Saturday, January 4th at Merrimack (5pm)
(Lawler Arena; North Andover, Mass.)
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Talent:
Bob Ellis (Play by Play); Andy Merritt (Analyst)
Non-Commercial Radio: WUML 91.5 FM
Talent: Connor Capozzi (Play by Play); Tim Casagrande (Analyst)
SCOUTING THE RIVER HAWKS: UMass Lowell is 10-4-4 / 5-2-3 after splitting a pair of games against Providence just before the winter hiatus. The River Hawks are in a second place tie with Northeastern and Massachusetts a single point behind Providence in the Hockey East standings. UMass Lowell does have two games in hand and the tiebreaker against the Friars. The team is ranked 14th in the USCHO Poll and 13th in the USA Today Poll. The River Hawks were picked for a sixth place finish in both the Hockey East Coaches' and the Media Pre-Season polls. Sixteen players have scored goals this season, Carl Berglund lead the team with six, Matt Brown, Connor Sodergren and Kenny Hausinger have five, Zach Kaiser and Andre Lee have four. Brown leads the team with 17-points. Three of the River Hawks top four scorers are freshmen. Goalie Tyler Wall has started seventeen of the team's eighteen games with a 1.72 goals against average and a .945 save percentage. Wall has authored two of his nine career shutouts this season.
SCOUTING THE WARRIORS: Merrimack is 4-13-2 / 2-5-2 after dropping a pair of games to Minnesota Duluth to open the second half of the season. The Warriors are 2-7-1 at home and 2-6-1 on the road. They are in tenth place in the Hockey East standings, two points behind New Hampshire and eight-points behind the league leaders, Providence. The team was picked to finish dead last, 11th, in both the Coaches' Pre-Season Polls and in the Media Pre-Season Poll. Merrimack, whose roster shows 16 freshmen, did return seven of its top nine 2018-19 scorers. Sixteen different players have scored goals, four have three or more. Tyler Irvine and Chase Gresock pace the squad with seven goals. Irvine tops the points chart with 13. Chase Gresock has twelve-points. Three freshmen goalies have seen time in nets, two have started games. Jere Huhtamaa has started twelve of the team 19 games. He carries a 3.53 goals against average and an .856 save percentage into tonight's contest. Troy Kobryn has made seven starts and has 3.14 / .895 numbers.
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. MERRIMACK: This is the 132nd meeting between the two schools in a series that dates back to 1971 when both were playing at a Division II level. Merrimack won the first ten games between the two schools, but UMass Lowell leads the all-time series, 79-40-12 and holds a 57-21-10 advantage since Merrimack became a member of Hockey East. The River Hawks have lost just four of the last 17 meetings. The two team have met twice in the Hockey East post season with each advancing once.
LAST YEAR VS. MERRIMACK: UMass Lowell took three out of four points from Merrimack in a pair of late season games. The River Hawks got goals from six different players in a 6-3 win on February 22 at the Tsongas Center. Reid Stefanson broke a 3-3 tie with a goal late in the second period. The following night Chase Gresock scored with 48-seconds remaining in regulation as the two teams battled to a 3-3 tie.
PLAYOFFS VERSUS MERRIMACK: UMass Lowell and Merrimack have met just twice in the Hockey East Tournament for a total of four games. In 1994 UMass Lowell, the second seed, defeated Merrimack 7-1 in the first game of their best-of-three series. Ian Hebert had a goal and an assist to reach the 100-point mark. The River Hawks eliminated the Warriors 24 hours later with a 3-0 shutout by Dwayne Roloson and a hat trick by Norm Bazin. In 2018 the story was very different. Ludvig Larsson scored the game winner at 18:01 of the first overtime in a 2-1 victory. Jace Hennig had tied the game with less than five-minutes remaining in the third period. Hennig proved to have overtime magic the second night as he provided the game winner at 13:59 of the first overtime. The two teams did meet on numerous occasions during their Division II days with ULowell holding a 5-4-0 post-season edge.
