February 12 at Boston College (7 p.m. - NESN+)
Live Stats | Watch Live | Listen Live | Game Notes

February 13 vs. Boston College (6 p.m.)
Live Stats | Watch Live | Listen Live | Game Notes

LOWELL, Mass. - The UMass Lowell hockey team is set to square off against the top-ranked team in the nation this weekend with a home-and-home series against Boston College scheduled for Friday-Saturday, February 12-13.

SCOUTING THE RIVER HAWKS
UMass Lowell enters this evening's contest with a 4-5-0 record after a Tuesday afternoon overtime victory against UConn, 3-2.  The game was just the fifth played by the River Hawks after a 25-day layoff due to COVID-19 protocols.  UMass Lowell is not ranked, but is "receiving votes" in the USCHO Poll and is not part of the USA Hockey Magazine Poll.  The Hockey East Coaches' Pre Season polls placed the River Hawks fourth.  They currently sit eighth in the league points standings five-points behind New Hampshire and Boston University.  The club is seventh based on points percentage and seventh in the Hockey East Power Index.  Sophomore Carl Berglund, nine games into the season leads the team in scoring with 11-points, including a team leading eight-assists.  Eleven players have scored goals, six have at least three each.  Sophomore forward Andre Lee is atop the goal scoring list with five.  At the back end, the defense is virtually intact, but goaltending will see a new face taking over the netminding responsibilities.  Sophomore Logan Neaton, freshman Henry Welsch and transfer Owen Savory have all seen action in the early going this season.  Welsch has earned two wins and has a GAA of 2.28 and a .914 save percentage.
 
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
Boston College is 11-3-1 after splitting a pair of weekend games against Boston University.  The Eagles are ranked at number 1 in the USCHO Poll and at number 2 in the USA Hockey Magazine Poll.  The club is 5-1-1 at the Conte Forum and 6-2-0 playing on the road. BC is sitting first in the Hockey East Power Index and points percentage and second in total points.  The Hockey East coaches' Pre-Season Poll parked Boston College in the number one slot.  Seventeen different players have scored goals, eight have at least four apiece.  Junior Marc McLaughlin leads the team with 8-goals and 16-points.  Freshmen Nikita Nesterenko and Colby Ambrosio have each scored six-goals.  Junior Jack McBain leads the club with 10-assists.  Sophomore Spencer Knight has started 12 of the team's 15 games, missing action only to take part in the World Junior Championships.  He has a 2.06 GAA and an .935 save percentage.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. BC
This is the 119th meeting between the two teams in a series that dates back to 1978. Boston College leads the all-time series 66-42-10. The two teams split a pair of 3-2 decisions a year ago and the River Hawks took five out of six points the previous season.  UMass Lowell 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 2017 Tournament Championship Game and grabbed the title with a 4-3 win.  They have met once in the NCAA Tournament with BC winning, 4-3.
 
LAST YEAR VERSUS BOSTON COLLEGE
UMass Lowell and BC split a pair of game.  The Eagles won the first meeting, at the Tsongas Center.  The River Hawks scored twice in the first 71-seconds of hockey and then never scored again as Boston College came from behind to top the River Hawks, 3-2.  Logan Hutsko's third period goal proved to be the difference.  The River Hawks got goals from Carl Berglund and Charlie Levesque.  The Eagles also got goals from Marc McLaughlin and Alex Newhook.  In the second contest between the two, freshman Marek Korencik scored his first collegiate goal midway through the third period to break a 2-2 tie as UMass Lowell earned a 3-2 win.  Berglund and Kenny Hausinger also scored for the River Hawks.
 
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.
 
SCORING AGAINST BC
Ten different River Hawk have scored points against Boston College, five have goals.  Seniors Charlie Levesque and Connor Sodergren and junior Chase Blackmun each have five points.  Blackmun has averaged a point a game with one-goal and four assists in five contests.  Levesque, Carl Berglund and Reid Stefanson each have a pair of goals.  Berglund found the back of the net in each of the games a year ago.  None of the River Hawks' three goalies that have seen action have ever faced the Eagles.
 
AGAINST NUMBER ONE
Boston College is ranked number one in the nation according to the USCHO Poll.  UMass Lowell has not found a great deal of success when playing the top ranked team in the country.  The River Hawks are just 1-18-2 against teams ranked in the top spot in the USCHO Poll.  That one victory was against Minnesota Duluth, October 11, 2019.  It was a 3-2 win, Lucas Condotta had two goals in that game.  The River Hawks have had some success against team placed number one in other polls.  The last previous win against a number one team was a 4-1 win against Boston College, part of a sweep weekend, in February of 2005. 
 
GOALIE USEAGE
UMass Lowell is one of 13 teams in the country and one of three in Hockey East that have started three different goalies this season.  Logan Neaton, Henry Welsch and Owen Savory have all made at least one start.  Merrimack and Boston University have also started three.  Boston College has started two netminders this season.  UConn, the River Hawks most recent opponent, is one of five teams that have started just one goalie this season.  Tomas Vomacka has started all 17 games the Huskies have played.
 
ALL ABOUT TUESDAY
UMass Lowell got back on the winning track with a 3-2 overtime victory against UConn at the Tsongas Center.  Andre Lee scored the game winner with 1:03 left on the clock in the extra period.  Reid Stefanson picked up a goal and two-assists in the game and Brian Chambers had a power play goal.  UConn got goals from Kale Howarth and Ryan Tverberg.  Freshman goalie Henry Welsch earned the win with a career high matching 31 saves.
 
BONUS HOCKEY
With UMass Lowell's 3-2 overtime win against UConn, the River Hawks are 3-1-6 in their last ten overtime games.  The club is 1-1-0 this season.
 
HEATING IT UP
Several River Hawks have begun to catch fire in the last couple of games.  Andre Lee, who had the game winner on Tuesday, has scored three-goals and added an assist in the last two games.  Reid Stefanson has two-goals and five points over that stretch and Carl Berglund has added four-assists.
 
THE POSTSEASON
Hockey East this week announced the 2021 tournament will be a single-elimination format with each game hosted at the home arena of the higher seed. Additionally, the league announced seeding will be determined by a newly-developed mathematical formula dubbed the Hockey East Power Index.  The Tournament will begin with three opening round games between seeds 6-11 on Wednesday, March 10. Seeds 1-5 automatically qualify for the quarterfinals. Following a reseeding, the quarterfinals take place on Sunday, March 14. The semifinals are set for Wednesday, March 17 with the Lamoriello Trophy to be handed out in the championship game on Saturday, March 20.  The Tournament format was unanimously agreed upon by the Hockey East membership and created in consultation with league medical personnel and administrators. In addition to the single-elimination format and schedule, strict health and safety protocols have been approved to ensure the safest possible tournament, including mandatory league-wide testing days throughout the duration of the postseason.  The winner of each Tournament will receive Hockey East's automatic bid into the men's and women's national tournament.
 

Related Videos

Now Playing:

• Play Video