SCOUTING THE RIVER HAWKS:  UMass Lowell is 15-9-5 / 9-6-4 after scoring just one-goal in dropping a pair of games, home-and-home, last weekend against Northeastern.  The team is 9-4-1 on the road this season and only 6-5-1 at the Tsongas Center.  The River Hawks are in a fourth place tie with Maine, two points behind Massachusetts and Boston College who sit in a first place tie.  They trail third place Boston University by a single point.  The River Hawks are one point ahead of a pair of teams in sixth place.  The team is ranked 15th in the USA Hockey Magazine Poll and 14th in the USCHO Poll.  The River Hawks were picked for a sixth place finish in both the Hockey East Coaches' and the Media Pre-Season polls.  Twenty players have scored goals this season, five have six or more. Carl Berglund leads the team with eleven.  Connor Sodergren has eight while Kenny Hausinger and Andre Lee have seven.  Matt Brown has six. Brown leads the team with 23-points.  The top three point scorers, Brown, Berglund and Lee, are freshmen.  Goalie Tyler Wall has started twenty-seven of the team's twenty-nine games with a 2.09 goals against average and a .931 save percentage.  Wall has authored two of his nine career shutouts this season.

SCOUTING THE MINUTEMEN:  Massachusetts is 18-9-2 / 11-6-2.  The Minutemen had a bye week after sweeping Providence February 7 and 8.  UMass is 9-4-1 at home and 9-5-1 on the road.  They are in a first place tie with Boston College, but have played one more game than the Eagles.  They are one point ahead of Boston University and two-points ahead of fourth place UMass Lowell.  The team was picked to finish second in the Coaches' Pre-Season Polls and slotted in the top spot in the Media Pre-Season Poll.  Massachusetts lost its top two 2018-19 point scorers, but did return the next five on their point scoring list.  Nineteen different players have scored goals, eight have five or more.  John Leonard leads the squad with 20-goals.  Mitchell Chaffee tops the points list with 29, including 16 goals.  Freshmen defenseman Zac Jones leads the team with 15-assists.  The goaltending responsibilities have been evenly split between sophomore Filip Lindberg and junior Matt Murray and their numbers are nearly identical.  Lindberg has started 15 games and carries a 1.79 goals against average and an .930 save percentage into tonight's contest.  Murray's numbers show a 1.80 GAA and a .921 save percentage.

ALL-TIME SERIES vs. UMASS:  This is the first meeting between the two teams this season and the 84th meeting between the two schools in a series that dates back to 1968.  UMass Lowell leads the series 50-26-7.  The River Hawks have won 19 of the last 22 (19-2-1) over the last eight seasons including both meetings a year ago.  The River Hawks did not get their first win the series until 1974, a 5-1 win.  The two have met once in the Hockey East Tournament with the Minutemen sweeping that series two-games to none.

LAST YEAR vs. MASSACHUSETTS:  UMass Lowell swept the two-game season series in a pair of low scoring games a year ago.  The River Hawks took the first game, 2-1, on January 4 as Reid Stefanson and Connor Wilson scored goals at the Mullins Center.  Niko Hildenbrand got the Minuteman goal in the second period to cut the River Hawk lead in half, but UMass would get no closer.  Christoffer Hernberg made 33 saves including 12 in the third period to get the win.  UMass Lowell won the Tsongas Center meeting 2-0 as Chris Schutz and Anthony Baxter scored goals.  Hernberg made 31 saves in that contest.

RANKED vs. RANKED:  This is just the sixth time UMass Lowell and Massachusetts have faced each other when both were nationally ranked.  The River Hawks have a slight edge having won three of the previous five contests.  The lower ranked team has won four of five.  This is the second year in a row in which the two teams have been ranked nationally when they faced one another.  UMass is ranked 8th in both polls, the River Hawks are number 14 and 15 based on which poll is being studied.

