Friday, October 25th vs. Boston University (7:05pm)
PARKS & REC NIGHT
(Tsongas Center; Lowell, Mass.)
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Game Notes (PDF)Â |
90 Seconds with Norm
Follow on Twitter: @RiverHawkNation @RiverHawkHockeyÂ
Television: NESN (
Channel Listings)/NESN GO App
Talent: Tom Caron (Play by Play); Billy Jaffe (Analyst); Natalie Noury (Rinkside)
Commercial Radio:
River Hawk Network: 980AMÂ WCAP
Talent:
Bob Ellis (Play by Play); Jim Connelly (Analyst)
Non-Commercial Radio: WUMLÂ 91.5 FM
Talent: Connor Capozzi (Play by Play); Tim Casagrande (Analyst)
Saturday, October 26th at Providence (7pm)
(Schneider Arena; Providence, R.I.)
Watch |Â
Listen Live |
Live Stats |
Tickets
Follow on Twitter: @RiverHawkNation @RiverHawkHockeyÂ
Television: NESN (
Channel Listings)
Talent: Mike Logan (Play by Play); Sonny Watrous (Analyst)
Commercial Radio:
River Hawk Network: 980AMÂ WCAP
Talent:
Bob Ellis (Play by Play); Andy Merritt (Analyst)
Non-Commercial Radio: WUMLÂ 91.5 FM
Talent: Connor Capozzi (Play by Play); Sai Patel (Analyst)
SCOUTING THE RIVER HAWKS: UMass Lowell is 3-2-1 after gaining just one point in a two game series. The River Hawks were picked for a sixth place finish in both the Hockey East Coaches' and the Media Pre-Season polls. The River Hawks finished the 2018-19 season with a 19-13-5/12-7-5 record. UMass Lowell returns 58.9 percent of its offense and four of its top seven scorers. Eight players have scored goals this season, Andre Lee and Kenny Hausinger lead the team with three apiece. Lucas Condotta, Matt Brown and Carl Berglund have two each. Hausinger and Brown lead the team with seven points. Four of the River Hawks top five scorers are freshmen. Goalie Tyler Wall has started five of the team's six games for the River Hawks this season with a 1.18 goals against average and a .953 save percentage. He appeared in 22 of the team's 37-games a year ago and posted a 2.09 goals against average and a .921 save percentage. Wall authored four of his eight career shutouts during the campaign.
SCOUTING THE TERRIERS:  Boston University, with 12 NHL draft picks on the roster, is 1-1-1 after earning only a tie in a pair of games against Northern Michigan last weekend. The Terriers, who lost five of their top eight scorers, were picked for a fifth place finish in both the Hockey East Coaches' the Media Pre-Season Polls. BU has scored 14-goals in just three games. Senior Patrick Curry leads the team with four-goals. Curry, Patrick Harper and David Farrance share the points lead with five. Grad student goalie Sam Tucker, a transfer from Yale, has a 3.38 goals against average and .788 save percentage. Sophomore Vinnie Purpura got the most recent start and has a 4.11 GAA and a .879 save percentage.
ALL-TIME SERIES vs. BOSTON UNIVERSITY: This is the 119 th meeting between the two schools in a series that dates back to 1983. BU leads the series 77-32-9. These two teams have split the season series in each of the last three years. The Terriers have a 11-5-0 edge in Hockey East Tournament games and ended the River Hawks season two-games-to-one in the quarterfinal a year ago. 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 14-10-1 edge since Norm Bazin became the head coach.
LAST SEASON: Boston University ended UMass Lowell's season with a 4-1 win in game three of the Hockey East Quarterfinals. The since departed Joel Farabee had four goals in the three-game series. The Terriers won the opener, 3-0, and the decisive third game ,4-1. UMass Lowell forced a winner-take-all third game with a 6-4 win in game two. The team split a pair of games during the regular season, each winning on the road. Five different players scored goals in UMass Lowell's 5-3 win at the Agganis Arena on December 7th. Seth Barton's first collegiate goal was the game winner. The next night BU scored three times, two from Bobo Carpenter, in the first 14:02 of the game and went on to a 5-2 win at the Tsongas Center.
NOT RANKED vs. NOT RANKED: This is just the fifth time since 2007 that these two teams have faced one another and neither is nationally ranked, but it has become a more frequent occurrence in recent years. Since facing each other in December of 2007 as unranked opponents either UMass Lowell or BU or both were ranked in every meeting until a two-game series in December of 2017 and then again for a pair games in December 2018. Since 1998, when the USCHO Poll began, UMass Lowell holds a 7-6-0 edge in games when neither is ranked.
