Non-Commercial Radio: WUML 91.5 FM
Talent: Connor Capozzi (Play by Play); Brianne Dillon (Analyst)

SCOUTING THE RIVER HAWKS:  UMass Lowell is 7-6-1/3-3-1 after splitting a weekend home-and-home series against Rensselaer.  RPI won 2-1, Friday night at the Tsongas Center, and the River Hawks responded with a 5-2 win in Troy, N.Y.  UMass Lowell was picked for a seventh place finish by Hockey East Coaches and was placed sixth in the Media Poll.  Ryan Lohin leads the team in goals with six and points with 11.  Fourteen different players have scored goals, ten have scored more than once.  Tyler Wall has started ten of the team's 14-games and has a 1.80 goals against average and a .933 save percentage.  Both Wall, with two, and Christoffer Hernberg have thrown shutouts.

SCOUTING THE TERRIERS:  Boston University is 4-7-2 / 4-4-2 after picking up only one of four points in a weekend series against Commonwealth Avenue rival Boston College.  BC topped BU 4-1 Friday night and the teams battled to a 0-0 tie on Saturday at the Conte Forum.  The Terriers were picked to finish third in both the Hockey East Coaches' and Media Pre-Season Polls.  Nine different players have scored goals, eight have more than one.  Bobo Carpenter leads the team with six-goals.  Defenseman Dante Fabbro tops the team scoring chart with 12-points, including nine-assists.  Jake Oettinger has started 12 of the team's 13 games in nets and has a 2.65 goals against average and a .922 save percentage.  He made 42 saves in last Saturday's shutout of BC.

ALL-TIME SERIES vs. BU:  This is the 114th meeting between the two schools in a series that dates back to 1983.  BU leads the series 74-30-9.  These two teams have split the season series in each of the last two years, each winning at home.  The Terriers have a 9-4-0 edge in Hockey East Tournament games, but UMass Lowell swept the Terriers out of the Hockey East tournament, two-games-to-none, in the 2016 Tournament.  The two teams have met four times in the Hockey East Championship Game.  BU has won three of the four, but UMass Lowell's first Hockey East Championship ended BU's 2013 season and coaching legend Jack Parker's career.  The River Hawks hold a 12-7-1 edge since Norm Bazin became the head coach.

A YEAR AGO:  UMass Lowell and Boston University each won on home ice as the two teams split the regular season series a year ago. Chris Forney and Ryan Collins scored third period goals as the River Hawks came from behind to beat BU at the Tsongas Center, 3-2, in the series opener.  The Terriers put 47 shots on nets the following night and defeated UMass Lowell 9-3.

A WIN TONIGHT WOULD...:  ...move UMass Lowell two games over the .500 mark for the first time this season.  It would also move the River Hawks Hockey East record over the .500 mark and potentially push the team into sixth place.

AT THE AGGANIS:  UMass Lowell has not won a hockey Game at the Agganis Arena in almost six years.  That last win, 3-0, was February 22, 2013.  Scott Wilson, Joe Pendenza and Riley Wetmore scored goals for UMass Lowell.  Connor Hellebuyck made 25 saves to pick up the shutout win.

NOT RANKED:  This is the second consecutive year the two teams have faced one another and neither is ranked in either of the two national polls.  The last time that the two met in consecutive years when neither was ranked was during a stretch in 1998 and 1999.  Before last season one or both of the teams had been ranked for every meeting since December 7, 2007.  In that game UMass Lowell overcame a 2-0 deficit and went on to a 4-3.  Ryan Blair's third period goal gave the River Hawks the lead for good and Kory Falite had the eventual game winner 16 seconds later.  The following Monday UMass Lowell appeared at number 20 in the USCHO poll.  Since that time UML and BU have met 32 times with one or both ranked.  BU holds an 18-13-1 edge in those 32 games. 

LOHIN BEHOLD:  UMass Lowell forward Ryan Lohin has lifted his game in the last month.  Lohin is on a six-game point scoring streak.  The streak started with consecutive two-goal games against UNH and Northeastern, November 9th and 10th.   He has scored six-goals and ten-points during the streak.  The six game scoring streak matches a career high accomplished in February of 2017.

PROTECTING THE NET:  UMass Lowell goalie Tyler Wall has allowed no more than two goals in each of his last five starts and in eight of his ten starts this season.  Over the last five Wall has a goals against average of 1.59 and a .934 save percentage.

