SCOUTING THE RIVER HAWKS: UMass Lowell is 15-12-0/10-8-0 after last weekend's split with Boston College. The River Hawks have won 11 of their last 17 games and nine of their last 12 Hockey East games. The River Hawks are 8-5-0 at the Tsongas Center and 7-7-0 on the road. UMass Lowell, currently sitting in a fourth place tie with Boston University, was picked for a second place finish in the Hockey East Coaches' Pre-Season Poll. Ryan Lohin leads the team with 22-points (8g, 14a). He is 11th in scoring among Hockey East players. Kenny Hausinger and John Edwardh top the goals scored list with nine. Nineteen different players have scored goals, 16 have more than one. Christoffer Hernberg has started in 17 games and has a 2.17 GAA and a .918 save percentage. Tyler Wall has won his last three of his last four starts.
SCOUTING THE YELLOW JACKETS:  American Internation is 10-16-4/9-12-4 after this past weekend's visit to Air Force. AIC grabbed only one of four possible points. The Yellow Jackets are sitting in seventh place in the Atlantic Hockey standings after being picked for ninth place in both the Coaches' and the Media Pre-season Polls. They have won one of five non-conference games and are winless in three against hockey East teams. Nineteen players have scored goals, 15 have more than one. Freshman Brennan Kapcheck leads the team in scoring with 21-points. Sophomore Blake Christensen leads the team with 11-goals. Stefano Durante has started 17 of the team's 30 games in nets. He's got a 2.35 Goals Against Average and an .908 save percentage.Â
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. AIC: This is the 18th meeting between UMass Lowell and American International, but only the third in more than 30 years. UMass Lowell holds a slight edge over the previous 17 games 9-8-0. Six of the matches went to overtime. The first ever meeting between the two clubs, Feb. 5, 1970, resulted in an 9-4 AIC win. UMass Lowell won the last four dating back to 1980 including the most recent outing, 5-4, on February16, 2016.
TWO YEARS AGO: UMass Lowell defeated AIC, 5-4, on the strength of a Nick Master hat trick, February 16, 2016. Master scored the game tying goal with under seven-minutes remaining in the third period and then added the game winner in the final minute of play. Bryant Christian had two goals and an assist for the Yellow Jackets. AIC goalie Alex Murray had 41 saves in the contest. Master, Christian and Murray still suit up for their respective teams.
LAST TIME ON ICE: UMass Lowell split a pair of games with Boston College, each winning at home. UMass Lowell won the opener when Chris Schutz broke a 2-2 third period tie with a shot from the right wing just 66-seconds after Graham McPhee's second goal of the game had tied the score. Tyler Wall made 25 saves to pick up his third win of the season. BC, the second night, built a 5-0 lead by the middle of the second period and went on to a 5-2 victory.
STAND ALONE: This is just the second stand-alone game that UMass Lowell has played this season. The last time the River Hawks had a stand-alone game, also on a Tuesday night, they faced Bentley and were beaten 3-2 in overtime.
BACK-TO-BACK: This is the 13th of 16 regular season weekends during which the River Hawks will play back-to-back games. The River Hawks have four sweeps to their credit, six splits and also have been swept twice.  UML is 10-3-0 on the first night, 5-7-0 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.
VERSUS ATLANTIC HOCKEY: UMass Lowell has had a great deal of success against members of the Atlantic Hockey Association. The River Hawks are 17-3-3, all-time, against AHA teams and 14-3-3 against the current league membership representing the conference. They are 74-24-5 all-time against teams who now carry the AHA banner.Â
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 75-28-6 (.709) in non-conference games since the 2011-12 season. The River Hawks are 5-4-0 this season playing out of conference.
A WIN TONIGHT WOULD...: Move the team four games over the .500 mark. A win would also allow UML to wrap up their non-conference schedule with a 6-4-0 record. It would also be the 204th win in Norm Bazin's coaching career.
WHO'S NEXT: This weekend UMass Lowell gets back to Hockey East action with a pair of games on the road against different opponents. The River Hawks visit Boston College on Friday and travel to UMass on Saturday. UMass Lowell split two games earlier this season against BC. The Eagles hold the edge in the all-time series, 64-40-9. UMass Lowell defeated Massachusetts earlier this season, 8-3, and have the all-time advantage 47-25-7. The River Hawks are 17-1-1 in the last 19 games between the two.
THE ROAD AHEAD:   There are seven games remaining on the UMass Lowell regular season schedule. Two of their remaining five opponents have records of .500 or better. Combined their winning opponents (Boston College and Providence) are 30-20-7 while the other three (AIC, UMass and Merrimack) are just 29-48-9.
HOME SWEET HOME: UMass Lowell is 81-32-12 (a .696 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 8-5-0 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 seven of his nine goals and ten of his 17 points at the Tsongas Center this season. Defenseman Tommy Panico has scored 12 (3g, 9a) of his 15 points at home. Forward Ryan Dmowski has five-goals and 13 of his 17 points at home.
POWERING UP: UMass Lowell defensemen Chris Forney and Tommy Panico have combined for 23 power play points. Forney leads UMass Lowell and is sixth in Hockey East in power play points with 13 and a team leading four PP goals. Panico has added a PP goal and nine PP assists.