AT THE LAWLER RINK: The Lawler Arena, home of Merrimack College hockey and where the two teams will play of Saturday night, holds a special place in UMass Lowell hockey history. It was on that ice surface that UMass Lowell won its first Division II National Championship. In 1979 the Chiefs defeated Illinois-Chicago, 10-6, and Mankato State, 6-4, to claim the trophy. Two years later ULowell grabbed its second title beating Mankato State, 8-7 in OT, and Plattsburgh State, 5-4, at the Lawler Rink. The River Hawks are 35-25-5 all-time at the Lawler Rink.
AT THE LAWLER RINK II: Saturday night will be UMass Lowell's 66th game on the ice at the Lawler Rink. The River Hawks have only played in one enemy building more often. That is the Alfond Arena at the University of Maine. UMass Lowell is 35-25-5 in the Lawler Arena.
AT THE LAWLER RINK III: UMass Lowell has won 35 games at the Lawler Rink, the most of any enemy building. Thirty-one of those wins have come against Merrimack, the others have come in tournament play against various team. The River Hawks have 30 wins at Northeastern's Matthews Arena and 26 wins on the ice at the Schneider Arena in Providence.
FAMILY TIES: Merrimack forwards Tyler and Logan Drevitch are the sons of former UMass Lowell defenseman Scott Drevitch. The elder Drevitch played for the ULowell Chiefs 1984-88 and recorded 11-goals and 72-points. His sons, Tyler, a senior, and Logan, a sophomore, have totaled 17-goals and 35-points. Scott played professionally through the 2006-07 season scoring 116 goals and 1,002-points.
28 DAYS: It has been 28 days since UMass Lowell last played a regular season hockey game. That break, December 7 to January 4, is the longest in the school's Division I history. It should be noted that UMass Lowell did play an exhibition game, a 3-1 win, on December 29th against the CCHL All-Stars. The River Hawks did have a 27-day break during the 2010-11 season.
FLYING SOLO: This is the first time this year that UMass Lowell is playing a stand-alone game. The only other stand along game on the River Hawk schedule is the season finale against UConn on March 6. A year ago UMass Lowell was 2-2-1 in five stand-alone games.
JUST AN EXHIBITION GAME: Andre Lee, Zach Kaiser and Sam Knoblauch scored goals as UMass Lowell defeated the CCHL All Stars, 3-1, in an exhibition game at the Tsongas Center December 29. Logan Neaton, playing the first two periods in net, stopped 17 shots to pick up the win. Tyler Wall stopped all four third period shots that he saw.
A WIN TONIGHT... ...could move the River Hawks into sole possession of first place in the Hockey East standings. It would also be the team's 11th win of the season.
AFTER A LOSS: UMass Lowell did a terrific job avoiding any extended losing streak a year ago. Seven times the River Hawks followed a loss with a win or a tie, only on three occasions did the hockey club lose consecutive games and never dropped three in a row. They have lost consecutive games only once this season.
AT THE BREAK: The River Hawks reached the winter break with double digit wins for the ninth time in 36 years of Division I hockey. UMass Lowell is 10-4-4. The most wins the team has ever had at the break is 12. That was done twice, 1986-87 and 2001-02.
EIGHTEEN GAMES IN: Eighteen games into the season and UMass Lowell is several steps ahead of where it was a year ago. The River Hawks are 10-4-4 at the fourteen game mark after being 9-8-1 a year ago. The team is 5-2-3 in league play compared with 5-3-1 a year ago.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES: Things have changed for River Hawk defenseman Chase Blackmun. A year ago Blackmun had just one-goal and two-points through 18 games. This time around he's got three-goals and nine-points. Two of his goals have been game winners.
JUST TWO: With a record of 5-2-3 in Hockey East play, UMass Lowell has the fewest losses in league play. The River Hawks are one of two teams with just two losses. The other, Boston College, has played just seven conference games and has a record of 5-2-0. Everybody else in the conference has at least three losses.