BACK-TO-BACK:  This is the eighth of 15 "back-to-back" series that UMass Lowell will play this year.  Last weekend UMass Lowell split a pair of games with RPI.  That came after a series sweep of UConn a week earlier.  The 5-2 and 3-0 wins against the Huskies constituted the team's first sweep weekend of the season.  UMass Lowell is 3-3-1 on the first night and 4-3-0 on the second after seven weekends.  The River Hawks played back-to-back games on 17 weekends during the 2017-18 season.  UML had four sweeps to its credit, eight splits and also were swept five times.  UML was 10-7-0 on the first night, 5-12-0 on the second.  In 2016-17 the River Hawks were 11-6-1/11-5-2.  UMass Lowell authored seven sweeps and were swept just twice.

ON THE ROAD: UMass Lowell is 90-55-9, a .614 winning percentage when playing away from the Tsongas Center in the seven-plus years that Norm Bazin has led the program.  That .614 winning percentage is the fourth best in the nation during that period.    The River Hawks are 66-43-8, .598, as the road team and 24-11-1, .681, in games played at a neutral site.

ROAD WARRIORS: Several River Hawks appear to feel right at home when they are on the road.  Sam Knoblauch has scored six (3g, 3a) of his seven points this season on the road.  Lucas Condotta has scored his six-points (3g, 3a) in enemy buildings and Nick Master has scored four (3g, 1a) of five on the road.  Kenny Hausinger has seen seven of his ten points come on the road and Connor Sodergren has scored six of seven points on the road. 

HOME SWEET HOME: UMass Lowell is 84-38-13 (a .670 winning percentage) at the Tsongas Center since Norm Bazin took over behind the bench for the 2011-12 season.  In 2017-18 the River Hawks were 10-8-0 on home ice.  They are 2-3-1 this season.  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: Ryan Dmowski leads a group of River Hawks who have flourished at home in the early going.  Dmowski has scored five of his eight points in front of the Tsongas Center faithful.  Seth Barton has four of his five points at home.  Ryan Lohin has four points of his nine-point offensive output in just four home games.

LAST TIME ON THE ICE:  UMass Lowell and RPI split a pair of games on the weekend of November 23-25, each team was a winner on the opponent's home ice.  The Engineers got goals from Will Reilly and Jakub Lacka and defeated UMass Lowell, 2-1, Friday night at the Tsongas Center.  Five different players scored goals for UMass Lowell in the Sunday, 5-2, win in the Houston Field House.

NEXT WEEKEND:  The River Hawks get a breather next weekend and a bit more than just that.  UMass Lowell will go on break for final exams and the winter holidays.  The hockey team will return to action December 29th at the Tsongas Center for a game against Denver.  The two teams have met just ten times in the past with the Pioneers holding an 8-2-0 edge.  Both UMass Lowell wins came at the Tully Forum in the 1980s.  This will be Denver's first visit to the Tsongas Center.

TWO GAMES IN 32 DAYS:  This weekend's games against Boston University are the only contests on the UMass Lowell schedule during a 32-day period of time.  The River Hawks last played November 25th at RPI and after this weekend will be off until December 29th when they host Denver.  The last time UMass Lowell had only two games in 32-days was in 2013.

IN THE CLUTCH:  Connor Wilson, Ryan Dmowski and Kenny Hausinger lead the River Hawks with three-clutch goals apiece.  A "clutch goal" is defined as a goal that either ties the score or gives the team the lead in a hockey game.  Three of Hausingers five goals this season have given the River Hawks the lead.  Wilson and Dmowski each have two lead goals and one that tied the score.  Wilson and Ryan Lohin led the team a year ago with six clutch goals each.

NON-CONFERENCE, NO PROBLEM: UMass Lowell has more than held its own in non-conference play over the last seven-plus years.  UMass Lowell is 80-33-6 (.698) in non-conference games since the 2011-12 season.  The River Hawks were 6-4-0 playing out of conference during the 2017-18 season and are 4-3-0 this year.

