Friday, February 8th vs. Boston College (7pm)
(Tsongas Center; Lowell, Mass.)
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90 Seconds with Norm
Follow on Twitter: @RiverHawkNation @RiverHawkHockeyÂ
Television: NESN (
Channel Finder)/TSN2Â (Canada)
Talent: Tom Caron (Play by Play); Billy Jaffe (Analyst); Catherine Bogart (Rinkside)
Sebouh Majarian (Producer)
Commercial Radio:
River Hawk Network: 980AMÂ WCAP/UMass Lowell Game Day App
Talent:
Bob Ellis (Play by Play); Cleve Kinley (Analyst)
Non-Commercial Radio: WUMLÂ 91.5 FM
Talent: Connor Capozzi (Play by Play); Brianne Dillon (Analyst)
Saturday, February 9th vs. No. 2 Massachusetts (7pm)
"THIS IS OUR STATE" STUDENT T-SHIRT GIVEAWAY
(Tsongas Center; Lowell, Mass.)
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Follow on Twitter: @RiverHawkNation @RiverHawkHockeyÂ
Commercial Radio:
River Hawk Network: 980AMÂ WCAP/UMass Lowell Game Day App
Talent:
Bob Ellis (Play by Play); Andy Merritt (Analyst)
Non-Commercial Radio: WUMLÂ 91.5 FM
Talent: Connor Capozzi (Play by Play); Brianne Dillon (Analyst)
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SCOUTING THE RIVER HAWKS: UMass Lowell is 15-8-2/9-4-2 after a hard fought 3-1 win against Northeastern at the Matthews Arena a week ago. The win pushed the current unbeaten streak to eight, the second longest active streak in the country. The club has won 11 of 14 road games and is 4-5-2 at home. UMass Lowell currently sits in third place in the Hockey East standings, just one point behind BC and one point ahead of Northeastern. The team is ranked 14th in the latest USA Hockey Magazine Poll and 15th in the USCHO poll. The River Hawks were picked for a seventh place finish by Hockey East Coaches and was placed sixth in the Media Poll. Ryan Lohin leads the team in scoring with 21-points. Seventeen different players have scored goals, sixteen have scored more than once. Lohin and Ryan Dmowski top the list of goal scorers with ten apiece. Nine players have ten points or more, four have 16. Tyler Wall has started 15 of the team's 25-games and has a 1.90 goals against average and a .928 save percentage. Christoffer Hernberg is 5-0-1 in his last six starts and has a 2.34 GAA and .918 Sv.% over his last seven appearances. Both Wall and Christoffer Hernberg have multiple shutouts to their credit.
SCOUTING THE EAGLES:  Boston College is 10-12-3 / 9-4-3 after a 5-3 win against UConn last Friday and a 2-1 win against Harvard in the Beanpot opener. The Eagles hold second place, one point ahead of UMass Lowell and three-points back of Massachusetts. BC is 6-4-2 at home and 4-8-1 playing away from the Conte Forum. Boston College was picked to finish first in the Coaches' Pre-Season Poll and second in the Media Pre-Season Poll. Fifteen different players have scored goals, eight have three or more. David Cotton leads the team with 15-goals and 24-points. Joseph Woll has started in 23 of the team's 25 games and has a 2.26 goals against average and a .923 save percentage.
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. BC: This is the 115th meeting between the two teams in a series that dates back to 1978. Boston College leads the all-time series 65-40-10. UMass Lowell has holds a 6-3-1 edge in the last ten. They have met nine times in the Hockey East Tournament with BC winning five. UMass Lowell defeated Boston College in the Tournament Championship Game a two years ago, 4-3. They have met once in the NCAA Tournament with BC winning, 4-3.
TWO WEEKS AGO VERSUS BC: UMass Lowell took three out of four points from the Eagles in a home-and-home weekend series January 25 and 26. Reid Stefanson scored twice and Ryan Dmowski had the third period game winner as UMass Lowell defeated Boston College, 3-1, at the Kelley Rink at the Conte Forum in the weekend opener. Dmowski scored the game winner with a one-timer at 4:44 of the third period. Tyler Wall made 24 saves in picking up the win. The Saturday night game saw the River Hawks battle back from a two-goal deficit in the third period. Ryan Dmowski had two goals including the game tying goal with 2:01 left in regulation.
LAST YEAR VERSUS BC: Boston College took two out of three from UMass Lowell. The two split a home-and-home series with each winning on familiar ice. The Eagles took the third meeting, two weeks later, Logan Hutsko had the third period game tying goal and the overtime game winner.
