Friday, January 11th at Colgate (7:30pm)
(Class of 1965 Arena; Hamilton, N.Y.)
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Listen Live |
Live Stats |
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Game Notes (PDF)Â |
90 Seconds with Norm
Follow on Twitter: @RiverHawkNation @RiverHawkHockeyÂ
Television: ESPN+
Commercial Radio:
River Hawk Network: 980AMÂ WCAP/UMass Lowell Game Day App
Talent:
Bob Ellis (Play by Play); Jim Connelly (Analyst)
Saturday, January 12th at Colgate (7:30pm)
(Class of 1965 Arena; Hamilton, N.Y.)
Watch Live |
Listen Live |
Live Stats |
Tickets
Follow on Twitter: @RiverHawkNation @RiverHawkHockeyÂ
Television: ESPN+
Commercial Radio:
River Hawk Network: 980AMÂ WCAP/UMass Lowell Game Day App
Talent:
Bob Ellis (Play by Play); Jim Connelly (Analyst)
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SCOUTING THE RIVER HAWKS: UMass Lowell is 9-8-1/5-4-1 after 2-1 road win at the Mullins Center against No. 2 in the nation Massachusetts. The club has won seven of ten road games. The River Hawks have neither won or lost more than two games in a row at any point during the 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 18-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 RAIDERS:  Colgate is 6-10-2 / 3-3-2 after sweeping Quinnipiac and Princeton last weekend. They sit in a 5th place tie with Harvard in the ECAC. The Raiders are 3-4-1 at home and 3-6-1 playing away from the Class of 1965 Arena. Colgate was picked to finish ninth in both the Coaches' Pre-Season Polls in the Media Pre-Season Poll. Thirteen different players have scored goals, nine have more than one. Bobby McMann leads the team with 5-goals and 11-points. Mitch Benson has started 15 of the team's 18 games in nets and has a 3.01 goals against average and a .907 save percentage.
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. COLGATE: This is just the 19th meeting between the two schools in a series that dates back to 1988. UMass Lowell leads the series 11-7-0. The two schools have not played one another since 2016. It was in the opening round of the Ledyard Bank Classic in Hanover, N.H. and the River Hawks won that contest, 3-2. Including that 2016 meeting, the teams have faced one another in holiday tournaments on three occasions. Two of those tournament meetings were at the Syracuse Invitational with each winning once and in each case in overtime. UMass Lowell has not played in Hamilton, N.Y. since a 2-1 loss in 2008. It is the first time that the River Hawks have visited the Class of 1965 Arena.
LAST TIME vs. COLGATE: The last time UMass Lowell and Colgate faced one another on the ice was in the opening round of the Ledyard Bank Classic hosted by Dartmouth at the Thompson Arena in Hanover, N.H. UMass Lowell won that match up, 3-2, to advance to the Championship Game. The River Hawks got goals from Colin O'Neill, Mattias Göransson and Joe Gambardella in the first two periods. Colgate got on the board with two third period markers. Bobby McMann had two-assists in the game. UMass Lowell goalie Tyler Wall made 26 saves to earn the victory. Nine current River Hawks suited up for that game.
TAKING ON THE ECAC: UMass Lowell holds an edge in non-conference games against the ECAC. The River Hawks are 103-76-12 against teams representing the ECAC and is 92-61-10 against teams currently in the ECAC. UMass Lowell took three out of four a year ago and won five of six during the 2016-17 season. This year the River Hawks have split two games against ECAC opponents.
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 80-34-6 (.692) 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 4-4-0 this year.
A WIN TONIGHT WOULD...: ...move UMass Lowell to two games over the .500 mark overall. It would be the third time that the River Hawks have won consecutive games and provide the team with a chance to win three in a row for the first time this season.
LAST WEEKEND: UMass Lowell defeated No. 2 in the nation Massachusetts 2-1 at the Mullins Center in Amherst. Reid Stefanson and Connor Wilson scored goals and goalie Christoffer Hernberg made 33 saves to pick up the win. The River Hawks never trailed in the contest. It was the third time this year in which UMass Lowell has a won a game when scoring two or fewer goals.
NEXT WEEKEND: The River Hawks will return to the Tsongas Center and Hockey East action next weekend as they host a pair of games against the University of Vermont. UMass Lowell leads the all-time series 28-17-7 and has a 23-11-7 edge since Vermont joined Hockey East for the 2005-06 season. The River Hawks are 9-1-1 in the last 11 meetings.
BACK-TO-BACK: This the ninth of 15 "back-to-back" series that UMass Lowell will play this year. UMass Lowell is 4-3-1 on the first night and 4-4-0 on the second. They have one sweep on the board. That came against UConn with 5-2 and 3-0 wins. 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.
GOING SOLO: UMass Lowell has played two stand-alone games this season. The River Hawks lost to Denver, 4-1, on December 29th and then defeated Massachusetts, 2-1, on January 4th. There are two more stand-alone games on the schedule. A year ago the River Hawks split a pair of stand-alone games.
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. Six 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.