NEXT WEEKEND: The River Hawks have their longest bus ride of the season. A 397-mile trip from the Tsongas Center to the Gene Polisseni Center, in Rochester, N.Y., and a pair of games with R I T. The games are the final non-conference games of the season. UMass Lowell holds a 6-2-1 edge in the all-time series which began in 1969 when both were Division II programs. The two teams split a pair of games in Lowell a year ago. The last time the River Hawks played in Rochester, October 2010, the teams battled to a 4-4 tie.
BACK IN THE NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT: UMass Lowell is receiving recognition in the polls for the ninth straight week. The team is slotted at number 13 in both the USCHO and the USA Hockey Magazine poll. It is the ninth week in a row and the tenth time this season that UMass Lowell has appeared in at least one of the two polls. The team closed out the 2018-19 season earning a spot in the USCHO poll in each of the final eleven weeks of the season and finished the year at number 19. The River Hawks are no stranger to the polls, the team had been nationally ranked for 116 consecutive polls between Jan. 7, 2013 and Oct. 23, 2017.
THE NEW YEAR'S PAIRWISE: UMass Lowell was ranked 12th in the Pairwise as the calendar flipped from 2019 to 2020. During the previous eight season with Norm Bazin at the helm UMass Lowell has been as high as number five in 2017 and as low as number 30 a year ago. In five of the previous eight years the River Hawks earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament, three times they did not. During the 2012-13 season UMass Lowell made it to the Frozen Four after sitting at number 21 at midyear. They were number 12 in 2014-15, but missed the post season.
THE LAST TIME IT COUNTED: UMass Lowell and Providence split a pair of games, each winning on the road, to wrap up the pre-winter break portion of the 2019-20 schedule. Goalie Tyler Wall made 35 saves as the River Hawks overcame a two-goal deficit and defeated Providence, 3-2, back on December 6. Connor Sodergren and Charlie Levesque scored goals in the first 2:03 of the third period to give the River Hawks a lead they would never relinquish. Kenny Hausinger scored on a penalty shot earlier in the game. Providence built a 2-0 first period lead the following night and went onto a 4-1 win.
PENALTY SHOT: Kenny Hausinger's penalty shot goal December 6 against Providence was the first successful penalty shot by a River Hawk since Jake Kamrass scored against Nebraska Omaha October 29, 2016. Mattias Göransson was stopped on a penalty shot attempt against Vermont January 19, 2019.
TIEBREAKER: The December 6th UMass Lowell win in Providence gave the River Hawks the upper hand in the season series and the tiebreaker should the two teams finish the season tied in the Hockey East standings. UMass Lowell won the three-game season series two-games-to-one.
DOWN BUT NOT OUT: The December 6th come-from-behind, 3-2, win at Providence was the first time UMass Lowell has won a game in which it trailed by two-goals since defeating Vermont, 3-2, in overtime on January 19, 2018. The River Hawks are 1-1-1 in games in which they have trailed by two goals this season. It was also the first time this season that UMass Lowell won a game when trailing entering the third period.
2,422 DAYS: It had been 2,422 days between UMass Lowell wins in Providence. That last win in the Rhode Island Capital came on March 9, 2013 when the River Hawks defeated Providence 4-1 to clinch the Hockey East regular season crown.
ON THE EDGE OF YOUR SEAT: UMass Lowell has played thirteen games decided by one-goal or less. Seven of those dozen came consecutively and is the most one-goal games in a row the River Hawks have ever played in their 53 years of hockey. The team was 3-2-2 in that stretch and is 6-3-4 in one-goal games this season.
EXTRA TIME: Seven of the River Hawks 18 games have gone into overtime. That's more than three quarters of the way to equaling the school record. The most overtime games that the River Hawks have played in a year is nine. That's happened three times. The most recent was during the 2015-16 season when the club went 3-1-5 in overtime. UMass Lowell is 2-1-4 in overtime this season.
FIT TO BE TIED: The November 15th 3-3 tie was the River Hawks fourth tie of the season. That is second in the nation. UMass Lowell is one of seven teams with four ties on their record. Only Boston University has five.
