Friday, January 4th at No. 2 Massachusetts (7pm)
(Mullins Center; Amherst, Mass.)
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90 Seconds with Norm
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Talent:
Bob Ellis (Play by Play)
SCOUTING THE RIVER HAWKS: UMass Lowell is 8-8-1/4-4-1 after 4-1 loss to Denver on December 29th in their first game back from the holiday break. The River Hawks have lost consecutive games for the second time this season. 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 13. Seventeen different players have scored goals, fifteen have scored more than once. Tyler Wall has started twelve of the team's 17-games and has a 2.22 goals against average and a .916 save percentage. Both Wall, with two, and Christoffer Hernberg have thrown shutouts.
SCOUTING THE MINUTEMEN:  Massachusetts is 14-2-0 / 7-0-0 and has not played a hockey game since beating Yale, 5-2, on December 11th, a stretch of 23 days without hockey. Massachusetts is ranked second in both the USA Today Hockey and USCHO polls. The Minutemen, who sit atop the Hockey East standings were picked to finish sixth in the Coaches' Pre-Season Polls and seventh in the Media Pre-Season Poll. Fifteen different players have scored goals, thirteen have more than one. Mitchell Chaffee leads the team with 11-goals and 21-points. Matt Murray has started 11 of the team's 16 games in nets and has a 1.90 goals against average and a .931 save percentage.
ALL-TIME SERIES vs. MASSACHUSETTS: This is the first meeting between the two teams this season and the 82nd meeting between the two schools in a series that dates back to 1968. UMass Lowell leads the series 48-26-7. The River Hawks have won 17 of the last 20 (17-2-1) over the last six seasons, but UMass won the last time out as the two split the season series a year ago. The River Hawks did not get their first win the series until 1974, a 5-1 win. The two teams have met once in the Hockey East Tournament with the Minutemen sweeping that series two-games to none.
LAST YEAR vs. MASSACHUSETTS: These the two teams split the season series a year ago with each winning at home by scores that do not tell the story. UMass Lowell defeated Massachusetts 8-3 on January 6th. In that game the teams were tied at two late in the second period. Ryan Dmowski gave UMass Lowell a lead in the final minute of the period and Ryan Lohin added a shorthanded goal 1:42 into the final period. The River Hawks eventually scored five third period goals, including two shorthanded into an empty net, for the 8-3 final. The second meeting, February 10th, went the way of the Minutemen, 3-0. The final two goals were into an empty net.
KENNEDY CUP:  The Kennedy Cup Challenge was established in the fall of 2018 and will be awarded annually to the team with the most wins in the cumulative season series between the UMass Lowell and UMass Amherst. The River Hawks currently lead, 4-3, with wins in Men's soccer, men's and women's cross country and women's basketball. John Kennedy is a longtime supporter of the UMass Lowell and UMass Amherst athletic programs. Kennedy holds degrees from both schools. For 23 years the two hockey programs competed in a three-game series for the Alumni Cup. UMass Lowell won or retained the Cup 17 times. That series was discontinued following the 2016-17 season.
A WIN TONIGHT WOULD...: ...move UMass Lowell back over the .500 mark both in Hockey East and overall. It would also be UMass Lowell's first win against a nationally ranked team this season.
LAST WEEKEND: UMass Lowell, coming off a 21-day break, dropped a 4-1 decision to Denver at the Tsongas Center. The visitors broke a scoreless tie late in the second period and then added two-third period power play goals to open up a 3-0 lead en route to a 4-1 final. Seth Barton had the only River Hawk marker. UMass Lowell outshot Denver 21-17.
NEXT WEEKEND: After playing just one game for the second straight weekend, UMass Lowell will get back to double duty next weekend. The River Hawks visit Hamilton, New York and the Class of 1965 Arena for a two-game series against ECAC member Colgate. It will be the first visit to the Colgate campus since a 2-1 loss in October of 2008. The River Hawks lead the all-time series 11-7-0 and have won six of the last eight including the most recent meeting, a 3-2 win in December of 2016 in the opening round of the Ledyard Classic in Hanover, New Hampshire.
GOING SOLO: This is just the second time this year that UMass Lowell is playing a stand-alone game. The River Hawks lost to Denver, 4-1, in its only game last weekend. There are two more stand-alone games on the schedule. A year ago the River Hawks split a pair of stand-alone games.