KENNEDY CUP:  The Kennedy Cup Challenge was established in the fall of 2018 and is awarded annually to the team with the most wins in the cumulative season series between the UMass Lowell and UMass Amherst.  Massachusetts leads the 2019-20 edition of the Kennedy Cup Challenge 5-3-1 with victories in field hockey, men's and women's basketball, women's cross country and women's indoor track.  The River Hawks prevailed in men's soccer, men's cross country and men's indoor track.  Women's soccer played to a 2-2 tie.  UMass Lowell won the challenge a year ago, 8-6.  John Kennedy is a longtime supporter of the UMass Lowell and UMass Amherst athletic programs. Kennedy holds degrees from both schools.  For 23 years the two hockey programs competed in a three-game series for the Alumni Cup.  UMass Lowell won or retained the Cup 17 times.  That series was discontinued following the 2016-17 season.

ABOUT LAST WEEKEND:  Northeastern swept UMass Lowell in a two-game home-and-home series last weekend, 3-0 and 2-1.  The River Hawks only goal of the weekend came off the stick of sophomore Reid Stefanson in the first period of the second game.  It gave the visitors a 1-0 lead.  Northeastern tied the game in the second period and won it in the third on a goal by Matt Demelis.  UMass Lowell had a shooting edge both nights.

TIEBREAKER:  With Nine teams separated by five points and only the top four getting home ice in the opening round of the Hockey East playoffs winning the season series becomes magnified.  The season series is the first in a series of tiebreakers.  UMass Lowell holds that first tiebreaker with Providence and with Maine, but has lost the season series to both Boston University and Northeastern.  The River Hawks trail, 0-1-1, in the season series with UConn with one game still to play.  UMass Lowell and Boston College split the season series, 1-1-0.  The River Hawks have yet to play Massachusetts or New Hampshire.  UMass Lowell also has the tiebreaker with Merrimack and Vermont.

NEXT WEEKEND:  The River Hawks face New Hampshire for the first and only times during this regular season.  The two will meet in a home-and-home series; Friday they play at the Tsongas Center, Saturday at the Whittemore Center.  The Wildcats hold the edge in the all-time series, 63-44-17.  UMass Lowell is 12-5-2 in the last 19.

THE ROAD AHEAD:  There are five games against three different teams left on the UMass Lowell regular season schedule and that road ahead will not be easy.  All of the River Hawks remaining games, but one, are against teams with a .500 record or better.  That list of opponents includes UMass, New Hampshire and UConn.  The River Hawks remaining opponents have a combined record of 78-39-12 and a winning percentage of .611.

GETTING ON THE BOARD FIRST:  UMass Lowell is 9-3-3 this season when they score the first goal of the game.  Since Norm Bazin took over the coaching responsibilities, the River Hawks are 148-27-17 when they score the first goal of the game.  That's a .815 winning percentage. That figure is the second best in the nation.  Minnesota State is tops the charts at 167-32-13 (.818).  , and Denver is 3rd at 161-33-19 (.800).  BC comes in 4th at 158-33-18 (.799).  For reference, the national average over the last 9 years is .697, and this year it's .706.  Oddly enough UMass Lowell's last two wins have come when the opponent scored the first goal of the game.

BACK-TO-BACK:  UMass Lowell has sixteen "back-to-back" weekend series this season.  Fourteen have been played, this is the fifteenth.  The team is 7-4-3 on the first night and 7-5-2 on the second.  They have swept both Alabama Huntsville and Vermont and had a sweep weekend by beating both Rensselaer and Penn State and Boston College and Merrimack on consecutive nights.  The River Hawks have been swept just once, last weekend by Northeastern.

A CHILD SHALL LEAD:  Freshmen Matt Brown, with 23-points, Carl Berglund, with 21, and Andre Lee along with senior Kenney Hausinger, with 18, lead UMass Lowell in scoring.  They are three of the top nine point producing rookies in Hockey East.  UMass Lowell is the only team in the country whose top three scorers are freshmen.

A CLASS ABOVE: The UMass Lowell rookie class is one of the highest scoring freshmen class in the country.  River Hawk freshmen, in 29 games, have scored 32-goals and 48-assists for 80-points.  That ranks UMass Lowell fifth in the country.  Boston University tops the charts 32-goals and 105-points.  Merrimack, with 16 freshmen, is second with 102-points.  Wisconsin and Boston College are third with 84-points from freshmen.  The River Hawks are tied for third in goals with 32.  Wisconsin with 37 leads.  Matt Brown and Carl Berglund with 23 and 21-points respectively are 9th and 17th in scoring among first year players in the country.  Carl Berglund, with eleven-goals, is fifth among rookie goal scorers.