ABOUT LAST WEEKEND: UMass Lowell managed just a single point in a pair of overtime matches against Colgate. Ben Sharf scored :09 into overtime as Colgate defeated UMass Lowell, 4-3, at the Tsongas Center the first night. The River Hawks got goals from Carl Berglund, Matt Brown and Kenny Hausinger. Neither team scored the second night as the combatants were forced to settle for a 0-0 tie.
0-0: When UMass Lowell and Colgate battled to a scoreless tie it was the first time in more than a dozen years and just the fourth time in UMass Lowell's hockey history that a game has ended with neither team scoring a goal. UMass Lowell's Tyler Wall finished with 25 saves, Colgate goalie Mitch Benson stopped 35 shots. The first scoreless tie was played on December 2, 2000 as Cam McCormick and Ty Conklin matched one another save for save. UMass Lowell and Brown battled to a scoreless tie on January 18, 2005. Chris Davidson and Peter Vetri manned the River Hawk nets and Adam D'Alba kept the puck out of the Brown cage. The most recent 0-0 tie came on February 2, 2007 when Nevin Hamilton and BU's John Curry were the dueling goalies. Note: That was Hamilton's first shutout, his first win came the next day, 2-1, against BU.
0-0, KINDA: The day after UMass Lowell and Colgate battled to a scoreless tie another UMass Lowell goalie was involved in a scoreless tie, well kind of. Former River Hawk Connor Hellebuyck and the Winnipeg Jets battled Edmonton to a 0-0 score through three-periods and an overtime. Hellebuyck's Jets were a shootout, 1-0, winner. Both goalies were credited with a shutout.
ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL: When UMass Lowell and Colgate battled to a 0-0 tie it was the eighth shutout of Tyler Wall's career. He is tied for fourth on the school's career shutout list with Cam McCormick and Christoffer Hernberg. The all-time leader is Connor Hellebuyck who blanked opponents 12 times. Carter Hutton and Kevin Boyle are second with ten.
THE GREAT WALL: UMass Lowell goalie Tyler Wall is among the nation's leaders in goals against average and save percentage.  Wall has a 1.18 GAA. That's number two in the country and the best among Hockey East goalies. His .953 save percentage ranks is fifth in the country and third in Hockey East.
AMONG THE LEADERS: It may be early but, Kenny Hausinger and Matt Brown are among the nation's leading scorers. Their seven points apiece places them 13th in the country, but only three-points off the national lead. Each has scored points in four of the team's six games. Brown, who leads Hockey East freshmen, is one of four first year players in the country, one point off the lead, with seven points. Carl Berglund with five points is fourth among Hockey East freshman.
AMONG THE LEADERS II: A couple of River Hawk freshman have gotten off to a good start on the scoring charts. Andre Lee, with three goals, is tied atop the Hockey East Rookie goal scoring charts and is second in the nation among freshmen goal scorers. Matt Brown with seven points is tied for first among Hockey East freshmen. Carl Berglund with five points is third.
TIME IS ON OUR SIDE, YES IT IS: UMass Lowell has played six hockey games and has only trailed for 46:41 of a total of 365-minutes and nine seconds of hockey. The River Hawks have skated with the lead for 160:12 or 43.8% of the time. The two teams have been tied for 158:56 or 43.4% of the time.
THE FIRST 5: UMass Lowell has scored a goal in the first five minutes of play in four of their first six games this season. They did it in victories against Alabama Huntsville twice and Minnesota Duluth, but lost last Saturday night after taking a 1-0 lead at the 4:40 mark of the first period against Colgate.
BONUS TIME - NO BONUS: Overtime has not been kind to UMass Lowell over the last three seasons. The River Hawks are 1-10-9 in their last 20 overtime games (0-2-5 last season) dating back to the start of the 2016-17 season. The one win came on a Connor Wilson goal, Jan. 19, 2018, 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.
1.5 MILLION-PLUS:  UMass Lowell and the Tsongas Center reached a milestone last Saturday night as the building hosted 5,045 fans to watch UMass Lowell and Colgate battle to a 0-0 tie. The Saturday night crowd pushed the Tsongas Center UMass Lowell hockey all-time attendance numbers past the 1.5-million mark. Total attendance at the Tsongas Center since the building opened for business, January 27, 1998, for UMass Lowell hockey has now reached 1,501,831 fans. The 1.5-millionth fan will be honored Friday when UMass Lowell hosts Boston University. The fan will be given a series of gifts including a River Hawk jersey.
