Friday at Maine: Live Stats | Watch (ESPN+) | Watch (STRETCH) | Listen | Game Notes
Saturday at Maine: Live Stats | Watch (ESPN+) | Watch (STRETCH) | Listen | Game Notes 
 
LOWELL, Mass.—The UMass Lowell men's hockey team (11-8-1, 5-4-1 Hockey East) hits the road for a two-game series against Maine (8-9-2, 2-5-1 HEA) this weekend, Jan. 13-14, at the Harold Alfond Sports Arena in Orono, Maine. Both games will be broadcast at 7 p.m. on ESPN+. 
 
SCOUTING THE RIVER HAWKS
After successfully sliding their way back into the win column with a victory over AIC, the River Hawks are heading back on the road this weekend to face off against the Maine Black Bears for the first time this season. Carl Berglund remains on top of the leaderboard for the River Hawks once again with a team-best eight goals and nine assists for 17 points. Scoring has been plenty across the board, however, with all but three rostered River Hawks registering points so far this year. Behind Berglund, defenseman Ben Meehan (4G, 8A) and senior Brian Chambers (3G, 9A) are tied in second with 12 points each. Chambers is also tied with Berglund for most assists on the team with his nine. With the scoring streak hitting seemingly the entire River Hawks roster, it comes as no surprise that nearly all of the active River Hawks on the roster also boast a positive +/- rating this year. With the most points amongst freshmen with five goals and four assists for nine points, rookie Scout Truman leads the way with a +9 rating in his 20 games skated this year. Defensively, the River Hawks have been held steady by the team's domineering blue line. Notably, Brehdan Engum has contributed major minutes on the River Hawks blue line and penalty kill unit, registering 37 blocks this year. Currently, Engum sits nine blocks away from matching his current single-season high of 46 set during his sophomore campaign. The Minnesota-born defenseman sits tied for fourth in the conference with his 37 blocks, just 11 off from the top spot held by Hunter McDonald of Northeastern. 
 
In goal, graduate student Gustavs Davis Grigals has continued to be an impressive presence between the pipes. With the nation's second-best goals against average and the fifth-best save percentage, Grigals will likely get the nod once again after his 32-save performance last weekend in Springfield. Although Grigals is the newest netminder in the Mill City, this will not be his first time in front of the Black Bears during his collegiate career. While at Alaska Fairbanks, Grigals played two games against Maine, posting a 1-1-0 mark. So far this year, Grigals owns a 6-4-1 record with a .932 save percentage and a 1.86 GAA. 
 
SCOUTING THE BLACK BEARS
Maine heads into this weekend's conference matchup coming off a sweep of Alaska Anchorage just last weekend. Five different skaters found the back of the net for the Black Bears, with Thomas Freel and Cole Hanson both picking up game-winners across the two-game stretch. On Friday night, Freel netted the lone goal of the game with just 20 seconds left in regulation to take the first of the weekend. Saturday was a remarkably different contest with seven goals scored across both teams. Though Luke Antonacci took the lead for Maine in the first, Alaska Anchorage ended the period with two unanswered heading into the second. Maine went on to net two unanswered to creep their way back into the lead with less than five minutes left in the third. Although Alaska Anchorage netted an equalizer moments later to force extra time, Maine pulled off the win with the game-winner from Hanson at 2:40 into overtime. 
 
Last weekend's scoring spread has been the story for the Black Bears this season, with all but two skaters having at least one point in their 19 games. Ben Poisson leads the team in points (14) and assists (14) with four goals to his credit. Although not a natural goal scorer, Poisson has a hot hand on the power play with two of his four coming on the extra-man opportunity. Poisson also owns the team's best +/- rating, sitting at +9 through his 19 appearances. While Poisson has offered a spark for Maine's offense, Lynden Breen has been leading the charge in terms of scoring with a team-best seven goals so far this season. Though Breen hasn't found twine in his last three games, he put up eight shots last weekend against Anchorage and finished with 11 wins at the dot in his 17 attempts. Defensively, Luke Antonacci leads the team with 25 blocks in his 19 games skated. Victor Ostman also serves as the team's most likely starter between the pipes this weekend with 14 starts in his 16 games played. The junior currently owns a 1.87 GAA and a .923 save percentage with a 7-6-1 mark and three shutouts to his credit. Though Maine sits at the bottom of the standings on the power play, Maine has faired decently well on the penalty kill with a .824 PK percentage so far this season to rank fifth in the conference behind Northeastern and Merrimack. They are also just one of three Hockey East schools to have not allowed a goal against while on the power play.  
 