A CLASS ABOVE: The UMass Lowell rookie class is the third highest scoring freshmen class in the country. River Hawk freshmen have scored 20-goals and 33-assists for 53-points. Wisconsin has 55-points on 26-goals and 29-assists. Providence, with 19 games played has 54-points. Boston University also has 53-points from freshmen. Matt Brown with five-goals and 17-points is second in scoring among first year player in the country. Carl Berglund is seventh among rookie scorers with six goals and 15-points.
A CHILD SHALL LEAD: Freshman Matt Brown leads UMass Lowell in scoring with 17-points. He is the nation's number-two point producing rookie. Brown and BU's Trevor Zegras are the top scoring freshmen in Hockey East. Brown is one of seven freshmen in the country to lead their team in scoring. UMass Lowell with Brown and Carl Berglund, with 15-points, is the only team in the country whose top two scorers are freshmen.
104 GAMES: UMass Lowell forward Colin O'Neill has skated in 104 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. Junior Defenseman Anthony Baxter is second on the consecutive games list with 64. Connor Sodergren and Kenny Hausinger have seen streaks of 59 and 56 games come to an end with minor injuries during this season. Michael Kapla is the River Hawk record holder with 161 consecutive games played.
THE CENTURY CLUB: Only two members of the UMass Lowell roster have played more than 100 games in their collegiate careers. Colin O'Neill (126) and Kenny Hausinger (120) joined the Century Club late last season. Tyler Wall (88), Charlie Levesque (88), Connor Sodergren (85) and Anthony Baxter (85) are next on the list.
THE 2020 SENIOR CLASS: The three-member UMass Lowell senior class has accumulated a record of 73-47-12, a .599 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 sixth 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. They are one of nine teams with just three seniors, no school has fewer.
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.
BY THE CLOSEST OF MARGINS: UMass Lowell is 61-46-30, .555, in one-goal games since the 2011-12 season. The team is 6-3-4 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 165-25-10, .850 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 32-79-20, .321, since 2011-12.
PROTECTING THE LEAD: Since Norm Bazin took over the coaching reins at UMass Lowell, the River Hawks are 151-9-10 when leading after two-periods. They are also 33-20-14 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?: 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 159-10-4, 75-4-3 at the Tsongas Center. The club is 6-0-0, this season, with a two-goal lead. 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 6-66-7, 2-30-4 at Tsongas. Last year, they were 0-7-2, 0-6-2 at Tsongas.
WHEN THE GAME IS ON THE LINE: UMass Lowell goalie Tyler Wall has been at his best when the game is on the line. He is second in the country in saves in the third period and overtime. Wall has stopped 198 of 209 shots (.947) in the final 25 minutes of hockey.
PROTECTING THE NET: UMass Lowell is one of the top defensive team in Hockey East. The River Hawks have a 1.94 goals against average. That's eighth in the country and third in Hockey East. UMass Lowell has allowed no more than two-goals in 13 of its 18 games.
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 32-goals while allowing just 19 while the teams have been playing with five skaters apiece.
DOMINATING THE DOT: UMass Lowell has been dominant in the faceoff circle this year and the year before. The River Hawks have won 598 of 1,104, 54.2% of the puck drops. That figure leads Hockey East and is the seventh best in the country. Sam Knoblauch (31/51, 60.8%), Charlie Levesque (133/222, 59.9%), Lucas Condotta (155 of 264, 58.7%), Kenny Hausinger (23/41, 56.1%), and Colin O'Neil (59/114, 51.8%) 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. Levesque led the team with a .568 percentage.
FLUXUATIONS IN THE POWER GRID: The UMass Lowell power play is beginning to put it together. The River Hawks have scored a power play goal (10-40, 25.0%) in nine of its last eleven games. That's 11th best in the country over a eleven game stretch. The team is just 12 for 68, 17.6%, on the season.
PK OK?: The UMass Lowell penalty killing unit has hit a bit of a bump in the road. The River Hawks allowed four goals in 14 shorthanded situations in the last three games. On the season UMass Lowell has successfully killed 57 of 68 man down situations. With an 83.8% success rate the PK Unit is fourth in Hockey East. They have killed off 36 of 41 (87.8%) at home which ranks the River Hawks 20th in the country.