PLAYOFFS VERSUS BC: UMass Lowell and Boston College have met seven times in the Hockey East Tournament for a total of nine games. Only one meeting was in the Final. That was in 2017 and the River Hawks finished on top, 4-3, to earn their third Hockey East Tournament Championship in five years. UMass Lowell has advanced only once in the preliminary rounds. That was in 1988 when UMass Lowell won a two-game total goals series, 8-5.
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION: UMass Lowell and Boston College have played each other in nine different buildings, matching the greatest number of venues for the River Hawks against any Hockey East opponent. UMass Lowell and BC have faced off at Tully Forum (Billerica, Mass.), McHugh Forum (Chestnut Hill, Mass.), Providence Civic Center (Providence, R.I.) Matthews Arena (Boston, Mass.), Walter Brown Arena (Boston, Mass.), Conte Forum (Chestnut Hill, Mass.) Tsongas Arena/Center (Lowell, Mass.), FleetCenter/TD Garden (Boston, Mass.) and the DCU Center (Worcester, Mass.) UMass Lowell has also played Maine and New Hampshire in nine different buildings. UMass Lowell has played Clarkson in ten different buildings.
AT BEANPOT TIME: When UMass Lowell plays a Beanpot team during the week between Beanpot games, the River Hawks are 3-14-2. They are 3-5-1 when playing at home. UMass Lowell is only 2-8-0 when playing a team that has earned a spot in the Championship Game. They have played Boston College twice between Beanpot games and lost on both occasions. Those games were played on the road. UMass Lowell is only 6-17-2 against Boston University, Boston College and Northeastern before Beanpot games.
A WIN TONIGHT WOULD...: ...move UMass Lowell ahead of Boston College and into second place in the Hockey East standings. It would also extend the River Hawks unbeaten streak to nine games.
BROWN AND LOHIN: Junior co-captain Ryan Lohin has been named a semifinalist for the prestigious Walter Brown Award. Lohin is one of 20 Div. I players and one of 12 Hockey East players who were named semifinalists for the award presented annually to the best American-born college hockey player in New England. Lohin has posted a team-high 22 points to go along with 10 goals and 12 assists, skating in 21 of 25 contests for the River Hawks to date. The Gridiron Club of Boston will announce the finalists and winner of the 67th Walter Brown Award in March. Joe Gambardella is the only UMass Lowell player to win the award.
HERNBERG HONORS: Senior goaltender Christoffer Hernberg has been named Hockey East Goaltender of the Month. Hernberg, who won the award for the second time in his River Hawk career, posted a 4-0-1 record in five starts for the River Hawks in the month of January, posting a 2.16 GAA and .923 save percentage with one shutout, ranking third and fourth in the league, respectively. Hernberg previously won the award in November of 2017.
IN THE NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT: For the third week in a row UMass Lowell has earned a spot in the USCHO poll and for the first time this year made an appearance in the USA Hockey Magazine poll. The River Hawks returned to the rankings when they appeared in the No. 19 slot in the USCHO poll released January 14, 2019, this week the club has moved up to the No. 15 position. UMass Lowell is tied for 14th in the USA Hockey Magazine poll. It had been a while, 28 weeks/polls to be exact since the River Hawks had appeared in one of the national polls. But UMass Lowell is no stranger to the polls, the team had been nationally ranked for 116 consecutive polls between January 7, 2013 and October 23, 2017. UMass Lowell is one of four Hockey East teams currently ranked.
Vs. BIG TIME FOOTBALL SCHOOLS: UMass Lowell is 55-23-6 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 9-9-2 against Boston College and 7-5-1 against UConn. They also have winning records against Michigan State, Wisconsin and Miami.
LAST WEEKEND vs. NORTHEASTERN: Ryan Lohin scored with 4:59 remaining on the clock to break a 1-1 tie as UMass Lowell defeated Northeastern 3-1 last Friday night at the Matthews Arena. Kenny Hausinger and Reid Stefanson also had goals, Mattias Göransson had three assists. Tyler Wall made 26 saves to earn the win.
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SATURDAY vs. MASSACHUSETTS: Â Massachusetts, ranked number 2 in the nation, visits the Tsongas Center on Saturday night. Â The River Hawks won the first meeting this season 2-1 at the Mullins Center. Â UMass Lowell leads the series 49-26-7 and have won 18 of the last 21 (18-2-1) over the last seven-plus seasons.