115 GAMES:  UMass Lowell forward Colin O'Neill has skated in 115 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.  Sophomore Defenseman Chase Blackmun is second on the consecutive games list with 56.  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 and two more are expected to reach that milestone this weekend.  Colin O'Neill (137) and Kenny Hausinger (130) joined the Century Club late last season.  Charlie Levesque (99) and Tyler Wall (98) are expected to do so, one of Friday and one on Saturday. Connor Sodergren (96) and Anthony Baxter (95) are next on the list. 

BY THE CLOSEST OF MARGINS: UMass Lowell is 63-49-31, .549, in one-goal games since the 2011-12 season.  The team is 8-6-5 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 170-25-10, .854 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 32-84-21, .310, since 2011-12.

PROTECTING THE LEAD: Since Norm Bazin took over the coaching reins at UMass Lowell, the River Hawks are 156-9-11 when leading after two-periods.  That includes a 13-0-2 mark this season.  They are also 33-24-14 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 2-1-3, 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 163-11-4, 77-5-3 at the Tsongas Center. The club is 10-1-0, 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 6-70-7, 2-32-4 at Tsongas. Last year, they were 0-7-2, 0-6-2 at Tsongas.

OFFENSE FROM THE DEFENSE: UMass Lowell is ninth in Hockey East in offense from the defense.  The River Hawks defensemen have combined for 12-goals and 49-points.  That represents 23.7% of the team's offensive output.  Massachusetts tops the list; with 18-goals and 77-points, 32.5% of the team's offense has come from defensemen.  Boston University is second with 30.8% of its offense coming from the defense.

DEFENSE:  Over the past eight-plus seasons, UMass Lowell has allowed just 2.27 goals per game and has a .920 save percentage.  Those number are among the best in the country.  Only three teams, (Cornell 2.18, Quinnipiac 2.21 and Minnesota State 2.21), have a better goals against average and just one, (Denver .921) 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 six teams show greater accuracy.  St. Cloud tops the lists at 11.1%.  Hockey East rivals Boston College is at 10.7% and Northeastern is at 10.6%.  Minnesota is at 10.3%.  Harvard and North Dakota are at 20.2%.

ON THE ROAD: UMass Lowell is 9-4-1, .679, playing away from the Tsongas Center this season.  That .679 winning percentage is the seventh best in the country and second best among Hockey East schools.

ON THE ROAD, AGAIN: UMass Lowell is 105-61-12, a .624 winning percentage when playing away from the Tsongas Center in the almost nine years that Norm Bazin has led the program.  That .624 (.62359) winning percentage is the second best in the nation during that period.  Quinnipiac, at 103-58-20, .624 (.62430), is second. The River Hawks are 81-50-11, .609, as the road team and 24-11-1, .681, in games played at a neutral site.

HOME SWEET HOME?: UMass Lowell has won six of fifteen with four ties at the Tsongas Center this season and is 97-48-19 (a .651 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.

AFTER A LOSS:  UMass Lowell did a terrific job avoiding any extended losing streak a year ago and appear to be doing the same this year.  Seven times, a year ago, 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 three times this season, they have not lost three straight.  They have followed losses with wins three times and twice with ties.

TWENTY-NINE GAMES IN:  Twenty-nine games into the season and UMass Lowell appears to slipped behind last year's pace.  The River Hawks are 15-9-5 after being 17-10-2 a year ago.  The team is 9-6-4 in league play compared with 11-5-2 a year ago.

WINNING THE SEASON SERIES:  UMass Lowell has won the season series from Merrimack by winning all three contests.  It is the 21st time in 31 years that UMass Lowell has taken the season series from their valley rivals.  That 21 is the most season series wins against any opponent.  It was also the ninth time that UMass Lowell has swept the season series from Merrimack.

