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LOWELL, Mass.—The No. 13/14 UMass Lowell men's hockey team (7-3-0, 4-1-0 Hockey East) opens its three-game week with a quick trip to Boston College (3-4-2, 3-3-1 HEA) on Tuesday, Nov. 15. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.
 
SCOUTING THE RIVER HAWKS
The No. 13/14 River Hawks enjoyed a weekend off from conference action and are ready to pick up right where they left off. Before the bye weekend, UMass Lowell had a thrilling weekend in the friendly confines of the Tsongas Center with back-to-back shutout wins over Vermont to pick up a key six conference points. Through 10 games, senior Carl Berglund remains the team's leader in points with nine off his four goals and five assists. Recently, however, freshman Scout Truman has become a scoring force for UMass Lowell with three goals in his last four games. His four goals tie him for first on the team in goals alongside veteran forward Berglund. Following the two goal-scoring leaders, 13 other River Hawks have lit the lamp this season for a relatively balanced scoring sheet all around. On defense, the trio of Brehdan Engum, Jon McDonald and Ben Meehan have played an integral role in keeping opponents off target with 17, 16, and 14 blocked shots, respectively, across the opening 10 tilts. They've also been key members of the nation's seventh-best penalty-killing unit, allowing just five goals in 40 PK scenarios. Behind the seemingly unbreakable blueline, junior Henry Welsch has emerged as the River Hawks' probable starter for the Tuesday night clash with BC. Last time out for UMass Lowell, Welsch became the first River Hawk goalie since Connor Hellebuyck in 2014 to post back-to-back shutouts. With 36 saves across the two games, Welsch led the River Hawks to the 4-0 and 2-0 blankings earning him Stop It Goaltending Goaltender of the Week honors (Week of Nov. 7). Heading into the weekend, Welsch holds onto a 5-1-0 season mark, a 1.34 GAA and a .952 save percentage. His GAA and save percentage rank him second in the conference in both categories behind Logan Terness of UConn. Welsch also currently owns the third-best save percentage in the country and the fourth-best GAA.
 
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
In their first season under new Schiller Family Head Hockey Coach Greg Brown, the Eagles are working through their early season game plan with a solid 3-4-2 (3-3-1 HEA) start. After a tough three-game losing streak against UConn and Merrimack, BC is starting to pick up steam after forcing a 4-4 tie with Northeastern and then a 3-2 upset win last weekend in the two-game series. Colby Ambrosio and Cutter Gauthier sit atop the BC scoresheet with five goals in their nine and seven games, respectively. The two are joined by Trevor Kuntar, who owns a team-best eight points alongside Ambrosio and Gauthier off four goals and four assists. On defense, the Eagles have relied on Eamon Powell and Charlie Leddy to provide a challenging obstacle for opponents on the blue line. Powell owns a team-best 18 blocks in his nine games, while Leddy is not far behind with 12 in his nine. Between the pipes, graduate Mitch Benson has been the go-to for the Eagles. In his nine games, Benson has amassed a 3.01 GAA, a .895 save percentage, and a 3-4-2 mark, including one shutout.
 
SCORING AGAINST THE EAGLES
Eleven active River Hawk skaters have picked up points against the Eagles during their time in the Blue and Red. Senior Carl Berglund leads the way with five points off three goals and two assists in his six appearances. Not far off Berglund's point total, seniors Ryan Brushett (1G, 2A) and Zack Kaiser (1G, 2A) both have three points against BC in their careers. All three of Brushett's tallies came just last season after he joined the River Hawks. Junior Henry Welsch is the only currently rostered River Hawk goalie to have seen time against BC during his collegiate career. He owns a 1-1-0 record all-time against BC with a .855 save percentage and 4.55 GAA to his credit.
 
LAST TIME OUT
It's been a second since the River Hawks have suited up after taking a weekend off from the action. UMass Lowell opened November with a bang, posting back-to-back shutouts over Vermont to pick up six critical early-season conference points. In Friday's game, the River Hawks' power play unit was on fire, with three of the four goals scored coming on the extra man opportunity for UMass Lowell. Senior transfer Jake Stella logged his first goals as a River Hawk, scoring two in Friday's 4-0 win. Freshman Scout Truman continued his excellent rookie campaign with a goal and an assist in Friday's win as well. On Saturday, seniors Zach Kaiser and Ryan Brushett lit the lamp to extend UMass Lowell's win streak to two. Senior Blake Wells, junior Ben Meehan, and sophomore Owen Cole all picked up helpers on night two to help clinch the sweep.
 
PENALTY KILLING MACHINE
The UMass Lowell penalty kill squad has been cruising in the opening weeks of the season. Allowing just five power play goals in 40 PK scenarios, the River Hawks currently rank seventh overall in the country and second in the conference with a .875 penalty-killing percentage in their first 10 games.
 
HENRY WALL-SCH
Junior Henry Welsch was unstoppable two weekends ago between the pipes with 36 saves in two games to help UMass Lowell post back-to-back shutouts over HEA opponent Vermont. In Friday's series opener, Welsch stopped 11 shots in the River Hawks' 4-0 rout of the Catamounts. He returned to the ice Saturday to make 25 saves in the 2-0 blanking to become the first UMass Lowell goalie since Connor Hellebuyck in 2014 to post back-to-back shutouts. With his pair of clean sheets, Welsch now owns three career shutouts and a 5-1-0 season mark. For his efforts against Vermont, the Lakeville, Minn., native was tabbed the Stop It Goaltending Goaltender of the Week (Week of Nov. 7). Welsch enters the weekend with the fourth-best GAA average (1.34) and the third-best save percentage in the country (.952).
 
AT THE DOT
The River Hawks are a force to be reckoned with at the faceoff this season. With an impressive .559-win rate at the dot, UMass Lowell ranks third in the nation in the category and leads all of Hockey East. Senior Jake Stella continues to lead UMass Lowell's crew of center with 91 wins in his 163 attempts.
 
A WIN THIS WEEKEND...
A win against the Eagles this weekend would extend the River Hawks' active win streak against the Hockey East foe to four straight. Last season, UMass Lowell swept the Eagles with a pair of wins, and during the 2020-21 Hockey East Semifinals, the River Hawks turned in an outstanding 6-5 double-overtime come-from-behind thriller to take down then top-ranked BC. A win would also bring UMass Lowell's record against the Eagles to 46-68-10. Head Coach Norm Bazin would also move to a 15-12-3 career mark against BC.
 
UP NEXT
UMass Lowell makes the quick turnaround to get ready for a home-and-home series this weekend, Nov. 18-19, with No. 7/8 UConn.
 

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