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NEXT WEEKEND: The River Hawks have a home and home series with Providence. Friday the two teams meet in Lowell, Saturday in Providence. Currently the River Hawks lead Providence by two-points in the Hockey East standings and have a game in hand. The Friars lead the all-time series 58-47-11. Providence has won four straight and seven of the last ten.
SIX AND STOP: A 4-4 tie against Boston College ended UMass Lowell's six game winning streak on January 26th. The six was the longest UML winning streak since the team won seven in a row in February of 2017. This stretch of six wins included victories against UMass, Colgate (2), Vermont (2) and Boston College.
EIGHT IN A ROW - PART I: UMass Lowell's eight-game unbeaten streak is the second longest active winning streak in the country. The River Hawks are 7-0-1 during the streak. Bentley (7-0-2) is unbeaten in nine.
EIGHT IN A ROW - PART II: During UMass Lowell's current eight-game unbeaten streak the team has scored 3.38 goals per game and allowed just 1.62 goals per game. During the first 17 games this season the River Hawks showed a 2.76 goals for number and a goals against average of 2.53. They had outscored opponents by just four goals. They have outscored their opponents by 14 goals during the streak. Ryan Dmowski has six goals, including three game winners, and eight-points during the streak. Ryan Lohin leads the team with nine-points (4g, 5a). He has two game winning goals. The penalty killing numbers have also seen a marked improvement. The PK success rate was just 79.7% during the first 17 games and is 83.9% in the last eight. The Power Play is at 22.7% during the streak after posting at 16.2% success rate in the first 17 games.
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.
AT THIS POINT: UMass Lowell has 15 wins through the first 25 games of the season and that appears to be about par for the course during the Norm Bazin Era. It is the third time in eight years that the River Hawks had 15 wins at the 25 game mark. In four other years they had 16 wins and in Bazin's first season, 2011-12, the team had 18 wins. For the fifth time UMass Lowell has nine wins in its first 15 Hockey East Games. They've never had more.
THE REST OF THE WAY: UMass Lowell has just 9 games remaining on the regular season schedule. Those 9 games are against six different Hockey East opponents. The six have a combined record of 73-66-19, a .522 winning percentage. The numbers change once you factor in the number of games versus each opponent, 116-115-35 .502.
HOME SWEET HOME: UMass Lowell is 86-40-14 (a .664 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 4-5-2 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 the team with 10-points in eleven home games. Dmowski and Kenny Hausinger lead the club with five home ice goals. Lohin has nine points in ten games at the Tsongas Center.
ON THE ROAD: UMass Lowell is 11-3-0, a .786 winning percentage when playing away from the Tsongas Center this season. The eleven wins are the second most in the country and that .786 road winning percentage is third best in the country.
ON THE ROAD, AGAIN: UMass Lowell is 96-55-9, a .628 winning percentage when playing away from the Tsongas Center in the seven-plus years that Norm Bazin has led the program. That .628 winning percentage is the second best in the nation during that period. The River Hawks are 72-44-8, .610, as the road team and 24-11-1, .681, in games played at a neutral site.
ON THE ROAD, AGAIN AND AGAIN: UMass Lowell has won eight in a row on the road. It is their longest road winning streak since taking a school Division I record nine in a row in 2013. The school record is 20 straight road wins set over two seasons beginning in January of 1981 and ending more than a year later.
ROAD WARRIORS: Several River Hawks appear to feel right at home when they are on the road. Ryan Lohin has scored 13 of his 22-points and seven of his ten goals in ten road games.   Connor Sodergren has scored 12 of his 16-points in enemy rinks. Sam Knoblauch has scored seven (3g, 4a) of his eight points this season on the road. Charlie Levesque scored eight of his 12 points and Lucas Condotta has scored all of his seven-points (3g, 4a) in enemy buildings. Kenny Hausinger has seen nine of his 14-points come on the road. Reid Stefanson has accumulated ten of his 12 points away from the Tsongas Center.
93 AND COUNTING: UMass Lowell's visit two weeks ago to the Class of 1965 Arena at Colgate, a building that opened for business during the 2016-17 season, pushed 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.
RED HOT D-MO: UMass Lowell forward Ryan Dmowski had his five game goal scoring streak ended last Friday in UML's 3-1 win at Northeastern. Dmowski had six goals during the five game streak and he had eight shots on goal in the game at Northeastern. It was the longest goal scoring streak since Joe Gambardella scored in five straight, also six goals, in February of 2017. The last player to have a streak longer than five games was Michael Murray who scored in seven straight games (9-goals) in November and December of 1991.
MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Ryan Dmowski has ten game winning goals in his career. That ranks him first in Hockey East and third in the nation among active players. Denver's Jarid Lukosevicius leads the country with 18, Michigan Tech's Jake Lucchini is second with 11.
BACK-TO-BACK: The River Hawks have played eleven of 15 "back-to-back" series. UMass Lowell is 7-3-1 on the first night and 6-4-1 on the second. They have three sweeps on the board. The sweeps have come against UConn, Colgate and Vermont. 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 THE CLUTCH: Ryan Dmowski leads UMass Lowell with eight clutch goals. A "clutch goal" is defined as a goal that either ties the score or gives the team the lead in a hockey game. Six of Dmowski's eight clutch goals have given UMass Lowell the lead. Connor Wilson is second with four clutch goals. Wilson and Ryan Lohin led the team a year ago with six clutch goals each.
WINNER, WINNER, CHICKEN DINNER: Ryan Dmowski leads UMass Lowell and the nation with five game-winning goals. The left handed shooting forward is part of a group of seven players with five game winners. He scored the game winner in three of UMass Lowell's last four wins and has ten game winning goals in his career.
PUTTING THE D IN THE O: The UMass Lowell defense corps has become a significant contributor to the River Hawk offense during the last seventeen games. After scoring just one-goal and adding ten-assists during the first eight games of the season the blueliners have contributed ten-goals and 40-points to the offense in the last 17 games. During that stretch the River Hawks have averaged 3.24-goals per game after averaging 2.38-goals per game during the first eight contests of the year. The ten goals is the second 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.
YOUTH MOVEMENT: The UMass Lowell freshmen class has been key to the River Hawk offense. The group, with 20-goals and 52-points, is second in scoring of the four classes. The class is second in Hockey East in goals and fourth in points. Reid Stefanson, with 12-points (6g, 6a), is the top scoring River Hawk freshmen.
FLUXUATIONS IN THE POWER GRID: The UMass Lowell power play has been on on-again off-again proposition. The River Hawks have scored with the man advantage in seven of their last ten games are 7-for-31, 22.6%, during that stretch. That came after a 4-for-36 slump. The PP Unit has a 17.6% success rate for the season.
PENALTY KILLING?: The UMass Lowell penalty killing unit has been playing some of its best hockey after a rough stretch. The PK unit has killed 26 of the last 31 shorthanded situations, a 83.9% success rate. Prior to that seven game run the River Hawks had allowed six power play goals in a five game stretch. The PK success rate has now climbed to 81.1 on the season.
DOMINATING THE DOT: After a slow start, UMass Lowell is now dominating at the faceoff circle. The River Hawks have won 786 of 1,512 puck drops, a winning percentage of 52.0%, third best in Hockey East. The turnaround has come during the last 19 games. UMass Lowell has won 609 of 1,134 faceoffs, 53.7%, the best in Hockey East since November 2nd. Top performances have come from Charlie Levesque, Lucas Condotta and Nick Master. During the 19 game stretch Levesque has won 130 of 216 draws, 60.2%, and Condotta has won 108 of 188, 57.4%. Master has won 134 of 259 pick drops, 51.7%. Sam Knoblauch, Reid Stefanson and Ryan Lohin have also won 50% or more of their faceoffs.
GETTING IN THE WAY: UMass Lowell is fifth in Hockey East in blocked shots per game. The River Hawks have blocked 294 shots in 25-games this season, an average of 11.76 shots blocked per game. Defenseman Mattias Göransson leads the team with 43 blocks. He is seventh in Hockey East.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES: UMass Lowell forward Connor Sodergren has four-goals and sixteen-points in 25-games. A year ago Sodergren did not get to 16. He finished the year with four goals and ten points. His fourth goal and tenth point came in his 32nd, the team's 45th, game. Defenseman Mattias Göransson has also surpassed last year's totals. Göransson has four goals and 16 points. A year ago he finished with four-goals and 13-points. Forward Chris Schutz has two-goals and six points. A year ago he had just picked up the first two points of his collegiate career.
BY THE CLOSEST OF MARGINS: UMass Lowell is 55-41-23, .559, in one-goal games since the 2011-12 season. The team is 4-5-2 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.
THREE IS THE MAGIC NUMBER: When UMass Lowell scores three or more goals in a game it is 152-23-7, .854 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.
PROTECTING THE LEAD: Since Norm Bazin took over the coaching reins at UMass Lowell, the River Hawks are 139-9-9 when leading after two-periods. They are also 32-20-9 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 11-2-0 this season.