93 AND COUNTING: UMass Lowell's visit this weekend to the Class of 1965 Arena, a building that opened for business during the 2016-17 season, will push the number of buildings in which UMass Lowell has played hockey to at least 93. Previous visits to Colgate found the two teams playing in the Starr Rink. Early this season the Bentley Arena became building No. 92. The long list includes stops stretching from Alaska to Belfast, Northern Ireland and from Arizona to Maine.
ON THE ROAD: UMass Lowell is 92-55-9, a .619 winning percentage when playing away from the Tsongas Center in the seven-plus years that Norm Bazin has led the program. That .619 winning percentage is the fourth best in the nation during that period.   The River Hawks are 68-43-8, .605, 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.
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 1,400 games including 1,333 Division I games. He has missed only one game. Poitras is working on a consecutive games streak that has now reached 924. He is the only trainer in College Hockey to work games at both Northern Arizona and Arizona State.
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 December 30th and 24 hours later Smith was called up by the Buffalo Sabres. Gambardella made his NHL debut New Year's Eve 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 54-23-6 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 an 18-2-1 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 ten 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 ten games. During that stretch the River Hawks have averaged 3.00-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 ten 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.
IN NHL BUILDINGS: The XL Center in Hartford, where UMass Lowell and UConn played November 16th 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.
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-22 stretch over its last seven games. The PP Unit has scored in just five of its last 15 games and has a 16.0 success rate for the season.
PENALTY KILLING?: The UMass Lowell penalty killing unit has hit a rough stretch. The River Hawks have allowed power play goals in five of their last six games. UMass Lowell has successfully killed just nine of the last 17 shorthanded situations. The River Hawks are 3-3-0 in those six games and the PK success rate has dropped to 80.3 on the season. Â
DOMINATING THE DOT: After a slow start, UMass Lowell is now dominating at the faceoff circle. The River Hawks have won 571 of 1,096 puck drops, a winning percentage of 52.1%, third best in Hockey East. The turnaround has come during the last 12 games. UMass Lowell has won 394 of 718 faceoffs, 54.9%, the best in Hockey East and fourth in the country since November 2nd. Top performances at the dot have come from Charlie Levesque and Lucas Condotta. During the 12 game stretch Levesque has won 94 of 151 draws, 62.3%, and Condotta has won 77 of 131, 58.8%.
GETTING IN THE WAY: UMass Lowell is fourth in Hockey East in total blocked shots and third in blocked shots per game. The River Hawks have blocked 215 shots in 18-games this season, an average of 11.94 shots blocked per game. Defenseman Mattias Göransson leads the team with 30 blocks. He is fourth in Hockey East. Defensemen Anthony Baxter, Croix Evingson, Seth Barton, Jon McDonald, Avni Berisha and Forwards Ryan Lohin, Connor Wilson, Charlie Levesque and Colin O'Neill 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 15-goals and 38-points, is the top scoring of the four classes. The class is second in Hockey East in goals and fourth in points. Sam Knoblauch (4g, 4a) and Reid Stefanson (3g, 5a) are the top scoring River Hawk freshmen.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES: UMass Lowell forward Connor Sodergren has two-goals and nine-points in 18-games. A year ago Sodergren did not get his ninth point until the 29th game of the season. Forward Chris Schutz has two-goals and six points. A year ago he was still looking for his first point of his colegiate career. 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 134-9-9 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 7-2-0 this season.
BY THE CLOSEST OF MARGINS: UMass Lowell is 54-41-22, .556, in one-goal games since the 2011-12 season. The team is 3-5-1 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 28-71-16, .313, since 2011-12.
WHEN TWO IS ENOUGH:  Three times this season UMass Lowell has won games when scoring fewer than three-goals. That is something the River Hawks had not done recently and rarely did a year ago. The hockey club defeated R I T, 2-1, on October 12th, beat Maine, 1-0, on November 3rd and defeated Massachusetts, 2-1, on January 4th. UMass Lowell is 3-5-1 this season when scoring two-goals or fewer, they were 2-14-0 a year ago.Â
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 18 games into the season. That's an average of 0.61 goals per first period. Only two Hockey East teams have better numbers. UMass and Providence have allowed 0.44 and 0.60 first period goals. The River Hawks have outscored opponents 15-11 in the first period.
THE FINAL THIRD: Eighteen 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 five 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 78-48-9, a .611 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.
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 131 games in a River Hawk uniform. Connor Wilson (116) and Ryan Dmowski (113) joined the club earlier this season. Next on the list are Ryan Lohin (91), Mattias Göransson (90), Colin O'Neill (89) and Kenny Hausinger (86). A year ago UMass Lowell had six players on the roster with more than 100 games played in their collegiate careers.Â
67 GAMES: UMass Lowell forward Colin O'Neill has skated in 67 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 52 and Charlie Levesque is third with 47. 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
ATTENDANCE NUMBERS:  After leading Hockey East in average home attendance for the last three years, UMass Lowell is looking to do it again. UMass Lowell holds a slight edge over Massachusetts, 4,872 to 4,825. 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.