HOCKEY EAST OPENERS: Tonight game opens The River Hawks Hockey East season. UMass Lowell is 16-14-5 in Hockey East openers and 14-17-4 in Hockey East home openers. A year ago UMass Lowell opened the conference season with a 4-1 loss to Northeastern and dropped their first two hockey East games before going on to a 12-7-5 record and a fourth place finish in conference play.
A WIN TONIGHT WOULD... ...get the River Hawks back on the right track. After opening the season with three wins UMass Lowell posted a pairs of losses and then a scoreless tie.
TONIGHT'S PROMOTION: It's Parks and Rec Night at the Tsongas Center, a tribute to NBC's Parks and Rec, the night will feature different promotions and events throughout the night, plus the opportunity for fans to meet and get their photo taken with Lil' Sebastian prior to the start of the game.
TOMORROW NIGHT: The River Hawks travel to Providence to take on the Friars at the Schneider Arena. Providence has won the last six games between the two and holds a 60-47-11 edge all-time. The last UMass Lowell win against Providence came in the 2016 Hockey East Tournament semifinal in triple overtime, 2-1. The last time the River Hawks won in Providence was March 9, 2013. The 4-1 victory clinched UMass Lowell first Hockey East Regular Season title. The River Hawks have lost six straight at the Schneider Arena.
NEXT WEEKEND: The River Hawks head to Burlington, Vermont for a pair of games with the University of Vermont. UMass Lowell holds a 30-17-8 edge all-time against the Catamounts. They are 12-9-5 at the Gutterson Fieldhouse.
HOME SWEET HOME: UMass Lowell has won two of four with a tie at the Tsongas Center this season and is 92-44-16 (a .659 winning percentage) at the Tsongas Center since Norm Bazin took over behind the bench for the 2011-12 season. In 2018-19 the River Hawks were 8-8-3 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.
ON THE ROAD, AGAIN: UMass Lowell is 97-58-11, a .618 winning percentage when playing away from the Tsongas Center in the eight-plus years that Norm Bazin has led the program. That .618 winning percentage is the second best in the nation during that period. The River Hawks are 73-47-10, .600, as the road team and 24-11-1, .681, in games played at a neutral site. UMass Lowell was 11-5-2, a .667 winning percentage, when playing away from the Tsongas Center last season.
BACK-TO-BACK: UMass Lowell has sixteen "back-to-back" weekend series this season. This is the fourth. The team is 2-1-0 on the first night and 1-1-1 on the second. A year ago the River Hawks were 9-6-1 on the first night and 8-5-3 on the second. They had four weekend sweeps. The sweeps came against UConn, Colgate, Vermont and BC/UMass. The River Hawks were swept just once (Providence.)
BY THE CLOSEST OF MARGINS: UMass Lowell is 56-45-27, .543, in one-goal games since the 2011-12 season. The team is 1-2-1 this season and was 4-7-5 last year and 10-13-5 over the last two years in one-goal games.
THREE IS THE MAGIC NUMBER: When UMass Lowell scores three or more goals in a game it is 158-24-8, .853 during the last eight-plus years. The River Hawks were 13-3-2 last season and 53-10-3, .826 over the last three seasons. When scoring two goals or less in a game the River Hawks are 29-76-19, .310, since 2011-12.
PROTECTING THE LEAD: Since Norm Bazin took over the coaching reins at UMass Lowell, the River Hawks are 146-9-9 when leading after two-periods. They are also 32-20-13 when the score is tied after two periods. The River Hawks were 16-2-0 when leading after two periods during the 2018-19 season and 50-5-2 during the last three seasons. The River Hawks were also 2-0-3, a year ago, when tied after two periods.
THE WORST LEAD IN HOCKEY?:Â Not when Lowell is involved. Since Norm Bazin became head coach, when Lowell has a 2-goal lead at any point in a game, they are 156-10-4, 75-4-3 at the Tsongas Center. Last season, they were 17-3-0, 7-1-0 at Tsongas. When Lowell trails by 2 goals at any point in a game, they are 5-66-6, 2-30-3 at Tsongas. Last year, they were 0-7-2, 0-6-2 at Tsongas.
THE 2020 SENIOR CLASS: The three-member UMass Lowell senior class has accumulated a record of 66-45-9, a .588 winning percentage. The class ranks third in Hockey East in both wins and winning percentage. The class which includes forwards Kenny Hausinger and Colin O'Neill and goalie Tyler Wall has won one HEA regular season title, a tournament championship, earned home ice for the Hockey East playoffs three times and made one trip to the NCAA Tournament. four in-season tournaments and made two appearances in the NCAA tournament. The class ranks seventh in wins and in winning percentage, among UML teams. The 2016 senior class tops the list with 100 victories.
