SCOUTING THE RIVER HAWKS:  UMass Lowell is 16-16-0/10-12-0 after last weekend's pair of losses at the hands of Providence.  The River Hawks have dropped four in a row and are at .500 overall and dropped under .500 in Hockey East play.  The River Hawks are 9-6-0 at the Tsongas Center and 7-10-0 on the road.  UMass Lowell, currently sitting in seventh place, was picked for a second place finish in the Hockey East Coaches' Pre-Season Poll.  Ryan Lohin leads the team with 25-points (9g, 16a).  He is 16th in scoring among Hockey East players.  Kenny Hausinger tops the goals scored list with ten.  Twenty different players have scored goals, 16 have three or more.  Christoffer Hernberg has started in 21 games and has a 2.18 GAA and a .918 save percentage.  Tyler Wall has won three of his last five starts.

SCOUTING THE WARRIORS:  Merrimack is 9-18-4/6-14-2 after splitting a pair of games last weekend.  The Warriors topped UNH, 3-2, on Friday but lost to BU 3-1 on Saturday.  Merrimack has split its last four games, but has won just two of its last nine.  They are in 11th place in the Hockey East standings after being pegged for a ninth place finish in the Hockey East Coaches' Pre-Season Poll.  Eighteen players have scored goals, 13 have more than one and two are in double digits.  Brett Seney leads the team with 27-points.  Seney and Ludvig Larson are tied for the team lead in goals with 11.  Craig Patano has started 21 of the team's 31 games in nets.  He's got a 2.42 Goals Against Average and a .914 save percentage. 

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. MERRIMACK:  This is the 126th meeting between the two schools in a series that dates back to 1971 when both were playing at a Division II level.  Merrimack won the first ten games between the two schools, but UMass Lowell leads the all-time series, 77-37-11 and holds a 55-18-9 advantage since Merrimack became a member of Hockey East.  The River Hawks have lost just one the last 11 meetings.  The River Hawks swept their only post-season confrontation, two-games to none, in 1994. 

PROTECTING THE NET:  UMass Lowell has held Merrimack to two or fewer goals in the last 13 games between the two teams.  In ten of those 13 games the River Hawks have held Merrimack to no more than one goal.  UML has outscored Merrimack 36-14 during that stretch.  The formula has not always added up to a win.  UMass Lowell is 8-2-3 in those thirteen games.

LAST YEAR vs. MERRIMACK:  UMass Lowell swept the season series from Merrimack a years ago winning 4-1 at the Tsongas Center and then 5-1 in North Andover.  The opener was closer than the score might suggest.  It was a 1-1 game midway through the third period.  Ryan Dmowski broke the tie with 8:15 to go in the period and the River Hawks added two more in the later stages of the period.  The second night UMass Lowell got goals from five different players and controlled the game from start to finish.

AT THE LAWLER RINK:  The Lawler Rink, home of Merrimack College hockey, holds a special place in UMass Lowell hockey history.  It was on that ice surface that UMass Lowell won its first Division II National Championship.  In 1979 the Chiefs defeated Illinois-Chicago, 10-6, and Mankato State, 6-4, to claim the trophy.  Two years later ULowell grabbed its second title beating Mankato State, 8-7 in OT, and Plattsburgh State, 5-4, at the Lawler Rink.  The River Hawks are 35-21-5 all-time at the Lawler Arena.

FIFTH PLACE...?:  Going into the final weekend of the Hockey East regular season, UMass Lowell still has a chance to earn a first round bye, but the team would need some help.  The River Hawks can finish fifth if they sweep their home-and-home series against Merrimack and UConn ties or loses, Thursday night, to Massachusetts and Maine gets no more than one-point in their two-game series at Boston College.

150 GAMES:  Defensemen Tyler Mueller has played 150 games in a River Hawk uniform.  He reached the milestone last Saturday night when UMass Lowell faced Providence at the Tsongas Center.  He is tied for 11th on the all-time list and third among UMass Lowell defensemen.  Michael Kapla is the River Hawk record holder with 161 games played.  Mueller has missed only two-games in his collegiate career and is on a consecutive games streak that has now reached 55.