200!:  UMass Lowell 6-4 win against Merrimack, January 18th, was Head Coach Norm Bazin 200th win behind the River Hawk bench.  It came in his 336 game at the helm.  His first win at UMass Lowell came on October 14, 2011 against Minnesota State, 4-2.  Bazin is the second UMass Lowell coach to reach the 200-win plateau.  Billy Riley won 363 games during a career that brought the program from Division II to Division I.  Riley's 200th win came in his 304th games.

900:  The February 7th 3-2 win at Boston College was UMass Lowell's 900th in program history.  The River Hawks are the 32nd team in college hockey and the sixth in Hockey East to reach that number.  The River Hawks are currently at win # 901 and still counting.

A STEFANSON SIGHTING:  After missing the first 19 games of the season, while recovering from an injury, Reid Stefanson appears to be getting up to game speed.  He returned to the ice January 10th at RIT.  He has now skated in nine games this season and picked up his first goal of the season last Saturday against Northeastern.  Stefanson, who was the team's top freshman scorer a year ago, did pick up his first point of the season, an assist in his 2019-20 debut.  Stefanson scored eight-goals and 20-points a year ago; he has a goal and four assists this season.

THE ORDER OF THE ENGINEER:  Senior goalie and Mechanical Engineering major Tyler Wall joined the Order of the Engineer in ceremonies Wednesday.  The tradition finds graduating students pledge toward "upholding devotion to the standards and dignity of the engineering profession." They are to serve their field with integrity and professionalism. It is the engineering version of the Hippocratic Oath.

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 fourth in the country in saves in the third period and overtime.  Wall has stopped 287 of 314 shots (.914) 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 2.33 goals against average.  That's 12th in the country and third in Hockey East.  UMass Lowell has allowed no more than two-goals in 17 of its 29 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 55-goals while allowing just 36 while the teams have been playing with five skaters apiece.

GENERATING OFFENSE: UMass Lowell has the third highest percentage of offense generated at even strength.  55 of the team's 76 goals (72.4%) have come at even strength.  That 72.4% is the third highest in Hockey East.  The UMass Minutemen have the highest percentage of even strength goals at 83.9%.  The River Hawks have generated 25% of its offense on the power play and added a couple of shorthanded goals.  Providence leads Hockey East in percentage of offense generated on the power play at 33%.

FLUXUATIONS IN THE POWER GRID: The UMass Lowell power play has been an up and down affair scoring in just two of the team's last six games.  That said, the River Hawks are 17-69, 24.6% in their last twenty-two games.  The team is just 19 for 97, 19.6%, on the season.  That's after starting the year 2-for-28, 7.1%. 

PK OK?: The UMass Lowell penalty killing unit hit another couple of bumps on the road.  After killing off 19 consecutive shorthanded situations the River Hawks allowed ten power play goals in a six-game stretch.  On the season UMass Lowell has successfully killed 89 of 110 man down situations.  With an 80.9% success rate the PK Unit is sixth in Hockey East and 32nd in the nation.

ON THE EDGE OF YOUR SEAT:  UMass Lowell has played nineteen games decided by one-goal or less.  Seven of those 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 8-6-5 in one-goal games this season.

DOMINATING THE DOT: UMass Lowell has been dominant in the faceoff circle this year and the year before.  The River Hawks have won 935 of 1,737, 53.8% of the puck drops.  That figure leads Hockey East and is the eighth best in the country.  Charlie Levesque (222/363, 61.2%), Lucas Condotta (238 of 397, 59.9%), Sam Knoblauch (32/55, 58.2%), Brian Chambers (35/64, 54.7%), Kenny Hausinger (58/107, 54.2%) and Connor Sodergren (113/220, 51.4%), lead the way.  Levesque is second in Hockey East and sixth in the country.  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.

NON-CONFERENCE: The games on January 10 and 11 at R I T wrapped up the River Hawks non-conference schedule for the 2019-20 regular season.  UMass Lowell finished the run at 6-3-1 in ten non-conference games.  The .650 non-conference winning percentage is 14th best in the country.