BONUS TIME - NO BONUS UNTIL NOW: Before winning, 3-2, Jan. 19th it had been nearly two years since UMass Lowell had won an overtime hockey game. The last OT win, before Connor Wilson's goal at Vermont, came on March 26, 2016 when the River Hawks defeated Yale, 3-2, in the NCAAs, a span of 65 games. UML was 0-3-3 in OT during that drought.
DOWN, BUT DANGEROUS: Connor Sodergren's game-tying goal January 19 was the River Hawks sixth shorthanded goal this season. The six shorties lead Hockey East and the country. Boston College and Boston University are tied for second in the conference with four.Â
ON THE ROAD: UMass Lowell is 85-48-9, a .630 winning percentage when playing away from the Tsongas Center in the six-plus years that Norm Bazin had led the program. That .630 winning percentage is the second best in the nation during that period.   The River Hawks are 61-37-8, .613, as the road team and 24-11-1, .681, in games played at a neutral site. UML has won seven of thirteen 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 nine goals and 14 of his 18-points have come on the road. He leads Hockey East in goals on the road and is fourth in points away from home. 12 of Lohin's 21 points have come on the road. Hausinger is 11th among Hockey East players in points on the road.
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 joined teammates Tyler Mueller (145), John Edwardh (127), Chris Forney (126), Tommy Panico (106) and Nick Master (104) in the Century Club. Next on the list is Connor Wilson (91).
LAST CHANCE: UMass Lowell has been a strongest third period team in the country this season. The River Hawks have outscored opponents 35-14 in the final 20-minutes, a goal differential of +21. That +21 is the largest in the country. Six of UMass Lowell's last 12 wins have come on third period or OT goals.
BY THE CLOSEST OF MARGINS: UMass Lowell is 51-33-21, .586, in one-goal games since the 2011-12 season. Also, during that time period the River Hawks are 13-11-21 in games decided in overtime.
PROTECTING THE LEAD: Since Norm Bazin took over the coaching reins at UMass Lowell, the River Hawks are 125-5-9 when leading after two-periods. They are also 30-19-9 when the score is tied after two periods. The River Hawks are 10-0-0 when leading after two periods and were 22-1-2 when leading after two periods a year ago.
AMONG THE LEAGUE LEADERS: UMass Lowell goalie Christoffer Hernberg is second among Hockey East goalies in goals against average, 2.17, and fourth in save percentage, .918. His .706 winning percentage tops the conference. Hernberg has started 17 and appeared in 21 of the River Hawks 27 games this season. Ryan Lohin leads Hockey East and is tied for the national lead with three shorthanded goals
OFFENSE FROM DEFENSE: UMass Lowell leads Hockey East with 75 points from the defense. UML is fifth in country in points from the defense. The River Hawk defense has contributed 19 goals and 56-assists. The 19 goals is second in Hockey East trailing Boston University by just three-goals.  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 five-goals and 17-points. Forney and Mueller have four goals apiece.
STINGY STARTS: Â UMass Lowell has allowed only 21 first period goals in 27 games this season, an average 0.78 goals per game. That puts the River Hawks third in Hockey East and 18th in the country.
GETTING OFF TO A GOOD START: UMass Lowell has scored first in less than half of its 27 games this season. That has translated, more times than not, into a win. The River Hawks have won nine of those 12 games.
THREE IS THE MAGIC NUMBER: When UMass Lowell scores three or more goals in a game it is 140-21-6, .856 during the last six-plus years. The River Hawks are 13-4-0, this season, and were 25-3-1 a year ago. When scoring two goals or less in a game the River Hawks are 26-59-15, .335, 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 126 times in their first 27-games. Providence with 146 PP opportunities leads the league. UML averages 4.67 power plays per game. Providence is at 4.87. Â
THE POWER PLAY: The UMass Lowell power is looking to find a bit of consistency. The River Hawks are 4-for-28 in their last six 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 22-for-126, 17.5%, with the man advantage.
OK ON THE PK: UMass Lowell penalty killing unit has been consistently inconsistent. It has surrendered power play goals in 16 of 27 games. The unit has killed just eight of the last 14 shorthanded situations and has a 78.5% 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 122 times for an average of 9.74 minutes per game. UMass Lowell is the seventh least penalized team in the country. A I C is the 37th most penalized team in the country averaging 11.20 minutes in the box per game.Â
SHORTHANDED GOALS: UMass Lowell scored three shorthanded goals, two into an empty net, in the January 6th 8-3 win against UMass. It was the first time the River Hawks had scored three shorties in a game since February 12, 1971 when they scored three against Bridgewater State in a 13-3 win. Bob Kearin had two in that one.
SHORTHANDED GOALS - PART II: Ryan Lohin became the eighth River Hawk to score two shorthanded goals in a game when he turned the magic against UMass January 6, 2018. The last person to do that was Ed McGrane in a 3-1 win at Maine February 17, 2001.
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. Hausinger and Lohin have done it twice.
CLUTCH AND IMPORTANT GOALS: Sophomore Ryan Lohin leads the River Hawks in clutch goals. Five of his eight 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 and Jake Kamrass have four clutch goals. Nick Master has 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.