THE SENIOR CLASS: The six-member UMass Lowell senior class has accumulated a record of 89-49-14, a .632 winning percentage.  The class ranks second in Hockey East in wins and third in winning percentage.  Only Providence, 95 wins, has more victories.  The River Hawks are tied for seventh in the nation in wins during the four years.  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, which will be honored on the ice on Saturday night, ranks fourth among UML teams.  The 2016 senior class tops the list with 100 victories.

BACK-TO-BACK:  This is the 16th regular season weekend during which the River Hawks will play back-to-back games.  The River Hawks have four sweeps to their credit, seven splits and also have been swept four times.  UML is 10-5-0 on the first night, 5-10-0 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 COULD...:  Keep alive hopes of earning a first round bye in the Hockey East Tournament.  It would also move the team back over the .500 mark overall and within one game of .500 in conference play.  It would also be the 205th win in Norm Bazin's coaching career.

MORE THAN ONE IN A ROW:  UMass Lowell has not won consecutive games in more than a month.  The last time the River Hawks put consecutive wins together was January 5, 6 and 12 with wins against Vermont, Massachusetts and Arizona State.  Since that time every win has been followed by a loss.

FIVE (?) IN A ROW:  With last Saturday night's 3-1 loss to Providence, UMass Lowell has lost four in a row for the first time this season and only the third time since Norm Bazin became the head coach in 2011-12.  No Bazin coached team has ever lost five in a row.  The last time they had a four game losing streak was in January of 2017.  They followed that with a seven game winning streak.

NOT FIT TO BE TIED:  UMass Lowell is the only team in Hockey East and one of just two in the country without a tie on its record.  It has been 57 games since UML and UConn battled to a 2-2 tie on December 3, 2016.  Only once in UML's Division I history has it played a full season without a tie.  That was 1998-99 when the River Hawks went 17-19-0.  They played 11 one-goal games that year winning seven and split four overtime games.  This year UMass Lowell has played ten one-goal games, winning six and four overtime games, winning just one.  In 2011-12 the River Hawks nearly went a full season without a tie. They had just one; that came in game number 31.  During the late 1970s and early 1980s ULowell went more than five seasons, 177 games, without a tie.

NEXT WEEKEND:  At this point that is undetermined.  UMass Lowell can still earn a first round bye.  It is also possible that the River Hawks will be hosting an opening round series in the Hockey East Tournament.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES: Five River Hawks have shown a significant increase in offensive numbers this season.  Forward Ryan Dmowski and defenseman Tommy Panico both show an incrase of 12 points through 32 games this season compared to the same juncture in the 2016-17 season.  Dmowski has increased his goals by two and assists by ten.  Panico increased his goals by five and assists by seven.  Tyler Mueller shows a ten-point increase.  Colin O'Neill is up by nine assists and Kenny Hausinger shows an 8-point increase.

ON THE ROAD: UMass Lowell is 85-51-9, a .617 winning percentage when playing away from the Tsongas Center in the six-plus years that Norm Bazin had led the program.  That .617 winning percentage is the second best in the nation during that period.    The River Hawks are 61-40-8, .596, as the road team and 24-11-1, .681, in games played at a neutral site.  UML has won seven of sixteen road games this season.

ROAD WARRIORS: UMass Lowell forwards Ryan Lohin and Kenny Hausinger appear to be comfortable on foreign ice.  Eight of Hausinger's ten goals and 15 of his 20-points have come on the road.  He is fourth in Hockey East in goals on the road and is 11th in points away from home.  13 of Lohin's 24 points have come on the road.  Lohin is 21st among Hockey East players in points on the road.

HOME SWEET HOME: UMass Lowell is 82-33-12 (a .693 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 9-6-0 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 seven of his nine goals and eleven of his 19 points at the Tsongas Center this season.  Defenseman Tommy Panico has scored 12 (3g, 9a) of his 19 points at home.  Defenseman Chris Forney has five of his six goals and 12 of 18 points at home.  Forward Ryan Dmowski has five-goals and 13 of his 18 points at home.

ATTENDANCE LEADERS:  UMass Lowell is leading Hockey East in average attendance.  The River Hawks are averaging 5,060 per game through first 15 home contests.  The River Hawks are the only Hockey East team averaging more than 5,000-fans per game.  They are 11th in the nation.  UMass Lowell led Hockey East in average attendance, a year ago, drawing 5,542 per game.   