SCORING AGAINST THE BLACK BEARS
This current batch of River Hawks is no stranger to picking up points against the Black Bears. Nine returners have logged at least one point against Maine in their time as River Hawks. Senior Carl Berglund leads the way with nine points off five points and four assists in his seven appearances against the Black Bears. Behind him, Ryan Brushett and Ben Meehan are both tied with five points each. Brushett has five points off a trio of goals and two helpers, while Meehan has one goal and four assists all-time against Maine. Both Henry Welsch and Gustavs Davis Grigals have faced off with the Black Bears while in net. Welsch picked up a win against Maine last season in a weekend sweep, while Griglas has a 1-1-0 record all-time against Maine from his time with Alaska Fairbanks. 
 
ABOUT LAST WEEKEND
The River Hawks opened 2023 with a quick business trip to Springfield, Mass., to take on AIC last weekend. In the 4-2 non-conference victory, four different River Hawks lit the lamp, including two freshmen and two defensemen. Freshmen Nick Rhéaume sparked the offense in the second period with his second of the season, only to be followed quickly by a power-play tally for Ben Meehan and another even-strength strike for freshmen Owen Fowler. UMass Lowell added an extra tally to the scoresheet in the third period off an unassisted tally from defenseman Marek Korenčik off an unforced turnover. Between the pipes, graduate transfer Gustavs Davis Grigals was just four saves off his season-high with 32 saves and just two goals against to help the River Hawks get back into the win column. 
 
BIG MAN ON THE BLUE LINE
Standing at 6-3, junior defender Brehdan Engum is a hard-hitting presence on the UMass Lowell defense. The Minnesota native has been a major asset this season for the River Hawks, especially in terms of shot-blocking. In his 20 appearances this year, Engum has stopped 37 shots short to sit just nine short of his all-time career-high 46 blocks set last season. 
 
PK POWERHOUSES
A notably difficult defense to maneuver at full strength, the River Hawks have been seemingly impenetrable on the penalty kill during the 2022-23 slate. UMass Lowell has allowed just nine opponent power play goals in 70 opponent opportunities across their first 20 games. Heading into the back half, the tune has not changed for the River Hawks, boasting the nation's fourth-best PK percentage (.871) and the second-best percentage in Hockey East behind UConn (.892). 
 
AT THE DOT
The River Hawks have been a force to be reckoned with at the faceoff dot this season, averaging a .551 success rate on the draw. With 675 wins to their 551 losses, the River Hawks have held their opponents to just a .449 faceoff win rate through their first 20 games. Leading the charge, Jake Stella continues to be a major contender for the River Hawks on the faceoff dot, with 195 wins and 153 losses for an average individual win rate of .560. 
 
A WIN THIS WEEKEND
With a clean sweep of the Black Bears this weekend, the River Hawks would move to an all-time mark of 47-81-7 and a 20-7-2 record under Head Coach Norm Bazin. A clean sweep would also extend UMass Lowell's active unbeaten streak to 10 games and its winning streak to eight straight. With a split, the River Hawks would move to 46-82-7 all-time and 19-8-2 record under Bazin. With two straight, the River Hawks' unbeaten streak would be cut short at eight and their winning streak would be stunted at six, while they would drop to a 45-83-7 mark and 18-9-2 record under Bazin's tutelage. 
 
KEEPING IT 100
Four of the currently active River Hawks have surpassed the 100-career game milestone during their time in the Mill City. Jon McDonald entered the season with 110 games played under his belt after achieving the feat last season. This year, Zach Kaiser (103), Jake Stella (101) and Ryan Brushett (105) have all tipped the scales past 100 this season. Up next, Marek Korencik will hit 100 this weekend against the Black Bears, followed by Berglund with just two more until his 100th game skated. Pending a healthy end to the year, Chambers will likely exceed 100 this season throughout the next 10 games. The senior needs just seven games played to hit the milestone.
 
UP NEXT 
The River Hawks head back home to the Mill City on Friday, January 20, to host New Hampshire at 7:15 p.m., before heading up to Durham to close out the home-and-home series on Saturday, January 21, at 7 p.m. at the Whittemore Center.  
 

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