Friday, January 5th vs. Vermont (7:15pm)
TEAMWALK FOR CANCER CARE
(Tsongas Center; Lowell, Mass.)
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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); Andy Merritt (Analyst)
Non-Commercial Radio: WUMLÂ 91.5 FM
Talent: Connor Capozzi (Play by Play); Brianne Dillon (Analyst)
Saturday,  January 6th vs. Massachusetts (7pm)
(Tsongas Center; Lowell, Mass.)
CONNOR HELLEBUYCK BOBBLEHEAD NIGHT (Presented by Xfinity)
Watch Live ($) | Listen Live | Live Stats | Buy Tickets | Saturday Notes
Follow on Twitter: @RiverHawkNation @RiverHawkHockey Â
Commercial Radio:
River Hawk Network: (WCAP 980AM)/UMass Lowell Game Day App
Talent: Bob Ellis (Play by Play); Andy Merritt (Analyst)
Non-Commercial Radio: WUMLÂ 91.5 FM
Talent: Connor Capozzi (Play by Play); Brianne Dillon (Analyst)
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SCOUTING THE RIVER HAWKS: UMass Lowell is 10-9-0/6-6-0 after beating Harvard, but losing to St. Lawrence at the Catamount Cup. The River Hawks have won six of their last nine games. The River Hawks are 5-5-0 at the Tsongas Center and 5-4-0 on the road. UMass Lowell, currently sitting in fifth place, was picked for a second place finish in the Hockey East Coaches' Pre-Season Poll. Kenny Hausinger leads the team in goals with seven and points with 16. Ryan Lohin is second with 15-points. Lohin, John Edwardh, Ryan Dmowski and Jake Kamrass have five goals apiece. Seventeen different players have scored goals, thirteen have more than one. Christoffer Hernberg has started in 13 games and played in 16 and has a 1.94 GAA and a .928 save percentage.
SCOUTING THE CATAMOUNTS:  Vermont is 4-12-3/1-6-2 after dropping two games at the Catamount Cup. The Catamounts are winless in their last five (0-3-2.) Their last win was November 25th at Dartmouth. Vermont was pegged for a sixth place finish in the Hockey East Coaches' Pre-Season Poll.  Fourteen players have scored goals, seven have more than one. Ross Colton leads the team with 11-goals and 13-points. Stefanos Lekkas has started 17 of the team's 19 games in nets. He's got a 3.06 Goals Against Average and an .910 save percentage.Â
ALL-TIME SERIES vs. VERMONT: This is the 50th meeting between the two schools in a series that dates back to 1972. UMass Lowell leads the all-time series, 26-16-7. The River Hawks have won five in a row and are undefeated in the last eight. Since Vermont joined Hockey East for the 2005-06 season, UMass Lowell has held a 22-10-7 edge in play. Twenty-two of the 39 games have been decided by one goal or less. The River Hawks have won five of six Hockey East tournament meetings between the two and have eliminated Vermont from the post season on three occasions.
WORKING OVERTIME AGAINST VERMONT: When these two teams meet, overtime is a distinct possibility. Ten of the last 28 games (35.7%) between UMass Lowell and Vermont have required extra time. Twelve of the 49 games (24.5%), all-time, between the two have gone into overtime. Vermont has won three in OT, UMass Lowell has won two and seven have gone into the books as a tie.
LAST YEAR vs. VERMONT: UMass Lowell and Vermont met just twice last year with the River Hawks winning both, 3-1 and 4-2. CJ Smith scored twice in the first game, Jake Kamrass had two and Ryan Lohin got his first in the second.
1-0: UMass Lowell and Vermont have played four 1-0 games since 2008. Vermont won the first of those 1-0 games, UML won the remaining three including one in overtime on a Joe Houk goal with 15-seconds remaining on the clock.
ONE-GOAL GAMES: Twenty-three of the 49 games (46.9%) played between the two teams have been decided by one-goal or less. Each team has won eight, seven have ended as a tie.
ABOUT LAST WEEKEND: UMass Lowell split a pair of games at the Catamount Cup in Burlington, Vermont. The River Hawks defeated Harvard 5-2, but dropped the second game to St. Lawrence, 3-0. In the opener UML got goals from five different players. Ryan Dmowski got the game winner breaking a 2-2 tie late in the second period. The River Hawks added two more in the third period. Christoffer Hernberg made 24 saves to pick up the victory. In the second game, SLU took a 1-0 lead in the first period and added two goals late in the second period.
