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Saturday at UConn: Live Stats |
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LOWELL, Mass.—The No. 13/14 UMass Lowell men's hockey team (7-4-0, 4-2-0 Hockey East) caps off their three-game week with a home-and-home series with the No. 7/8 Connecticut Huskies (9-1-3, 6-1-2 HEA) this weekend, Nov. 18-19. The River Hawks host the Huskies on Friday for a 7:15 p.m. puck drop, before traveling to the XL Center in Hartford, Conn. for a 3:35 p.m. matinee matchup. Both games will be broadcast on ESPN+.
SCOUTING THE RIVER HAWKS
The River Hawks are looking to rebound into the win column before taking a trip overseas this weekend. In their first game of the three-game stretch, UMass Lowell took a midweek trip to Boston College, where they were tripped up 3-2 by the Eagles in the Tuesday night tilt. After a BC-centric first period, the River Hawks bounced back to tie the score in the second off goals from sophomore Owen Cole and senior Zach Kaiser. The Eagles ultimately claimed the win off an unlucky power play chance in the third period that snuck past Welsch. Cole ended the night with a team and season-high two points off a goal and one assist. Heading into their head-to-head with the Huskies, UMass Lowell has proven to be a heavily defensive team with the nation's second-best scoring defense and the eighth-best penalty-killing unit in the NCAA. Junior Brehdan Engum leads the River Hawks on the blueline with a team-high 19 blocks this season, tying him for eighth in the conference. Henry Welsch's efforts between the pipes have been outstanding to open his junior campaign. Owning a 5-2-0 mark going into the weekend, Welsch sits in second in the conference in both save percentage (.942) and goals against average (1.58). He also ranks sixth in save percentage and GAA amongst all DI goaltenders. Up high, Carl Berglund has resumed his role as an offensive weapon for the River Hawks with a team-best nine points off a team-high four goals and five assists. Berglund is joined by freshman Scout Truman at the top of the goal-scoring charts. The rookie from Ontario has knocked in four goals and three assists for seven points, which is good for third on the team. Sitting in second, senior Brian Chambers has eight points thanks to two goals and six helpers.
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
UConn has dominated in the opening stretch of the season with just one loss in their 13 games this season. Their lone loss of the season came at the hands of Hockey East opponent BU on October 22. Two of their three ties went to a shootout, where the Huskies claimed back-to-back wins over No. 9 Providence. The third tie was against non-conference foe Ohio State on the opening night of their two-game series. The Huskies returned to close out the weekend with a 6-1 upset over the Buckeyes. Ryan Tverberg leads UConn in the zone with a team-high nine goals and four assists for team-best 13 points. Just one point off Tverberg, Andrew Lucas owns 12 points off one goal and a team-high 11 assists. On defense, John Spetz and Harrison Rees have been major shot blockers for UConn. Spetz has stopped 24 shots from reaching the goal, while Rees has blocked 21. The duo ranks second and fourth, respectively, in the conference in the category. Between the pipes, Logan Terness has been a major factor in the Huskies' success this season. The sophomore leads the conference in both GAA (1.25) and save percentage (.954), just ahead of River Hawks' netminder Henry Welsch. Much like the River Hawks, UConn also boasts a .912 success rate on the penalty kill to lead the conference.
SCORING AGAINST THE HUSKIES
Only three River Hawks have picked up multiple points against the Huskies during their careers in Lowell. Senior Carl Berglund leads the way with six points off one goal and five assists. One point shy of his co-captain, graduate student Jon McDonald has five points thanks to a goal and five helpers. Lastly, senior Brian Chambers has two off one goal and one assist. The trio is joined by Zach Kaiser as the only four currently rostered River Hawks who have lit the lamp against UConn.
PK POWERHOUSES
Both teams head into the weekend ranked amongst the nation's best on the penalty kill. UConn ranks third in the country with a .912 success rate on the kill, allowing just five goals on 57 opponent power play opportunities. The River Hawks are not far behind UConn, however, sitting in eighth with a .857 success rate after shutting down 36 of 42 opponent extra-man chances.
HENRY WALL-SCH
Junior Henry Welsch continues to have a solid season in net for the River Hawks. In his seven appearances, Welsch has amassed a 5-2-0 record, a 1.58 GAA and a .942 save percentage. The Minnesota-born goaltender has posted two shutouts this year in back-to-back games against Vermont. With the clean weekend sheet, Welsch became the first UMass Lowell goalie to post back-to-back shutouts since Connor Hellebuyck in 2014. Heading into the weekend, Welsch ranks second in Hockey East in both GAA and save percentage. Welsch is also just one of two HEA netminders with more than one shutout this season. He also has allowed the fifth-fewest goals this season with just 11 GA. In the national ranks, Welsch owns the nation's sixth-best GAA and the third-best save percentage.
SCORING DEFENSE
The River Hawks have worked hard to keep opponents out of the net this season. Stellar net-minding and a strong presence on the blueline led by Brehdan Engum, Jon McDonald and Ben Meehan have held opponents to just 1.63 goals per game, the second-best scoring defense in the NCAA. Engum leads the River Hawks' defense with 19 blocks so far this year, putting him in a four-way tie for eighth in the conference. Just behind Engum, Jon McDonald ranks 12th in Hockey East and second on the River Hawks' squad with 18 in his 10 games.
LAST TIME OUT
UMass Lowell opened their stacked week with a quick visit to Boston College on Tuesday night. After two goals in the first period from BC, the River Hawks bounced back to tie the game in the second thanks to goals from sophomore Owen Cole and senior Zach Kaiser. A high-energy third period brought both teams out hungry for the game-winner, but unfortunately, fate favored the Eagles as they dealt UMass Lowell the 3-2 loss.
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 102 wins in his 180 attempts.
BACK FOR THE BELPOT
The River Hawks are shipping back to Belfast next week for the 2022 Friendship Four. There, the team will face off against in-state foe Massachusetts, before potentially taking on ECAC opponents Quinnipiac or Dartmouth the following day. UMass Lowell rang the inaugural Belpot in 2015 after thrilling wins over Northeastern and Brown. Though none of the currently rostered River Hawks were on the 2015 team, current Director of Hockey Operations Dylan Zink makes the trip back to Belfast after being named the 'Man of the Match' for his contributions on the ice during the team's Friendship Four Championship run.
A WIN THIS WEEKEND
With a split against the No. 7/8 Huskies this weekend, UMass Lowell would move to an all-time 29-13-3 mark, a 5-3-0 conference record and a 3-2-0 record against ranked opponents this year. With a sweep, the River Hawks would own a 30-12-3 program record, a 6-2-0 conference mark and a 4-1-0 record against ranked opponents this year.
UP NEXT
The River Hawks head overseas for the 2022 Friendship Four Tournament in Belfast, Northern Ireland. UMass Lowell will face off against in-state rivals Massachusetts at 7 p.m. IST (2 p.m. EST) on Friday, Nov. 25. They will then take on either Quinnipiac or Dartmouth on Saturday, Nov. 26.