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 89-39-7 (.685) in non-conference games since 2011-12.  The team is 6-3-1 this year and was 6-4-0 a year ago.

CAREER WIN 52:  Goalie Tyler Wall picked up his 52nd career win January 10 at RIT.  That moved Wall to the top of the list as the winningest goalie in UMass Lowell's Division I history.  Dwayne Roloson had held the record, at 51, since wrapping up his collegiate career in 1994.  Marty Fillion who's playing days ended in 1998 is now third with 50 career wins.  Wall has now upped his win total to 55.

EXTRA TIME:  Eight of the River Hawks 25 games have gone into overtime.  That's one away from 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 2-1-5 in overtime this season.

OT AGAIN:  UMass Lowell has played eight overtime games this season, only five teams have played overtime more often.  St. Lawrence has played in the greatest number; ten.  Seven other teams have played in eight.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES:  Things have changed for River Hawk defenseman Chase Blackmun.  A year ago Blackmun had just two-goals and eight-points through 27 games.  This time around he's got four-goals and 14-points.    Two of his goals have been game winners.

BACK IN THE NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT:  UMass Lowell is receiving recognition in the polls for the 16th straight week.  The team is slotted at number 14 in the USCHO Poll and 15th in the USA Hockey Magazine poll.  It is the 16th week in a row and the 17th 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.

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.

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. 

THE 2020 SENIOR CLASS: The three-member UMass Lowell senior class has accumulated a record of 78-52-13, a .591 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.  The class ranks sixth in wins and in winning percentage, among UML teams.  The 2016 senior class tops the list with 100 victories.

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.

THE GREAT WALL:  UMass Lowell goalie Tyler Wall is among the nation's leaders in goals against average and save percentage.  Wall has a 2.09 GAA.  That's number twelve in the country and his .931 save percentage ranks seventh.  He is second in Hockey East in save percentage and fourth in goals against average.

A GOOD START: UMass Lowell allowed just 14 first period goals in 29 games this season.  That's just 0.48 goals per first period and that's ranks the River Hawks 4th best in the country and number two among Hockey East teams.  Massachusetts and Niagara lead the nation.  Each has given up just 12 first period goals.  On the other side of the equation UMass Lowell has scored just 18 first period goals and that ranks the team 45th in the country.  The team is 6-2-1 when leading after one period.

THE FIRST 5:  UMass Lowell has scored a goal in the first five minutes of play in eight of their first 29 games this season.  That's eighth in the country, but just four goals off the lead.  They did it in victories against Alabama Huntsville twice, Minnesota Duluth, Vermont, Rensselaer and Merrimack but lost after taking a 1-0 lead at the 4:40 mark of the first period against Colgate and lost after scoring twice in the first 71-seconds against Boston College.  Twenty-five of the River Hawks 76 goals this season have come in the first five-minutes of a period.  That number, twenty-five, is ninth 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.  This season has been a bit different. UMass Lowell has been outscored, 32-24, in the third period this season.

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 eight clutch goals, five have given the team the lead, three have tied the score.  Matt Brown has four clutch goals and five players have three.  Berglund also leads the team with three game winning goals.  Andre Lee, Chase Blackmun and Marek Korencik have two.

TIME IS ON OUR SIDE, YES IT IS:  UMass Lowell has played 29 hockey games and has only trailed for 350:04 (19.8%) of a total of 1,772-minutes and 12-seconds of hockey.  The River Hawks have skated with the lead for 698:52 or 39.4% of the time.  The two teams have been tied for 670:48 or 37.9% 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 1,446 games including 1,380 Division I games.  He has missed only one game.  Poitras is working on a consecutive games streak that has now reached 970.  He is the only trainer in College Hockey to work games at both Northern Arizona and Arizona State.

ATTENDANCE NUMBERS:  UMass Lowell is fourth in average attendance among Hockey East schools.  The River Hawks are averaging 4,207 fans per game after fifteen home games.  Boston College leads the conference drawing 5,795 after a dozen home games, New Hampshire is second with an average of 4,617 after fifteen home games and Massachusetts is third, fourteen home games into the season, averaging 4,581.  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.