BACK-TO-BACK: There are 15 "back-to-back" series that UMass Lowell will play this year. They have played eight back-to-back series so far this season. They have one sweep on the board.  That came against UConn with 5-2 and 3-0 wins. UMass Lowell is 4-3-1 on the first night and 4-4-0 on the second. The River Hawks have not been swept this season. A year ago the team played back-to-back games on 17 weekends and 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 91-55-9, a .616 winning percentage when playing away from the Tsongas Center in the seven-plus years that Norm Bazin has led the program. That .616 winning percentage is the fourth best in the nation during that period.   The River Hawks are 67-43-8, .602, 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 seven (3g, 4a) of his eight points this season on the road. Charlie Levesque scored seven of his ten points and Lucas Condotta has scored all of his six-points (3g, 3a) in enemy buildings. Kenny Hausinger has seen seven of his 11-points come on the road and Connor Sodergren has scored seven of eight points on the road.Â
HOME SWEET HOME: UMass Lowell is 84-40-13 (a .661 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 2-5-1 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 first half of the season. Dmowski has scored five of his eight points in front of the Tsongas Center faithful. Seth Barton has five of his seven points at home.
LOOKING FOR SOME CONSISTENCY: The River Hawks have won consecutive games just twice this season. The first time that happened was November 16 and 17 when the River Hawks defeated UConn 5-2 and 3-0. With wins against RPI (5-2, November 25th) and BU (5-3, December 7th) the River Hawks have done it for a second time. But, UMass Lowell has not won more than two straight 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).
AFTER A LOSS: UMass Lowell has done a good job avoiding any extended losing streak. Five times this season the River Hawks have followed a loss with a win, only twice has the hockey club lost consecutive games and they have not had a three-game losing streak.
GAMBARDELLA AND SMITH GET THE CALL: Former UMass Lowell linemates Joe Gambardella and CJ Smith have gotten the call. Gambardella was called up by the NHL's Edmonton Oilers this past Sunday and 24 hours later Smith was called up by the Buffalo Sabres. Gambardella made his NHL debut Monday night in a 4-3 loss to Winnipeg and former teammate Connor Hellebuyck. At the time of his call up Gambardella was leading the AHL's Bakersfield Condors in goals (12) and points (21). Smith skated in the Sabres 3-1 loss to the New York Islanders. It was his first NHL action since playing a couple of games after signing with the Sabres at the tail end of the 2016-17 season. Smith was second in goals (13) and points (29) with the Rochester Americans at the time of the call. Both Gambardella and Smith were 100-plus point scorers during the UMass Lowell careers.
TV IS WATCHING: The UMass Lowell athletic department and NESN (New England Sports Network) announced Thursday that two River Hawk Hockey games and two River Hawk basketball contests have been added to the NESN broadcast schedule. The UMass Lowell women's basketball team will open the schedule on Wednesday, January 23 with an 11am game on NESN against Binghamton. The Hockey River Hawks will have both home games against Boston College aired on NESN on Saturday, January 26 and Friday, February 8. The River Hawk men's basketball team will square off against Maine on NESNplus on Wednesday, January 30.
VERSUS BIG TIME FOOTBALL SCHOOLS: UMass Lowell is 53-23-6 against schools with big time football programs (FBS members) since Norm Bazin took over behind the bench. That includes an 9-3-2 record against Notre Dame, 3-1-0 record against both Penn State and Arizona State and a 17-2-1 mark against Massachusetts. The River Hawks are also 8-9-2 against Boston College and 7-5-1 against UConn. They also have winning records against Michigan State, Wisconsin and Miami.
PUTTING THE D IN THE O: The UMass Lowell defense corps has become a significant contributor to the River Hawk offense during the last nine games. After scoring just one-goal and adding ten-assists during the first eight games of the season the blueliners have contributed seven-goals and 20-points to the offense in the last nine games. During that stretch the River Hawks have averaged 3.11-goals per game after averaging 2.38-goals per game during the first eight contests of the year. The seven goals is the most by a Hockey East defense since November 9. The UMass Lowell defense corps is fourth in Hockey East in goals and fifth in points. A year ago the UMass Lowell defensemen were among the highest scoring in the nation with 26-goals and 89-points.