DEFENSE: Over the past seven-plus seasons, UMass Lowell has allowed just 2.26 goals per game and has a .920 save percentage. Those number are among the best in the country. Only two teams, (Quinnipiac 2.20 and Cornell 2,25), have a better goals against average and just one, (Denver .921) has a higher save percentage.
ON TARGET: UMass Lowell has scored on 10.3% of its shots on goal during the nearly eight years that Norm Bazin has been behind the bench. Only three teams show greater accuracy during that seven-plus season period of time. St. Cloud tops the lists at 11.1%. Boston College and Northeastern are at 10.7% and 10.4% respectively.
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.
BEFORE AND AFTER THE BREAK: UMass Lowell, during the Norm Bazin Era, has a better winning percentage after the winter break than before it. The River Hawks are 74-43-12, .620, before the break and 109-52-11, .666, after the break. BUT, the numbers can be misleading. In five of the previous seven years the team had a slightly better winning percentage during the first half of the season.
GOING SOLO: UMass Lowell has played only three stand-alone games this season with one more remaining on the schedule. The River Hawks lost to Denver, 4-1, on December 29th, defeated Massachusetts, 2-1, on January 4th and topped Northeastern 3-1 last Friday. A year ago the River Hawks split a pair of stand-alone games.
A GOOD START: UMass Lowell has allowed just 15 first period goals 25 games into the season. That's an average of 0.60 goals per first period. That ranks UMass Lowell seventh in the nation and only one Hockey East team has better numbers. UMass has allowed 0.40 first period goals, a total of ten in 25 games. The River Hawks have outscored opponents 22-15 in the first period. That goal differential, +7, is the third highest in Hockey East.
THE FINAL THIRD: Twenty-five games into the season and the River Hawks have outscored their opponents 31-goals to 22 in the third period of play. The plus-9 is third best in Hockey East and is 12th in the country. That continues a trend seen a year ago. UML outscored opponents by 15-goals in the third period during the 2017-18 season. That was the sixth highest goal differential in the country.
THE 2019 SENIOR CLASS: The five-member UMass Lowell senior class has accumulated a record of 84-48-10, a .627 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 sixth in wins 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 138 games in a River Hawk uniform. Connor Wilson (123) and Ryan Dmowski (120) joined the club earlier this season. Next on the list are Ryan Lohin (98), Mattias Göransson (97), Colin O'Neill (96) and Kenny Hausinger (93). A year ago UMass Lowell had six players on the roster with more than 100 games played in their collegiate careers.
74 GAMES: UMass Lowell forward Colin O'Neill has skated in 74 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 58 and Charlie Levesque is third with 53. 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.
HOBEY CANDIDATES: Senior goaltender Christoffer Hernberg and junior co-captain Ryan Lohin have been nominated for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award. Online fan voting has now commenced for the most prestigious individual award in college hockey and will continue through the night of March 10th. Hernberg has started nine of 21 games for the River Hawks so far this season, posting a 7-2-1 record with a 2.57 GAA and a .905 save percentage to go along with two shutouts. Lohin leads the River Hawks with 21 points and nine goals in 18 games this season.
35TH ANNIVERSARY TEAM VOTING: Hockey East announced last week that fan voting for the Hockey East 35th Anniversary Team is now open. The selection of the all-star team is part of the conference's year-long celebration of 35 years of excellence. Fans can vote for a team of 35 forwards and 35 defenders, including defensemen and goaltenders, as part of the 35th anniversary celebration until February 15. Votes can be submitted by visiting HockeyEastOnLine.com. The special team will be chosen by a combination of fan voting and league committee voting, consisting of league staff, school staff and members of the media.
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.
IN NHL BUILDINGS: The Matthews Arena where UMass Lowell and Northeastern played last Friday was, when known as the Boston Arena, the original home of the Boston Bruins. The Matthews Arena was also home to the New England Whalers of the WHL. The River Hawks have a 47-43-9 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 in Pittsburgh, 1-0-1 at the HSBC Arena in Buffalo, 2-2-1 at the XL Center, the onetime home of the Hartford Whalers, and 30-25-6 in the Matthews Arena. Excluding the Matthews Arena, UMass Lowell is 17-18-3 in NHL Buildings.
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 three of the team's 25 games.
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, 4,798 to 4,518. 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.
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 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. He has worked more games The athletic trainer has worked 1,407 games including 1,340 Division I games. He has missed only one game. Poitras is working on a consecutive games streak that has now reached 931. He is the only trainer in College Hockey to work games at both Northern Arizona and Arizona State.