IN NHL BUILDINGS:  The XL Center in Hartford, where UMass Lowell and UConn played last Friday evening, once was home to the NHL's Hartford Whalers.  The River Hawks now have a 46-43-9 record in buildings that have been the home to an NHL team.  UMass Lowell is 9-9-1 in the TD Garden/Fleet Center, 4-5-0 in the old Boston Garden, 1-2-0 at the CONSOL Energy Center, 1-0-1 at the HSBC Arena in Buffalo, 2-2-1 at the XL Center and 29-25-6 in the Matthews Arena, the original home of the Boston Bruins then known as the Boston Arena.  Excluding the Matthews Arena, UMass Lowell is 17-18-3 in NHL Buildings.

FINDING SOME CONSISTENCY:  The River Hawks have won consecutive games only once this season.  That happened November 16 and 17 when the River Hawks defeated UConn 5-2 and 3-0.  UMass Lowell had not won consecutive games since winning three in a row January 5, 6 and 12 of 2018.  Those wins came against Vermont (6-0), Massachusetts (8-3) and Arizona State (4-0).

FIVE GOALS:  The five goal total on the UMass Lowell side of the scoreboard November 16th against UConn was the largest scoring output so far this season.  The River Hawks then matched that total nine days later with a 5-2 win at Rensselaer.  The last time UMass Lowell scored five goals in a game was in last season's regular season finale, a 5-0 win against Merrimack.  The last time the River Hawks scored more than five-goals in a game was January 6, 2018 in an 8-3 win against UMass.

LICENSE TO KILL: The UMass Lowell penalty killing unit has been playing some of its best hockey of late.  Over a seven-game stretch the PK unit has successfully killed off 23 of 26 (88.5%) man down situations and has come up with a shorthanded goal.  The River Hawks are 4-2-1 over those seven games.  

MAN DOWN AND DANGEROUS: Colin O'Neill has been a key part of the River Hawk penalty killing unit since freshman year and the junior has been an offensive cog when down a man.  Four of O'Neill 11 career goals have come while shorthanded.

FLUXUATIONS IN THE POWER GRID:  The UMass Lowell power play has been on on-again off-again proposition.  The River Hawks scored three times on the power play November 10th at Northeastern.  That snapped an oh-for-21 power outage. The River Hawks also picked up a power play goal in the following game against UConn, but is currently on an 0-for-10 stretch over its last three games.  The PP Unit has scored in just three of its last 11 games and has an 15.9 success rate for the season.

DOMINATING THE DOT: After a slow start, UMass Lowell is now dominating at the faceoff circle.  The River Hawks have won 453 of 882 puck drops, a winning percentage of 51.4%, fifth best in Hockey East.  The turnaround has come during the last eight games.  UMass Lowell has won 276 of 504 faceoffs, 54.8%, the best in Hockey East and seventh in the country since November 2nd.  Top performances at the dot have come from Charlie Levesque and Lucas Condotta.  During the eight game stretch Levesque has won 73 of 114 draws, 64.0%, and Condotta has won 61 of 95, 64.2%.

GETTING IN THE WAY:  UMass Lowell is third in Hockey East in total blocked shots and blocked shots per game.  The River Hawks have blocked 163 shots in 14-games this season, an average of 11.64 shots blocked per game.  Defenseman Mattias Göransson leads the team with 18 blocks.  Defensemen Anthony Baxter, Croix Evingson, Seth Barton, Jon McDonald, Avni Berisha and Forwards Ryan Lohin and Charlie Levesque are all in double digits as well.

63 GAMES:  UMass Lowell forward Colin O'Neill has skated in 63 consecutive games. That is the longest active consecutive games streak on the River Hawk roster.  O'Neill's streak began February 4, 2017, his freshman season, in an 8-2 win against UNH.  Ryan Dmowski is second on the consecutive games list with 48 and Charlie Levesque is third with 43.  Ryan Lohin, who had not missed a game in his collegiate career, saw his consecutive games streak end at 81 when he was sidelined with an injury earlier this season.  Michael Kapla is the River Hawk record holder with 161 consecutive games played. 

YOUTH MOVEMENT: The UMass Lowell freshmen class has been key to the River Hawk offense.  The group, with 12-goals and 31-points, is the top scoring of the four classes.  The class is second in Hockey East in goals and in points.  Sam Knoblauch is fifth in the league in goals by a freshman with four.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES:  UMass Lowell forward Connor Sodergren has one-goal and seven-points in 14-games.  A year ago Sodergren did not get his seventh point until the 24th game of the season.  Goalie Tyler Wall has also made a jump.  A year ago he showed an 0-5-0 record with a 4.99 Goals Against Average and an .825 save percentage.  This year Wall is 5-4-1 with a 1.80 GAA and a .933 Sv%.