LOHIN BEHOLD: UMass Lowell forward Ryan Lohin has lifted his game in the last month. Lohin has six-goals and 12-points in a nine game span. That included a career-best seven game scoring streak.
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.
AT THE BREAK: UMass Lowell was 8-7-1 at the break. The eight wins is the fewest at the holiday break since the 2012-13 season when the River Hawks had a 6-7-1 record as they headed home for the holidays. That 2012-13 team would go on to win 22 games after the break and earn a spot in the Frozen Four. UMass Lowell has won at least a dozen games in the second half of the season 11 times in the last 31 years. A year ago UMass Lowell was 9-8-0, but would only win 8 of their remaining 19 games.
THE WAITING IS OVER: It took a while, but Anthony Baxter finally scored his first collegiate goal. The goal came December 7th, on a wrist shot in the second period, against Boston University in what was Baxter's 45th game. It made the score 3-1 in an eventual 5-3 UMass Lowell win. Only five River Hawk skaters have had to wait longer for their first career goal. Steve Capraro tops the "wait List." The defenseman scored his first and only collegiate goal in his 103rd game. Defenseman Seth Barton also picked up his first collegiate goal, it was the game winner, in the third period against the Terriers. It was his 15th game.
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 a 2-for-21 stretch over its last six games. The PP Unit has scored in just five of its last 14 games and has a 16.2 success rate for the season.
PENALTY KILLING?: The UMass Lowell penalty killing unit has hit a rough stretch. The River Hawks have allowed six power play goals in their last five games. UMass Lowell has successfully killed just nine of the last 15 shorthanded situations. The River Hawks are 2-3-0 in those five games and the PK success rate has dropped to 79.7 on the season. Â
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.
DOMINATING THE DOT: After a slow start, UMass Lowell is now dominating at the faceoff circle. The River Hawks have won 542 of 1,044 puck drops, a winning percentage of 51.9%, fourth best in Hockey East. The turnaround has come during the last 11 games. UMass Lowell has won 365 of 666 faceoffs, 54.8%, the best in Hockey East and eighth in the country since November 2nd. Top performances at the dot have come from Charlie Levesque and Lucas Condotta. During the ten game stretch Levesque has won 88 of 142 draws, 62.0%, and Condotta has won 75 of 126, 59.5%.
GETTING IN THE WAY: UMass Lowell is third in Hockey East in total blocked shots and fourth blocked shots per game. The River Hawks have blocked 199 shots in 16-games this season, an average of 11.71 shots blocked per game. Defenseman Mattias Göransson leads the team with 26 blocks. He is eighth in Hockey East. Defensemen Anthony Baxter, Croix Evingson, Seth Barton, Jon McDonald, Avni Berisha and Forwards Ryan Lohin, Connor Wilson and Charlie Levesque are all in double digits as well.
YOUTH MOVEMENT: The UMass Lowell freshmen class has been key to the River Hawk offense. The group, with 13-goals and 36-points, is the top scoring of the four classes. The class is second in Hockey East in goals and in points. Sam Knoblauch is sixth in the league in goals by a freshman with four.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES: UMass Lowell forward Connor Sodergren has two-goals and eight-points in 16-games. A year ago Sodergren did not get his eighth point until the 24th game of the season. Goalie Tyler Wall has also made a jump. A year ago he showed an 0-6-0 record with a 5.71 Goals Against Average and an .823 save percentage. This year Wall is 5-6-1 with a 2.22 GAA and a .916 Sv%.
PROTECTING THE LEAD: Since Norm Bazin took over the coaching reins at UMass Lowell, the River Hawks are 133-9-9 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 6-2-0 this season.
BY THE CLOSEST OF MARGINS: UMass Lowell is 53-41-22, .552, 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.Â
THREE IS THE MAGIC NUMBER: When UMass Lowell scores three or more goals in a game it is 147-23-6, .852 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 27-71-16, .307, since 2011-12.
GIVING UP THREE AND WINNING: The December 7th 5-3 win against Boston University was the first time this season that UMass Lowell has allowed three or more goals and won a hockey game. The team is 1-4-0 when allowing three or more goals in a game this season. The last time UMass Lowell won a game in which it allowed three goals was January 6, 2018 when the River Hawks beat UMass, 8-3.