A CAREER YEAR:  UMass Lowell senior Dman Tommy Panico and junior forward Ryan Dmowski are having career years.  Panico, with seven-goals and 12-assists, has put up career best numbers in both categories.  His previous personal bests were three-goals as a junior and ten-assists as a sophomore.  Dmowski has career highs in assists (10) and points (18).  His eight goals is matches last year's number.

FRESHMEN SHALL LEAD:  UMass Lowell freshmen Anthony Baxter and Connor Sodergren lead the team in plus/minus numbers.  Baxter, a defenseman, is a team best 11.  He is fourth among Hockey East freshmen.  Sodergren ranks second on the River Hawk roster at 6.

OFFENSE FROM DEFENSE: UMass Lowell is third in Hockey East and 11th in the country with 80 points from the defense.  The River Hawk defense has contributed 23 goals and 57-assists.  The 23 goals is second in Hockey East trailing Boston University by just three-goals and is fourth in the nation.  Seven different Dmen have scored goals, four, Tommy Panico, Tyler Mueller, Mattias Goransson and Chris Forney have two or more.  Panico leads River Hawk defensemen with seven-goals and 19-points.  Forney has six-goals and 18-points, Mueller has four goals and 15-points.

POWERING UP: UMass Lowell defensemen Chris Forney and Tommy Panico have combined for 24 power play points.  Forney leads the team and is ninth, fourth among defensemen, in HEA in PP points with 13 and a team leading four PP goals.  Panico has added two PP goals and nine PP assists.

BY THE CLOSEST OF MARGINS: UMass Lowell is 51-34-21, .580, in one-goal games since the 2011-12 season.  Also, during that time period the River Hawks are 13-12-21 in games decided in overtime.

PROTECTING THE LEAD: Since Norm Bazin took over the coaching reins at UMass Lowell, the River Hawks are 126-6-9 when leading after two-periods.  They are also 30-20-9 when the score is tied after two periods.  The River Hawks are 11-1-0 when leading after two periods this season and were 22-1-2 when leading after two periods a year ago.

THE CENTURY CLUB: Jake Kamrass became the sixth member of the team to log 100 games or more in his collegiate career when he played January 20th in Vermont. Kamrass (107) joined teammates Tyler Mueller (150), John Edwardh (132), Chris Forney (131), Tommy Panico (111) and Nick Master (109) in the Century Club.  Next on the list is Connor Wilson (95).

THREE IS THE MAGIC NUMBER: When UMass Lowell scores three or more goals in a game it is 141-21-6, .857 during the last six-plus years.  The River Hawks are 14-4-0, this season, and were 25-3-1 a year ago.  When scoring two goals or less in a game the River Hawks are 26-63-15, .322, since 2011-12.

ON THE PP AGAIN:  UMass Lowell has the second busiest power play in Hockey East.  The River Hawks have been on the power play 142 times in their first 32-games.  Providence with 156 PP opportunities leads the league.  UML averages 4.44 power plays per game.  Providence is at 4.73.  

THE POWER PLAY:  The UMass Lowell power is looking to find a bit of consistency.  The River Hawks are 5-for-42 in their last nine games.  That followed 4-for-6 weekend against Vermont and Massachusetts.  And that's after UML was 0-for-10 the weekend before.  On the season the River Hawks are 24-for-142, 16.9%, with the man advantage.

ON THE PK:  UMass Lowell penalty killing unit has been consistently inconsistent.  It has surrendered power play goals in 18 of 32 games.  The unit has killed just 19 of the last 27 shorthanded situations and has a 79.2% 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 136 times for an average of 9.44 minutes per game.  UMass Lowell is the sixth least penalized team in the country.  Merrimack is the 21st least penalized team in the country averaging 10.84 minutes in the box per game. 

CLUTCH AND IMPORTANT GOALS: Sophomore Ryan Lohin leads the River Hawks in clutch goals.  Six of his nine 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.  Connor Wilson, John Edwardh, Jake Kamrass, Ryan Dmowski and Chris Forney have four clutch goals.  Edwardh led the team a year ago.  Thirteen of his 19-goal came in the clutch.