TAKING ONE FOR THE TEAM: UMass Lowell is right in the middle in Hockey East when it comes to blocking shots. The River Hawks are ranked sixth in the league with 205 blocked shots, an average of 11.39 shots blocked per game.
PUT IT ON THE WALL: Senior goaltender Tyler Wall was named Hockey East Goaltender of the Month for November. Wall, who is a candidate for the Mike Richter Award, given annually to the top NCAA goaltender, amassed 250 saves on 264 shots (.947 sv%) in the 5-1-2 month for the River Hawks. He posted a 1.71 GAA with one shutout in the month, along with a .750 winning percentage. Wall's 1.71 GAA and .947 save percentage both ranked second among Hockey East goaltenders in the month and his 250 saves in the month were the fourth most of any league netminder. He registered 30+ saves in five of eight starts in the month and allowed two goals or fewer in six of those starts. Wall went 3-1-2 in the month in six games decided by one goal or less.
ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL: When UMass Lowell beat Rensselaer 4-0, November 29th, it was the ninth shutout of Tyler Wall's career. He is fourth on the school's career shutout list moving ahead of Cam McCormick and Christoffer Hernberg who had eight. The all-time leader is Connor Hellebuyck who blanked opponents 12 times. Carter Hutton and Kevin Boyle are second with ten.
HANGING WINS ON THE WALL: The December 7th win against Providence was Tyler Wall's 50th win of his career and the goalie is moving up in the program record book. Wall is now tied for second, with Marty Fillion, among UMass Lowell Division I goalies in wins with 50. Dwayne Roloson tops the list with 51.
THE GREAT WALL: UMass Lowell goalie Tyler Wall is among the nation's leaders in goals against average and save percentage. Wall has a 1.72 GAA. That's number five in the country and second among Hockey East goalies. His .945 save percentage ranks second in the country and tops the charts in Hockey East.
A GOOD START: UMass Lowell allowed just ten first period goals in 18 games this season. That's just 0.56 goals per first period and that's ranks the River Hawks 15th best in the country and number four among Hockey East teams. On the other side of the equation UMass Lowell has scored just ten first period goals and that ranks the team 45th in the country. The team is 5-0-0 when leading after one period.
THE FIRST 5: UMass Lowell has scored a goal in the first five minutes of play in six of their first eighteen games this season. That's third best in the country. They did it in victories against Alabama Huntsville twice, Minnesota Duluth, Vermont and Rensselaer but lost after taking a 1-0 lead at the 4:40 mark of the first period against Colgate. Eighteen of the River Hawks 47 goals this season have come in the first five-minutes of a period. That number, eighteen, is fourth in the nation.
THE FINAL THIRD: The River Hawks outscored their opponents 37-goals to 26 in the third period of play a year ago. The 0.30 per game margin was third best in Hockey East and is 11th in the country. No Hockey East team gave up fewer third period goals. UMass Lowell has outscored its opponents, 15-12, in the third period this season.
FIRST NOTCH: Four UMass Lowell freshmen scored their first collegiate goals during the season's first weekend and a fifth added his name to the tally sheet last weekend. Matt Brown, 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. Brian Chambers picked up his first collegiate goal with an empty net marker against Vermont November 2.
MULTI GOAL GAMES: Three River Hawks have recorded multi-goal games this season. Lucas Condotta was the first 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. Chris Schutz added his name to the list with a pair of goals November 2nd at Vermont in a 5-3 win. Connor Sodergren joined the group with two-goals against Rensselaer on November 29th.
IN THE CLUTCH: River Hawk freshman Carl Berglund has stepped up in the clutch. A "clutch goal" is defined as a goal that either ties the score or gives the team the lead in a hockey game. Berglund leads the team with five clutch goals, four have given the team the lead, one has tied the score. Matt Brown has four clutch goals and Zach Kaiser has three. Berglund also leads the team with two game-winning goals.