GETTING THE FIRST ONE: Five UMass Lowell players have already notched their first collegiate goal during the 2018-19 season.  For two players first-goals came in the second game of the season against RIT.  Forward Sam Knoblauch found the back of the net at the 17:51 mark of the first period to give UMass Lowell a 2-0 lead.  Forward Reid Stefanson tied the game at four with a minute and 14-seconds remaining in the third period.  Lucas Condotta picked up his first collegiate goal last Saturday to close out the scoring in the 4-2 win at Bentley.  Chase Blackmun put his name on the scoresheet November 2nd at Maine.  Jon McDonald joined the first goal club Friday night against Rensselaer. 
 

MULTI GOAL GAMES: Four different UMass Lowell players have posted multi-goal games this season.  Ryan Lohin has done it twice, all in one weekend.  Kenny Hausinger, Nick Master and Ryan Dmowski also have two-goal games.

PROTECTING THE LEAD: Since Norm Bazin took over the coaching reins at UMass Lowell, the River Hawks are 132-9-9 when leading after two-periods.  They are also 31-20-9 when the score is tied after two periods.  The River Hawks were 12-2-0 when leading after two periods during the 2017-18 season and were 22-1-2 when leading after two periods two years ago.  They are 5-2-0 this season.

BY THE CLOSEST OF MARGINS: UMass Lowell is 53-42-22, .547, in one-goal games since the 2011-12 season.  The team is 2-5-1 this year in one-goal games.  The River Hawks played 12 one-goal games a year ago.  The results were split down the middle 6-6-0. 

THREE IS THE MAGIC NUMBER: When UMass Lowell scores three or more goals in a game it is 146-23-6, .851 during the last seven-plus years.  The River Hawks were 15-4-0, last season, and were 25-3-1 two years ago.  When scoring two goals or less in a game the River Hawks are 27-69-16, .313, since 2011-12.

A GOOD START: UMass Lowell has allowed just eight first period goals 14 games into the season.  Only two Hockey East teams have better numbers.  UMass has allowed only six first period goals in 13-games.  Providence has allowed seven first period goals.  The River Hawks have outscored opponents 11-8 in the first period.

THE FINAL THIRD: Fourteen games into the season and the River Hawks have outscored their opponents 16-goals to 11 in the third period of play.  That continues a trend seen a year ago.  UMass Lowell outscored opponents by 15-goals in the third period during the 2017-18 season.  That was the sixth highest goal differential in the country.

THE 2019 SENIOR CLASS: The six-member UMass Lowell senior class has accumulated a record of 76-46-9, a .615 winning percentage.  The class ranks second in Hockey East in wins and third in winning percentage.  The class which includes forwards Ryan Dmowski, Connor Wilson, Nick Master and Keith Burchett and defenseman Avni Berisha and goalie Christoffer Hernberg has won one HEA regular season title, a tournament championship, four in-season tournaments and made two appearances in the NCAA tournament.  The class ranks fifth among UML teams.  The 2016 senior class tops the list with 100 victories.

PLAYING WITH THE EXTRA SKATER: When UMass Lowell scored twice with an extra attacker on the ice November 9th against UNH it was the first extra attacker goal that the River Hawks had scored in a bit more than a year.  The last extra attacker goal had come on October 28, 2017 when Ryan Dmowski scored with 1:38 left on the clock to tie the score at four.  Northeastern went on to win in overtime.

TWO WITH AN EXTRA ATTACKER: UMass Lowell scored two extra attacker goals November 9th to earn a 2-2 tie with New Hampshire.  The River Hawks had not scored two six on five goals in the same game since October 16, 2010 when they worked the magic in a game against RIT at the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester.  The first was scored by Michael Scheu on a delayed penalty at 12:22 of the third period.  The second came at 19:59 of the third period with the goalie pulled.

THE CENTURY CLUB: Three members of the UMass Lowell roster have played more than 100 games in their collegiate careers.  Nick Master leads the group with 127 games in a River Hawk uniform.  Connor Wilson (112) and Ryan Dmowski (109) joined the club earlier this season.  Next on the list are Ryan Lohin (87), Mattias Göransson (86), Colin O'Neill (85) and Kenny Hausinger (82).  A year ago UMass Lowell had six players on the roster with more than 100 games played in their collegiate careers. 

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