BACK-TO-BACK: This in the tenth of 16 regular season weekends during which the River Hawks will play back-to-back games. The River Hawks have three sweeps to their credit, four splits and also have been swept twice. UML is 6-3-0 on the first night, 4-5-0 on the second. A year ago the River Hawks were 11-6-1/11-5-2. UMass Lowell authored seven sweeps and were swept just twice.
A WIN TONIGHT WOULD... move the River Hawks move the River Hawks above the .500 mark in Hockey East play and move the team into third place in the league. It would also give Coach Norm Bazin his 162nd win at UMass Lowell and the 200th victory of his career. The first 38 were behind the bench at Hamilton College.
WHO's NEXT?: UMass Lowell stays at the Tsongas Center for a Saturday night confrontation with the University of Massachusetts. The River Hawks hold a 47-25-7 edge against UMass whom they will play just twice this year.
NEXT WEEKEND - GETTING A BREAK FROM WINTER: The weather forecast for Tempe, Arizona on January 12 and 13th calls for sunny skies and temperatures in the 70s. We note that because UMass Lowell will escape the New England winter weather and play two games at Arizona State that weekend. The River Hawks lead the all-time series 2-0-0. Those wins, 4-1 and 8-1, came in January of 2016.
THE ROAD AHEAD:   There are 15 games remaining on the UMass Lowell regular season schedule. Just three of their remaining seven opponents have records over .500. Combined their winning opponents (UMass, Boston College and Providence) are 32-21-3 while the other four (Vermont, Arizona State, AIC and Merrimack) are just 19-46-13.
HOME SWEET HOME: UMass Lowell is 77-32-12 (a .686 winning percentage) at the Tsongas Center since Norm Bazin took over behind the bench for the 2011-12 season. This year the River Hawks are 5-5-0 on home ice. The last time the River Hawks had a losing record at home was 2010-11 when the home team went 4-12-0.
HOME COOKING: UMass Lowell forward John Edwardh has scored five of his six goals and seven of his 13 points at the Tsongas Center this season. Defenseman Tommy Panico has scored all of his points, three-goals and added six-assists, at home. Defenseman Tyler Mueller has scored both of his goals at home and Nick Master has added both of his goals and five assists on home ice as well.
STALLED OFFENSE: When UMass Lowell was held off the score sheet by St. Lawrence December 30th it ended a streak of 119 games in which the River Hawks had scored at least one goal. The last time they were held off the board was a 2-0 loss at Connecticut on January 10, 2015. The 119 games is their longest streak since a school record 154-game streak that started after a 7-0 loss to Vermont on March 4, 1972, and ended with a 4-0 loss at Salem State on January 7, 1979. The previous Division I-era record was a 106-game streak that started after a 7-0 loss at Providence on March 6, 1992 and ended with an 8-0 loss at Northeastern on January 28, 1995.
NEUTRAL SITE: The Catamount Cup games are the only neutral site games that UMass Lowell has played this season. The River Hawks are 24-11-1, .667, at neutral sites since Norm Bazin took over behind the UML bench for the 2011-12 season.
NON-CONFERENCE, NO PROBLEM: UMass Lowell has more than held its own in non-conference play over the last six-plus years. UMass Lowell is 74-27-6 (.720) in non-conference games since the 2011-12 season.Â
SCHUTZ DEBUT: Forward Chris Schutz, after sitting out a year under NCAA transfer rules, skated in his first collegiate game December 29th against Harvard. He was held off the score sheet last night, but was a +3. Schutz began his collegiate career at Robert Morris, but never played a game before transferring last January. Schutz amassed 102 points in 106 games, over two seasons, for Alberni Valley of the BCHL.
AT THE BREAK: The River Hawks had nine wins at the break. That comes after four years of double digit wins during the first half of the season.  The most wins UMass Lowell has ever had going at the break was 12. The River Hawks did that in both 1986-87 and 2001-02. The last time the River Hawks did not reach double digits was 2012-13 when UML was 6-7-1 at the break. That River Hawk team proceeded to go 22-4-1 after the break and earned a spot in the Frozen Four. UML did pick up its 10th win in its first outing after the break. That was game 18 and the same game number in which win 10 came a year ago.