JUST THREE: The UMass Lowell senior class is one of the smallest in the country. The River Hawks are one of nine teams with just three seniors, no school has a smaller senior class.
THE LEADERSHIP: The UMass Lowell leadership includes six Alternate Captains, but no Captain. Seniors Kenny Hausinger, Colin O'Neill and Tyler Wall along with juniors Charlie Levesque, Connor Sodergren and Anthony Baxter all have an "A" on the front of their jerseys. Wall is the first goalie to wear either an "A" or a "C" on the uniform since Dwayne Roloson during the 1993-94 season.
THE CENTURY CLUB: Only two members of the UMass Lowell roster have played more than 100 games in their collegiate careers. Colin O'Neill (114) and Kenny Hausinger (111) joined the Century Club late last season. Tyler Wall (76), Charlie Levesque (76) and Connor Sodergren (76) are next on the list. A year ago UMass Lowell had seven players on the roster with more than 100 games played in their collegiate careers.
92 GAMES: UMass Lowell forward Colin O'Neill has skated in 92 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. Connor Sodergren is second on the consecutive games list with 57, Kenny Hausinger has appeared in 53 in a row. Michael Kapla is the River Hawk record holder with 161 consecutive games played.
FRESH FACES: There are nine new names on the UMass Lowell hockey roster. The 2019-20 freshman class includes six forwards, two defensemen and one goalie. The group represents four countries, three states and three Canadian provinces. Defenseman Marek Korencik has travelled the greatest distance. His home in Zilina, Slovakia is separated from the UMass Lowell campus by some 4,089 miles.
YOUTH MUST BE SERVED: With a nine-member freshman class, twenty-one of the 28 players on the UMass Lowell roster are underclassmen. Seventy-five percent of the roster has no more than one year of college hockey experience. There are nine are freshmen, twelve sophomores, four juniors and three seniors on the roster. The River Hawks, going into the season, average 27.5-games experience per player. Last year 19 of 30 players were freshmen or sophomores. It is the largest group of underclassmen since the 2003-04 season when 25 of 30 players on the roster were underclassmen. The team also had 21 underclassmen during the 2007-08 season.
UNDERCLASSMEN: The UMass Lowell underclass (9 freshmen and 12 sophomores), at 21, is one of the largest in the country. Only Quinnipiac with 22 has more. Merrimack also has 21.
DOMINATING THE DOT: UMass Lowell was dominant in the faceoff circle a year ago and has started this season in similar fashion. The River Hawks have won 211 of 361, 58.4% of the puck drops. That figure leads Hockey East and is the third best in the country. Lucas Condotta (52 of 76, 68.4%), Kenny Hausinger (16/24, 66.7%), Charley Levesque (32/54, 59.3%), Colin O'Neil (45/80, 56.2%) and Carl Berglund (48/87, 55.2%) lead the way. A year ago UMass Lowell won 1,179 of 2,240 puck drops, a winning percentage of 52.6%, the best in Hockey East and 54.0% in conference play. Returners Charlie Levesque, Lucas Condotta and Connor Sodergren were all at .515 or better. Levesque led the team with a .568 percentage.
FIRST NOTCH: Four UMass Lowell freshmen scored their first collegiate goals during the season's first weekend. Matt Brown (1g, 1a), Zach Kaiser and Andre Lee all scored third-period goals on Saturday, October 5, and freshman Carl Berglund, who had two-assists on Saturday, scored the game's first goal on Sunday, October 6.
MULTI GOAL GAMES: Lucas Condotta became the first River Hawk to record a multi-goal game this season when he scored twice in the River Hawks 3-2 win at Minnesota-Duluth, October 12. It was also the first multi-goal game of his collegiate career.
RIVER HAWK STRONG AT EVEN STRENGTH: UMass Lowell has outscored their opponents by a significant margin when playing even strength hockey. The River Hawks have scored twelve goals while allowing just six while the teams have been playing with five skaters apiece.
PROBLEMS IN THE POWER GRID: The UMass Lowell power play has yet to really get untracked. The River Hawks broke a string of 14 man-advantage situations without a goal with a third period marker last Friday night against Colgate and are just 2 for 23 on the season.
PK OK: The UMass Lowell penalty killing unit has been sharp. The River Hawks have successfully killed 23 of 25 man down situations including the last eleven in a row. With a 92.0% success rate the PK Unit is third in Hockey East and 13th in the country.
