Saturday at Northeastern: Live Stats | Watch (ESPN+) | Watch (NESN) | Watch (International) | Game Notes
 
LOWELL, Mass.—The No. 19/20 UMass Lowell men's hockey team (3-2-0, 0-0-0 HEA) opens Hockey East action this Saturday, October 22, on the road at No. 12/14 Northeastern (3-1-1, 2-1-0 HEA) at 7 p.m. The conference clash will air on ESPN+ and NESN.
 
SCOUTING THE RIVER HAWKS
The No. 19/20 River Hawks kick off the conference slate this Saturday on the road. UMass Lowell makes the quick trip to Historic Matthews Arena to face off against No. 12/14 Northeastern for the first of three matchups this season. UMass Lowell heads into the weekend after a split with Michigan State, dropping the opening night of the series only to come back on night two with an electric 3-2 victory. Seniors Carl Berglund and Brian Chambers continue to be major offensive catalysts for the River Hawks, with a team-high seven points each heading into the weekend. Berglund's stat line stays nearly balanced with four goals and three assists, while Chambers has served as a major playmaker in the zone with two goals and five helpers. Graduate transfer Filip Fornåå Svensson has started to mesh into the River Hawks lineup with points in the River Hawks' last three tilts. Fornåå Svensson has been a major asset on the power play for the River Hawks with two power play tallies, sitting him in a four-way tie for second in Hockey East. The former Alaska Fairbanks forward is a member of the River Hawks' top line alongside Chambers and Berglund. The high-production line accounts for eight of UMass Lowell's 15 goals (.533) and combines for a +9 rating in five games. Berglund also sits atop the River Hawks' leaderboard with a team-best +5 rating alongside sophomore defender Isac Jonsson. Adding to UMass Lowell's stacked blueline, junior Brehdan Engum owns 13 blocks in five games. The Minnesota native ranks second in the conference with his 13 stops in front of the net, just one behind UConn's Harrison Rees. Not far behind Engum, McDonald ranks fifth in the conference with his nine blocks.
 
Last weekend, Gustavs Davis Grigals and Henry Welsch split time in the cage. Grigals faced his first loss as a River Hawk in a highly competitive 4-3 loss on Thursday night. Welsch picked up his first win of the year the following night, stopping a career-best 38 shots to claim the 3-2 win for UMass Lowell and solidify the split. Welsh, however, is the only active River Hawk goaltender that has squared off against Northeastern, owning a 1-1-0 career mark against the Huskies.
 
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
After a dominant start to the season with three-consecutive wins at home, the Huskies enter this weekend's single-game showdown coming off a 0-1-1 week after a 1-2 loss to Providence and a 3-3 T with Boston College. The Huskies will look to scoring leaders Aidan McDonough and Gunnarwolfe Fontaine to get Northeastern back on its feet. McDonough owns a team best four goals and sits tied for first with seven points (4G, 3A). Fontaine has been a major contributing factor to the Huskies' early season success with two goals and a team-high five assists to match McDonough's seven points. On defense, the Huskies' leading shot blocker in Hunter McDonald with eight in his five appearances. The Huskies' major defensive hurdle is returning netminder Devon Levi. The defending HEA Goaltender of the Year has played all 304:55 minutes of action for Northeastern this season. He heads into this weekend with a 3-1-1 mark, a 1.77 GAA and a .943 save percentage.
 
SCORING AGAINST THE HUSKIES
The River Hawks are no stranger to the neighboring Huskies, with nearly all of the returning skaters having seen action at least once against Northeastern. Graduate student Jon McDonald and junior Ben Meehan both own a team-best three points against Northeastern. McDonald has gotten on the scoresheet with three assists against the Huskies in his nine appearances. Defenseman Ben Meehan has seen a fair share of success against Northeastern with a goal and two assists in his four games. In fact, Meehan is just one of three currently rostered River Hawks with goals against the Huskies. He is joined by sophomores Matt Crasa and Stefan Owens, who both registered goals last season against Northeastern.
 
ABOUT LAST WEEKEND
UMass Lowell earned another non-conference split last weekend after going 1-1-0 against Michigan State on the road. The River Hawks' stumbled in night one, falling 4-3 after an excellent comeback effort was stymied by a penalty shot in the third period. UMass Lowell rebounded on Friday, however, earning the 3-2 victory behind a career-performance from junior netminder Henry Welsch. The Minnesota native made a career-best 38 shots in the outing to secure the win. Freshmen Scout Truman and Nick Rhéaume picked up career firsts in East Lansing, with Truman netting his first collegiate goal and Rhéaume dishing out his first assist on Truman's goal.
 
AT THE DOT
The River Hawks' have dominated at the faceoff to start the year, ranking sixth in the country with a .572 faceoff win percentage. The team sits just behind fifth-ranked Vermont, who owns a .575 faceoff percentage. The highly successful group of centers has been led by Brian Chambers (20th NCAA) and Jake Stella (23rd NCAA), with 50 and 48 wins, respectively. On the conference level, Chambers ranks third while Stella sits just behind him in fourth.
 
TOP TIER
The Berglund-Chambers-Fornåå Svensson line has emerged as UMass Lowell's most offensively productive line in the early goings of the season. The experienced trio of forwards accounts for 53% of UMass Lowell's goals this season and has amassed a +9 rating in five games.
 
IN THE POLLS
After a split against Michigan State last weekend, UMass Lowell came in ranked 19th in the DCU/USCHO poll and 20th in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll after sitting in 16th last Monday.
 
A WIN TODAY...
A win today would move UMass Lowell to a two-game winning streak and a 66-52-10 record all-time against the Huskies. The River Hawks' would also improve to 4-1-0 in their last five meetings with the Huskies and 5-5-0 in their last 10.
 
UP NEXT
UMass Lowell continues its conference trek with a home-and-home series against No. 9/11 Boston University. The River Hawks open the two-game stretch on Friday, Oct. 28, at home before heading to Boston on Saturday, Oct. 29, to close out the weekend.
 

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