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LOWELL, Mass.—The No. 18/19 UMass Lowell men's hockey team (14-9-1, 8-5-1 Hockey East) kicks off its four-game homestand this Friday, January 27, with a visit from in-state foe Massachusetts (9-12-3, 3-10-1 HEA). Puck drop for the NESN+ broadcast is slated for 7:05 p.m.
 
SCOUTING THE RIVER HAWKS
The River Hawks have been finding their rhythm offensively to start the back half. Winning four of their last five, UMass Lowell has outscored opponents 18-12 to stay a contender in the Hockey East playoff run. Most recently, the team claimed five out of six conference points with a weekend sweep of New Hampshire. In their most offensively productive stretch, six different River Hawks contributed to the nine goals, including two defensemen. In fact, since the turn of the new year, defensemen have contributed at least one goal in all but one of the River Hawks' 2023 contests. Sophomore Isac Jonsson and senior Marek Korencik lead with two goals apiece since the calendars changed, with Jon McDonald and Ben Meehan adding one each to the total. Meehan and Isac also rank amongst the top point scorers so far this season. Jonsson sits in third after his four-point weekend against the Wildcats with 15 points, while Meehan ranks fifth on the team with 13 points this season. Senior Carl Berglund continues to lead the scoring charge for the River Hawks, however, with 20 points off eight goals and 12 assists. He sits just eight points shy of his career-high mark of 28 with nine games left in the regular season. Senior Brian Chambers sits just four points off the top with 16 points off six goals and 10 assists in his 21 games. With a hot hand as of late, Chambers has smashed his career marks in all three scoring categories. Joining him with a career year of his own, senior Zach Kaiser has crept his way into the scoring column lately to offer an explosive presence on the ice. With eight goals and six assists, Kaiser's become another consistent contributor to the River Hawks scoring wise. Defensively, Brehdan Engum stands as one of the most intimidating presences on the blue line in terms of shot blocking capabilities. With 43 blocked shots to his credit this season, the junior leads the team and is tied for fourth in the conference in the category. In net, Gustavs Davis Grigals and Henry Welsch split time for UMass Lowell in the most recent series with both netminders adding wins to their records. Both stand to be possible starters for the River Hawks this weekend.
 
SCOUTING THE MINUTEMEN
The Minutemen head the Mill City on a five-game skid dating back to January 7. Across that stretch, UMass has been outscored 20-9 by opponents. Their largest margin of defeat came at the hands of the then. No. 7 Boston University Terriers when they dropped a 6-2 decision on the road. Although the Minutemen have only cracked the goal line nine times in their last five, three of those goals have come on the power play. Massachusetts is the top-ranked power play unit in the country, scoring 20 goals in their 65 opportunities for a .308 success rate. Sophomore Scott Morrow continues to drive the UMass scoring efforts with a team-best 22 points thanks to his team-high 16 assists and six goals. Though Morrow only owns six goals, the defenseman sits in fourth on the team behind Kenny Connors, Michael Cameron and Taylor Makar with a team-high seven each. Defensively, Morrow is tied with fellow blueliner Ryan Ufko with 35 blocks apiece in their 24 and 21 games, respectively. Between the pipes, the Minutemen have looked to both Luke Pavicich and Henry Graham in their most recent games. Graham owns a team-best 2.13 GAA and a .929 save percentage in his nine appearances, while Pavicich sits at a 2.62 GAA and a .924 save percentage in his 19 games.
 
SCORING AGAINST THE MINUTEMEN
Ten out of the 29 currently rostered River Hawks have picked up points against the Minutemen during their careers. Senior Carl Berglund leads the way with five points off one goal and four assists in his ten appearances. In just six games against UMass, Matt Crasa has netted a team-high four goals thus far. Last time out, freshman Dillan Bentley scored his first collegiate goal to send the River Hawks to extra time against UMass. In the shootout, Carl Berglund and Ryan Brushett both lit the lamp to help secure the extra point in the conference standings. Berglund's shootout goal marked his second consecutive successful shootout attempt against the Minutemen. The captain won the last shootout against the Minutemen just last season on home ice at the Tsongas to pick up the extra point after a 4-4 deadlock after 65 minutes.
 
ABOUT LAST WEEKEND
The River Hawks exploded offensively last weekend to pick up five of six possible points in the conference standings. UMass Lowell opened the weekend on home ice with a 6-2 toppling of New Hampshire. Four different River hawks lit the lamp in the outing, registering a number of individual career-highs. Owen Fowler and Zach Kaiser put up career numbers in the goal column with their first multi-goal games in the 6-2 rout. Isac Jonsson also put up his first two-point game of the weekend with the game-winner on the power play and an assist. Brian Chambers net the only other power play goal of the weekend, marking the first time the team scored multiple times on the man-advantage since their 4-0 win over Vermont. The team hit the road Saturday to close out the weekend at the Whittemore Center. After taking a lead off Jonsson's second goal of the weekend, the River Hawks dropped to a 2-1 deficit after back-to-back UNH goals in the second to face a one-goal deficit heading into the final frame. With just 3:29 left on the clock, graduate student Jon McDonald slapped in the equalizer to force extra time. With less than a minute left, Jake Stella cracked the goal line with the game-winner to close out his three-point night and four-point weekend with a bang. Between the pipes, Gustavs Davis Grigals and Henry Welsch split time and both claimed wins.
 
JONSSON NABS DEFENDER OF THE WEEK
A sneaky scoring force for the River Hawks, defenseman Isac Jonsson had quite the weekend against the Wildcats. The sophomore opened his two-game stretch with a goal and an assist in the 6-2 rout of UNH, including the game-winner on the power play. He then replicated his scoring success on Saturday night at the Whittemore Center with another two-point night off a goal and an assist. Additionally, he amassed a +2 rating across the weekend to move to the top of the River Hawks' scoreboard in +/- with a +9 rating so far this season.
 
#HOBEYGETSROWDY
Senior Carl Berglund and graduate student Gustavs Davis Grigals have been nominated for this year's Hobey Baker Memorial Award. The Hobey Baker Award is given annually to the nation's top Division I hockey player. The first phase of voting for the award opened on Thursday, January 19, and will run through Sunday, March 5.
 
A WIN THIS WEEKEND
A win this weekend would extend the River Hawks' active win streak to three consecutive games and move their record to 15-9-1 (9-5-1 Hockey East). A win in regulation would also snap UMass Lowell's 10-game winless streak dating back to February 22, 2020. Head coach Norm Bazin would also improve to a 21-9-3 career mark against the Minutemen. The program's all-time series against the in-state rival would also tip to 52-34-9.
 
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 12 opponent power play goals in 85 opponent opportunities across their first 24 games. Heading into the back half, the tune has not changed for the River Hawks, boasting the nation's seventh-best PK percentage (.859) and the second-best percentage in Hockey East behind UConn (.874). 
 
AT THE DOT
The River Hawks have been a force to be reckoned with at the faceoff dot this season, averaging a .536 success rate on the draw to rank eighth in the country. With 794 wins to their 686 losses, the River Hawks have held their opponents to just a .464 faceoff win rate through their first 24 games. Leading the charge, Jake Stella continues to be a major contender for the River Hawks on the faceoff dot, with 216 wins and 192 losses for an average individual win rate of .529. 
 
UP NEXT
The River Hawks continue their four-game homestretch with two games next weekend, Feb. 3-4, against Boston College and New Hampshire. First, UMass Lowell hosts the Eagles for a 7 p.m. puck drop on Friday. The team then returns for their second game of the weekend against the Wildcats on Saturday at 6 p.m.

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