A RED LIGHT AT THE END OF THE OT TUNNEL: The long wait is over. UMass Lowell finally won an overtime game when it defeated Providence 3-2, October 26, with a goal from Carl Berglund at the 4:20 mark of overtime. The win ended a streak of 13 overtime games (0-6-7) without a win. It had been 645-days since the River Hawks defeated Vermont 3-2 in overtime, on a Connor Wilson goal, January 19, 2018. The hockey club had been held off the score sheet for some 78-minutes and 22-seconds of overtime hockey.
BONUS TIME - NO BONUS: Overtime has not been kind to UMass Lowell over the last three seasons, but that may very well be changing. The River Hawks are 3-10-12 in their last 25 overtime games (0-2-5 last season) dating back to the start of the 2016-17 season. The three wins have come against Vermont in January, 2018, Providence October 26 and Penn State on November 30. The Providence win ended a 13 game (0-6-7) overtime winless stretch. Their longest winless OT streak is 18 games running from January 21, 2006 through January 11, 2008. UMass Lowell is 2-0-4 in its last six overtime games. The two wins have come in the last four overtime games.
BACK-TO-BACK: UMass Lowell has sixteen "back-to-back" weekend series this season. Nine have been played. The team is 5-1-3 on the first night and 5-3-1 on the second. They have swept both Alabama Huntsville and Vermont and had a sweep weekend by beating both Rensselaer and Penn State on consecutive nights. 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.)
DEFENSE: Over the past eight-plus seasons, UMass Lowell has allowed just 2.25 goals per game and has a .921 save percentage. Those number are among the best in the country. Only three teams, (Cornell 2.19, Quinnipiac 2.22 and Minnesota State 2.24), have a better goals against average and just one, (Denver .922) has a higher save percentage.
ON TARGET: UMass Lowell has scored on 10.2% of its shots on goal during the eight-plus years that Norm Bazin has been behind the bench. Only five teams show greater accuracy during that period of time. St. Cloud tops the lists at 11.2%. Boston College is at 10.6% and Northeastern is at 10.5%. Minnesota is at 10.3%. Harvard also comes in at 10.2, but wriggles ahead of the River Hawks 10.22 to 10.21.
ON THE ROAD, AGAIN: UMass Lowell is 101-58-12, a .625 winning percentage when playing away from the Tsongas Center in the eight-plus years that Norm Bazin has led the program. That .625 winning percentage is the best in the nation during that period. The River Hawks are 77-47-11, .609, 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.
HOME SWEET HOME: UMass Lowell has won five of ten with three ties at the Tsongas Center this season and is 96-46-18 (a .656 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.
TURKEY LEG CLASSIC: The River Hawks won the inaugural edition of the Turkey Leg Classic jointly hosted by UMass Lowell and Merrimack College by defeating Rensselaer and Penn State. The River Hawks won the opener against Rensselaer, 4-0, behind two-goals from Connor Sodergren and 23 saves by goalie Tyler Wall. Zach Kaiser got the only goal the River Hawks needed less than four-minutes into the first period. Jon McDonald added a power play goal at the 6:38 mark of the period to give the home team at 2-0 lead. Sodergren added two third period goals. UML won the Championship game with a 3-2 overtime victory against Penn State, who had topped Merrimack, 7-0 in its opener. UMass Lowell got the game winner from Chase Blackmun at 2:43 of the extra period. The River Hawks also got goals from Anthony Baxter and Andre Lee.
HOSTING A TOURNAMENT: The Turkey Leg Classic was the first time that UMass Lowell had hosted a tournament since the 1999-2000 season. That was the Pepsi City of Lights Tournament in November of 1999. The River Hawks won the tournament defeating UConn, 13-1, and Air Force, 3-1. Air Force got to the Championships game with a 2-0 win against Yale.
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 88-38-7 (.688) in non-conference games since 2011-12. The team is 5-2-1 this year and was 6-4-0 a year ago.
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 106-77-13, .574, all-time against schools representing the ECAC and 95-62-11, .598, against schools currently in the ECAC. UMass Lowell is 15-5-2 against the conference during the last four years.
VERSUS THE ECAC - Part II: November 29th was the 27th meeting between UMass Lowell and Rensselaer. That equals the largest number of games against an ECAC school. The River Hawks have played 27 games against Clarkson. UMass Lowell is 15-11-1 against Rensselaer and 14-12-1 against Clarkson.