FACING THE CHAMPIONS: After splitting a pair of games, October 11 and 12, UMass Lowell is 16-14-1 all-time when facing the defending National Champ. That includes a 10-7-0 record on the road. All but two of those opponents have been Hockey East schools. The exceptions are 6-4 win in Grand Rapids against North Dakota, the 1987 NCAA Champ, and last Saturday night's 3-2 win in Duluth.
FACING NUMBER ONE: Until UMass Lowell's 3-2 win against Minnesota Duluth, October 11, the team had never beaten a team ranked number one in the USCHO Poll. The USCHO Poll dates back to the 1997-98 season. UMass Lowell is now 1-18-2 against the top ranked team in the Poll. The River Hawks have had some success against team placed number one in other polls. The last win against a number one team was a 4-1 win against Boston College, part of a sweep weekend, in February of 2005.
NON-CONFERENCE, NO PROBLEM: The River Hawks have more than held their own in non-conference games over the eight-plus years that Norm Bazin has been behind the bench. UMass Lowell is 86-38-7 (.683) in non-conference games since 2011-12. The team is 3-2-1 this year and was 6-4-0 a year ago. Over the past 10-plus years, Lowell has the best non-conference regular season record of any team in Hockey East at 67-27-9 (.694).
VERSUS THE ECAC: UMass Lowell has played more non-conference games against ECAC schools than against any other conference in its Division I history and has had a great deal of success. The River Hawks are 105-77-13, .572, all-time against schools representing the ECAC and 94-62-11, .596, against schools currently in the ECAC.  UMass Lowell is 14-5-2 against the conference during the last four years.
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VERSUS THE NCHC: UMass Lowell has found some success in games against the teams in the NCHC. The River Hawks hold an 9-6-2 edge against team representing the NCHC, but are only 24-38-4 against teams that are currently members of the conference. Last year UMass Lowell was 1-2-0 against the NCHC, splitting with Miami but losing to Denver.
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TAKING ON THE WCHA: UMass Lowell has done fairly well against teams currently in the WCHA. After sweeping Alabama Huntsville to open the season, the River Hawks have a 29-20-2, .588, record against those schools. UMass Lowell has not fared as well against schools representing the WCHA showing a 26-56-3, .324, all-time record. In Hockey East's earliest seasons the two conferences had an interlocking schedule.
AN ALL-INCLUSIVE SCHEDULE: The UMass Lowell 2019-20 schedule finds the River Hawks playing games against teams from each of the six Division I hockey conferences. In addition to the 24 Hockey East games, the team will play three games against teams representing the ECAC, two each against the NCHC, the WCHA and Atlantic Hockey and one against the Big Ten.
TOP 100: In the recently published Hockey News "Top 100 Players to watch in the NCAA in 2019-20" two River Hawks made the cut. Freshman forward Andre Lee came in at number 93 and Sophomore defenseman Seth Barton registered at number 98.
ATTENDANCE NUMBERS:  UMass Lowell is third in average attendance among Hockey East schools. The River Hawks are averaging 3,680 fans per game after four home games. Boston College leads the conference drawing 6,172 to their one home game, Massachusetts is second, three home games into the season, averaging 4,578. After leading Hockey East in average home attendance for three years, UMass Lowell finished second in total attendance, 87,682, and third in average attendance, 4,615, during the 2018-19 season. During the last three years an average of 5,339 fans have filled the Tsongas Center nightly to watch UMass Lowell play.
SATURDAY START TIME: This season UMass Lowell Saturday home games will start at 6:00 p.m. That is an hour earlier than in the past. The charge was made in response to fan polling and in hopes that the 6:00 p.m. start would be more fan, student and Family friendly.
SIZE MATTERS: UMass Lowell is one of the tallest and heaviest teams in the country. The River Hawks measure at an average of six-feet, one-inch, the fourth tallest team in college hockey. The team tips the scales at an average 192.04-pounds, the sixth heaviest team in the nation. They are both the tallest and heaviest team in Hockey East.
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. He has worked more games than anyone else in any capacity. Poitras has been on the bench, in his role as athletic trainer, for 38 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 1,425 games including 1,358 Division I games. He has missed only one game. Poitras is working on a consecutive games streak that has now reached 949. He is the only trainer in College Hockey to work games at both Northern Arizona and Arizona State.
ON THE CAREER WALL: UMass Lowell goalie Tyler Wall is among the leaders in a couple of career categories. Wall entered this season sixth in career wins among active collegiate goalies with 40. He is now fifth with 43. Penn State's Peyton Jones leads with 58. Wall is third in shutouts with eight. The national leader is Minnesota Duluth goalie Hunter Shepard with 15. Wall, with 43 wins, is fifth among UMass Lowell Division I goalies. Dwayne Roloson tops the list with 51.