ON THE ROAD: UMass Lowell is 83-45-9, a .643 winning percentage when playing away from the Tsongas Center in the six-plus years that Norm Bazin had led the program. That .643 winning percentage is the best in the nation during that period.   The River Hawks are 59-34-8, .624, as the road team and 24-11-1, .700, in games played at a neutral site.
ROAD WARRIORS: UMass Lowell forwards Ryan Lohin and Kenny Hausinger appear to be comfortable on foreign ice. Six of Hausinger's seven goals and 12 of his 16-points have come on the road. Eleven of Lohin's 15-points (3g, 8a) have come on the road. Hausinger and Lohin are fourth and sixth in scoring among Hockey East players on the road.
FINDING THE TWINE: UMass Lowell forward Kenny Hausinger broke a ten game goal scoring drought with a third period marker December 9 at Boston University and followed that up with a goal against Harvard December 29th. Hausinger leads the River Hawks with seven goals but had not scored since October 21st at St. Lawrence. The right hand shot had scored five goals in the team's first six games.
ON TARGET: Kenny Hausinger leads UMass Lowell in shooting percentage and is second in Hockey East. He has scored seven goals on just 23 shots on goal, a percentage of 30.3%. Connor Wilson is second with four goals on 19 shots, 21.1%. As a team UMass Lowell scores on 10.7% of its shots. That's third in Hockey East, but the River Hawks are last in the league in shots on goal averaging 26.47 per game. A year ago UMass Lowell led Hockey East scoring on 12.6% of its shots.
MORE THAN ONE: Six different UMass Lowell players have had multi-goal games this season. Tommy Panico, Ryan Dmowski, Kenny Hausinger, Jake Kamrass, John Edwardh and Ryan Lohin have each found the back on the net twice in a game.
HEATING UP: UMass Lowell junior center Nick Master has been turning up the heat with some offensive contributions. Master has eight points, three-goals and five-assists, in his last nine games. That's after earning just a single assist in the team's first eight games.
FIRST 5/LAST 5?: UMass Lowell has finished periods far better than they have started them. The River Hawks have outscored their opponents 19-13 during the final five minutes of a period. The 19 goals in the final 5:00 is the second most in Hockey East and ninth best in the country. The 19 goals represent 35.2% of the River Hawks offense this season. Conversely, UMass Lowell has been outscored 14-9 in the first five minutes of a period. The night goals in the first five minutes is 48th in the country.
LAST CHANCE: UMass Lowell has been a strong third period team this season. The River Hawks have outscored opponents 22-9 in the final 20-minutes. Four of UMass Lowell's last seven wins have come on third period goals.
OFFENSE FROM DEFENSE: UMass Lowell is third in Hockey East in goals from the defense with 13 in the team's first 19 games. Their 48-points from the blue line is fourth in the league. Six different Dmen have scored goals, four, Tommy Panico, Tyler Mueller, Mattias Goransson and Chris Forney have two or more. Mueller leads River Hawk defensemen with 11-points. Mueller, Forney and Panico lead with three-goals apiece.
STINGY STARTS:Â UMass Lowell has allowed only 14 first period goals in 19 games this season, an average 0.74 goals per game. That puts the River Hawks second in Hockey East and 17th in the country.
BY THE CLOSEST OF MARGINS: UMass Lowell is 49-33-21, .578, in one-goal games since the 2011-12 season. Also, during that time period the River Hawks are 12-11-21 in games decided in overtime.
PROTECTING THE LEAD: Since Norm Bazin took over the coaching reins at UMass Lowell, the River Hawks are 121-5-9 when leading after two-periods. They are also 30-19-9 when the score is tied after two periods. The River Hawks are 6-0-0 when leading after two periods and were 22-1-2 when leading after two periods a year ago.
THREE IS THE MAGIC NUMBER: When UMass Lowell scores three or more goals in a game it is 135-20-6, .857 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 25-57-15, .335, since 2011-12.