A GOOD START: UMass Lowell has allowed just 11 first period goals 17 games into the season. That's an average of 0.65 goals per first period. Only two Hockey East teams have better numbers. UMass and Providence have allowed 0.44 and 0.56 first period goals. The River Hawks have outscored opponents 14-11 in the first period.
THE FINAL THIRD: Seventeen games into the season and the River Hawks have outscored their opponents 19-goals to 17 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. Only four of eleven Hockey East teams have outscored their opponents in the third period this season.
THE 2019 SENIOR CLASS: The five-member UMass Lowell senior class has accumulated a record of 77-48-9, a .608 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 and Nick Master 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.
FRESH FACES: The River Hawk recruiting class of 13 is the largest in the country and the second largest during the Norm Bazin era. Walk on Derek Osik earned a spot on the roster during the pre-season tryouts. Twelve of the thirteen have played, only goalie Eric Green is still waiting to see action. UConn, Niagara and Quinnipiac also have 12 freshmen on the roster. Bazin's largest freshman class was during the 2014-15 season when UMass Lowell welcomed 14 freshmen. A year ago the freshmen class numbered just a half dozen.
A TIE..?:  The November 9th 2-2 tie with New Hampshire ended a streak of 69 games (703 days) without a tie. The last time the River Hawks played a game without a winner was December 4, 2016 when UMass Lowell and UConn ended the night with two goals apiece. UMass Lowell was the only team in the country without a tie during the 2017-18 season. It was only the second time in their 35-year Division I history that the team has completed a full season without at least one tie. The first occurrence was 1998-99 when the River Hawks went 17-17-0. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, as a Division II program, ULowell went more than five seasons, 177 games, without a tie.
BONUS TIME - NO BONUS: Overtime has not been kind to UMass Lowell over the last two-plus seasons. The River Hawks are 1-9-4 in their last 14 overtime games dating back to the start of the 2016-17 season. The one win came on a Connor Wilson goal, Jan. 19th, at Vermont. The last OT win before Wilson's goal came on March 26, 2016 when the River Hawks defeated Yale, 3-2, in the NCAA Regional.
DON'T SHOOT: UMass Lowell held UNH to just 11 shots on goal in 65-minutes of hockey November 9th. That's the fewest shots on goal allowed by UMass Lowell since holding Alabama-Huntsville to just ten shots on goal in a UMass Lowell 4-1 win on October 26, 2007.
CARRYING THE WEIGHT: UMass Lowell is the second biggest team in the country based on average weight. The River Hawks tip the scales at an average 193.83-pounds. Only Hockey East rival UConn is heavier averaging 194.23-pounds.
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 130 games in a River Hawk uniform. Connor Wilson (115) and Ryan Dmowski (112) joined the club earlier this season. Next on the list are Ryan Lohin (90), Mattias Göransson (89), Colin O'Neill (88) and Kenny Hausinger (85). A year ago UMass Lowell had six players on the roster with more than 100 games played in their collegiate careers.Â
65 GAMES: UMass Lowell forward Colin O'Neill has skated in 66 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 51 and Charlie Levesque is third with 46. 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.Â
THE 19th MAN: College hockey teams will be allowed to dress one additional skater this season; 19 skaters instead of 18. The NCAA made the change citing a desire to give more student-athletes a playing opportunity. UMass Lowell used the rule change to dress a seventh defenseman in all but two of the team's 17 games.
ATTENDANCE NUMBERS:  After leading Hockey East in average home attendance for the last three years, UMass Lowell is currently second behind Massachusetts with average attendance coming in at 4,872. Massachusetts is averaging 5,015 per game. The River Hawks averaged 4,876 fans per game a year ago. During the last three years an average of 5,339 fans have filled the Tsongas Center nightly to watch UMass Lowell play.
NEW PLAYOFF HOCKEY EAST FORMAT: For the first time since the 2012-13 season just eight of the league's 11 teams will qualify for the Hockey East Tournament. During the last five years the conference had used a playoff format which included all of the league's teams.Â
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 1,399 games including 1,332 Division I games. He has missed only one game. Poitras is working on a consecutive games streak that has now reached 923. He is the only trainer in College Hockey to work games at both Northern Arizona and Arizona State.