TAKING ON THE BIG TEN: It had been nearly five years since UMass Lowell has played a member of the Big Ten. That was against Penn State, Nov. 15, 2014. The River Hawks have done fairly well against the Big Ten and teams currently in the Big Ten. UMass Lowell is 7-2-0 against teams representing the Big Ten. The first eight games occurred during the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons. UMass Lowell is 23-28-4, .455, record against schools currently in the Big Ten. That includes a 9-3-2 record against former Hockey East member Notre Dame and a 6-4-0 record against Michigan State who UMass Lowell twice defeated in NCAA Tournament play.
Vs. BIG TIME FOOTBALL SCHOOLS: UMass Lowell is 57-24-7 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, 4-1-0 record against Penn State and 3-1-0 against Arizona State and an 18-2-1 mark against Massachusetts. The River Hawks are also 10-9-2 against Boston College and 7-6-2 against UConn. They also have winning records against Michigan State, Wisconsin and Miami.
FACING THE BEST: UMass Lowell has responded to the challenge winning three out of four games against top-ten teams in the USCHO and USA Hockey Magazine polls. All but one of those games have been on the road. The River Hawks split a two-game series at number one Minnesota Duluth and were winners at number seven ranked Providence. UMass Lowell also defeated number seven Penn State. They also defeated, number 15, Providence last night at the Schneider Arena. The River Hawks are 4-1-0 against Nationally ranked teams.
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 a 6-4 win in Grand Forks against North Dakota, the 1987 NCAA Champ, and the 3-2 win in Duluth in October.
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.
AMONG THE LEADERS II: A couple of River Hawk freshman have gotten off to a good start on the scoring charts. Matt Brown with 17-points is second among the nation's freshmen in scoring and leads Hockey East. His twelve assists tops the conference and place him number three among freshmen. Carl Berglund is seventh in the country with 15-points. He is third among Hockey East rookies both with six goals and nine-assists. His fifteen-points puts him in a tie for third among the conference freshmen.
TIME IS ON OUR SIDE, YES IT IS: UMass Lowell has played eighteen hockey games and has only trailed for 226:57 of a total of 1,107-minutes and 12-seconds of hockey. The River Hawks have skated with the lead for 442:16 or 40.0% of the time. The two teams have been tied for 439:18 or 39.7% of the time.
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 1,437 games including 1,370 Division I games. He has missed only one game. Poitras is working on a consecutive games streak that has now reached 961. He is the only trainer in College Hockey to work games at both Northern Arizona and Arizona State.
IT HAD BEEN A WHILE: When UMass Lowell forward Charlie Levesque scored December 6th against Providence it ended a 21-game scoring drought. Levesque's last goal had come on February 23, 2019 in a 3-3 tie against Merrimack. During the 21-game stretch that followed Levesque did pick up nine assists.
IT HAD BEEN A WHILE-Part II: UMass Lowell defenseman Anthony Baxter ended a 21-game scoring drought with a goal against Maine November 9th. It was Baxter's first goal of the season and gave UMass Lowell a 2-1 lead en route to an eventual 3-2 win. It was just Baxter's third career goal. All three have come in River Hawk wins. He scored goals in wins against BU and UMass during the 2018-19 season. He added a fourth career goal four games later in a win against Penn State.
IT HAD BEEN A WHILE - Part III: UMass Lowell defenseman Jon McDonald ended a 24-game scoring drought with a power play goal against UConn November 16th. The goal cut UConn's lead down to a single goal, but the River Hawks got no closer in a 2-1 loss. The goal was the third of McDonald's collegiate career.
ATTENDANCE NUMBERS: UMass Lowell is fourth in average attendance among Hockey East schools. The River Hawks are averaging 3,936 fans per game after ten home games. Boston College leads the conference drawing 5,727 after five home games, New Hampshire is second with an average of 4,818 after six home games and Massachusetts is third, ten home games into the season, averaging 4,258. 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.
