML has won 11 of the last thirteen, including four by shutout. A year ago, UMass Lowell won the regular season series two-games-to-none and then defeated New Hampshire two-games to one in the quarterfinal round of the Hockey East Tournament.Â
LAST SEASON VS. UNH: UMass Lowell and New Hampshire met five times during the 2016-17 season. The River Hawks swept the regular season series winning 2-1 in Durham and 8-2 at the Tsongas Center. Jake Kamrass had the winner in the opener and two goals in the second meeting. UMass Lowell won the best-of-three quarterfinal series played in Lowell, two-games-to-one. The Wildcats took the opener, 3-1, before the River Hawks rebounded with a pair of wins, 3-1 and 8-2. UMass Lowell scored six goals in the first period of the deciding game.
OCTOBER 6th...!: This is the earliest date on the calendar 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 26-19-5, all-time, in season openers and 2-1-2 in the last five. The River Hawks are 29-17-4 in home openers but are only an even .500 when they open the season at home, 9-9-3. UMass Lowell is 16-12-5 in Hockey East openers and 14-15-4 in Hockey East home openers. This is the 12th time that UMass Lowell has opened the season at home against a Hockey East opponent. The River Hawks hold a 6-3-2 edge in those previous 11 games. The last time that UMass Lowell opened the season at home against a Hockey East foe was 2014 when the River Hawks defeated Boston College, 5-2. The River Hawks have never opened the season against UNH.
BACK-TO-BACK: UMass Lowell played back-to-back games 18 times during the 2016-17 season. 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.
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 849-702-116 all time with a winning percentage of .544 and 590-581-109 record (.504) 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 113 consecutive weeks. The stretch began when UMass Lowell appeared at #20 in the USCHO Poll on January 7, 2013. Of those 113 weeks, more than two-thirds, 83, have been spent in the top ten.Â
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 .676 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.
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.
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.
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.
151 WINS: UMass Lowell Coach Norm Bazin has been behind the River Hawk bench for 151 wins. With a record of 151-68-21, Bazin is second on the River Hawk All-Time coaching list. That 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 .673 winning percentage is the best in the programs history.
PLUS-83: UMass Lowell Head Coach Norm Bazin is 83 games over .500 behind the River Hawk bench in six seasons and that has moved the program above the .500 mark for the first time in the school's 34-year Division I history. UMass Lowell is 590-581-109 since beginning Division I play in 1983-84. Bazin is 151-68-21 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 115-5-9 when leading after two-periods. They are also 28-16-9 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 73-33-14, a .667 winning percentage. The class ranks second in Hockey East in wins and third in winning percentage. Only Providence, 75 wins, has more victories during the previous three years. The 73-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 45-30-21 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 127-17-6, .867 during the last six years. The River Hawks were 25-3-1 a year ago. When scoring two goals or less in a game the River Hawks are 24-50-15, .354, 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.
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 led UMass Lowell in clutch goals last season with 13. "Clutch" goals are defined as those that either tie the score or give the team a lead. Twelve of Edwardh's 19-goals gave UML the lead; another has tied the score meaning that 68.4% of his goals have been 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 (118), John Edwardh (101) and Chris Forney (100) 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 84 games played is next of the list.
NON-CONFERENCE, NO PROBLEM: UMass Lowell has more than held its own in non-conference play over the last six years. UMass Lowell is 70-24-6 (.730) in non-conference games since the 2011-12 season.    Â
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 senior defenseman Chris Forney and sophomore forward Ryan Lohin.
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