CLUTCH AND IMPORTANT GOALS: Sophomore Ryan Lohin leads the River Hawks in clutch goals. All five of his goals are defined as "clutch" either tying the score or giving the UML the lead. Lohin has four tying goals and one that gave UML the lead. Jake Kamrass has four clutch goals. John Edwardh, Nick Master and Connor Wilson have three and Kenny Hausinger has two clutch goals this season. Edwardh led the team a year ago. Thirteen of his 19-goal came in the clutch.
BONUS TIME - NO BONUS: It has been a while since UMass Lowell won a game in overtime. The River Hawks' last OT win came on March 26, 2016 when they defeated Yale, 3-2, in the NCAAs, a span of 59 games. UML is 0-3-3 in OT since then.
100 GAMES CLUB: Three members of the UMass Lowell hockey team have played at least 100 games in their collegiate careers. Tyler Mueller (137), John Edwardh (120) and Chris Forney (118) 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 (98), Nick Master (96) and Jake Kamrass (94) are next on the list.
ON THE PP AGAIN: UMass Lowell has the second busiest power play in Hockey East. The River Hawks have been on the power play 92 times in their first 19-games. That's an average of 4.84 power plays per game. Only Providence averages more man advantage situations per game, 5.20. Â
THE POWER PLAY: The UMass Lowell power is looking to find a bit of consistency. The River Hawk power play scored goals in consecutive games for the first time in more than a month when they did so December 8 and 9 against BU, but UML was 0-for-10 last weekend. On the season the River Hawks are 14-for-92, 15.2%, with the man advantage.
OK ON THE PK: UMass Lowell penalty killing unit has been consistently inconsistent. It has surrendered power play goals in 11 of 19 games. The unit has an 80.8% success rate for the season.
GOING TO THE BOX, OR NOT: UMass Lowell has spent less time, on average, in the penalty box than any other team in Hockey East. The River Hawks have been whistled 75 times for an average of 9.74 minutes per game. UMass Lowell is the sixth least penalized team in the country. Vermont is the 19th most penalized team in the country averaging 13.11 minutes in the box per game.Â
BIG ICE: The Norm Bazin led River Hawks have played well on "Big Ice." Including last weekend's games at the Catamount Cup. The River Hawks are 39-14-5 on ice sheets larger than the standard/NHL 200 x 85 during Bazin's six-plus years behind the bench. They are 20-11-3 on ice sheets that measure 200 x 90, such as the Gutterson Fieldhouse, and 12-3-1 on the Olympic, 200 x 100, sheet.Â
600 Wins: Last Friday night's win against Harvard was the 600th in UMass Lowell's Division I history. The River Hawks are one of eight Hockey East schools to have reached that number.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES: Forward Kenny Hausinger has gotten off to a quick start scoring seven goals and 16-points in the River Hawks first 19 games. Last year, Hausinger had just five-points, three goals and three assists, after 19 team games. That is far ahead of the pace he set last year. Hausinger did not score his sixteenth point of the 2016-17 season until the team's 37th game March 13th against New Hampshire.
THE SENIOR CLASS: The six-member UMass Lowell senior class has accumulated a record of 83-42-12, a .650 winning percentage. The class ranks second in Hockey East in wins and third in winning percentage. Only Providence, 88 wins, has more victories during the period. The class which includes forwards Ryan Collins, John Edwardh, and Jake Kamrass and defensemen Chris Forney, Tyler Mueller and Tommy Panico has won one HEA 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.
SEEN IT ALL AND COUNTING: UMass Lowell Head Athletic Trainer Artie Poitras is the longest serving hockey athletic trainer with one team and the second longest serving in the country. Poitras has been on the bench, in his role as athletic trainer, for 37 years since starting his UMass Lowell career in 1981. He has been witness to a National Championship, three Hockey East Tournament Titles and ten NCAA Tournament visits. The athletic trainer has worked 1,365 games including 1,298 Division I games. He has missed only one game. Poitras is working on a consecutive games streak that has now reached 889.
AMONG THE NATIONAL LEADERS: UMass Lowell goalie Christoffer Hernberg is eighth in the nation in goals against average, 1.94, and seventh in save percentage, .928. Hernberg has started 13 and appeared in 16 of the River Hawks 19 games this season and leads Hockey East in saver percentage and is second in GAA.
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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