No. 19/20 River Hawks Eager to Face No. 17/16 Merrimack

2/23/2023 4:02:00 PM

LOWELL, Mass.—In their penultimate series of the regular season, the No. 19/20 UMass Lowell men's hockey team (16-11-3, 10-7-3 Hockey East) sets its sights on crosstown rival No. 17/16 Merrimack (18-12-1, 13-8-0 HEA) this weekend, Feb. 24-25. The River Hawks play host to the Warriors for a Friday night faceoff, before hitting the road for a quick trip to North Andover to close out the series on Saturday. Both games are slated to start at 7 p.m., with Friday's matchup airing on NESN as well as ESPN+.

SCOUTING THE RIVER HAWKS
Riding a one-game win streak, UMass Lowell is chasing down home-ice advantage this weekend with a huge six points on the line. Carl Berglund continues to lead the team's point-scoring efforts with 23 points thanks to his team-high nine goals and 14 assists. One of two River Hawks to own multiple goals against Merrimack during their career, the team will look to Berglund to spark the offense against the Warriors this weekend. Jon McDonald has taken the top spot on the River Hawks roster in helpers with 15 so far this season, a career-best mark for the Michigan native. Another player to watch heading into the home-and-home is Filip Fornåå Svensson, who has emerged as a critical point grabber for UMass Lowell. Last weekend, the Swedish-born forward helped the River Hawks take one of three points against Providence with a clutch game-tying goal in the final minutes to force overtime. At the faceoff dot, UMass Lowell has dominated to lead the conference and rank sixth in the nation with a .538 win percentage at the dot. The River Hawks faceoff contingent is stacked, with five regulars averaging above a .500 success rate. Freshmen Jack Collins and Dillan Bentley own the top win percentages on the team, with Collins winning 59 of his 99 for a .596 win percentage. Bentley owns 92 wins in his 159 attempts for a .579 win percentage. A multi-faceted forward, Jake Stella currently leads the team in overall wins at the dot with 254 so far this season to rank 59th in the country. An active member of the PK and PP units, Stella also leads all UMass Lowell forwards in blocked shots with 21 this year.

On defense, Brehdan Engum continues to be a massive presence on the blue line for UMass Lowell. With a career-best 51 blocks this season, Engum ranks first on the team and sixth in the conference in the statistical category. He has also been a major contributing factor to UMass Lowell's 2.13 goals against average to rank fourth in the country in scoring defense. Between the pipes, Gustavs Davis Grigals and Henry Welsch are both eager to get the nod this weekend. Grigals enters the weekend with a 1.97 GAA to tie for fourth in the nation as well as a .927 to sit fifth overall in the country. Meanwhile, Welsch sits in tenth with a 2.09 GAA and twelfth with a .922 save percentage.

SCOUTING THE WARRIORS
After struggling through a second-half slump, Merrimack regained some footing last weekend with a weekend sweep over No. 5 Boston University to improve to 7-3-0 against ranked opponents this season. Leading the charge, junior Alex Jefferies owns a team-high 37 points with 12 goals and 25 assists. He is currently in a three-way tie with Ben Brar and Matt Copponi with a team-best 12 goals and sits alone atop the leaderboard in assists. The Massachusetts native also owns two shorthanded strikes this season With 23 points, Copponi has been a sneaky weapon for the Warriors on the power play with five this season to lead the crew in North Andover. On defense, Christian Felton has provided major help net front with 42 blocks to lead the team. Felton's shot-blocking has supported the efforts of both Zach Borgiel and Hugo Ollas between the pipes. Ollas has seen action in 22 games with a 2.63 GAA and a .902 save percentage, while Borgiel has gotten the start 17 times to average a 2.10 GAA and a .917 save percentage.

SCORING AGAINST THE WARRIORS
Six currently rostered River Hawks have lit the lamp against the Warriors heading into this weekend's contests. Leading the way, Blake Wells and Jon McDonald own a team-high five points against Merrimack during their careers. Wells' five points have come off a pair of goals and three assists, while McDonald's five have come exclusively from assists. Aside from Wells, Carl Berglund is the only other active River Hawk that has net more than one goal against the Warriors. Berglund also owns a single assist to bring his career total to three against Merrimack as well as a team-best +7 rating in his six games. In net, Henry Welsch is the only River Hawk to have seen time against the Warriors. His first and only appearance came last year at home in a close 2-3 loss.

ABOUT LAST WEEKEND
Last weekend, the River Hawks came out with four of six possible points after splitting the weekend with Providence. Friday's matchup sent UMass Lowell down to Schneider Arena to open the weekend. After clawing back with quick retaliation goals to force overtime, Providence took the first win of the weekend in extra time. Nick Rhéaume and Filip Fornåå Svensson both struck in the contest, with Fornåå Svensson earning his fourth power play tally of the year in the final minute to help UMass Lowell clinch one point. The team returned to the Mill City to cap their weekend with a 2-1 win in front of a lively Tsongas Center crowd. After the first strike of the night was waved off due to an offsides call, Owen Cole got the River Hawks rolling with a late tally in the first period. Brehdan Engum extended the River Hawks' lead in the second with his first of the year and the eventual game-winning goal. For his impressive efforts, Engum earned First Star of the Night honors. Gustavs Davis Grigals held steady between the pipes to claim the night two victory after making 23 saves and allowing just one goal.

SCORERS BEWARE
A hard-to-crack defense has become a staple of the UMass Lowell identity in recent years, and it has made scoring difficult for opponents. With just four games left in the regular season, the River Hawks boast the nation's fourth-best scoring defense. In 30 games played, UMass Lowell has only seen 64 opponent goals, averaging 2.13 goals against. With two solid netminders in Gustavs Davis Grigals and Henry Welsch, the River Hawks have stacked their defense with heavy hitters like Brehdan Engum, Jon McDonald and Ben Meehan to help keep pucks off target. Engum currently leads the charge with 51 blocks, a career-best for the Minnesota native and good for sixth in the conference.

MCDONALD TABBED DEFENDER OF THE WEEK
Graduate student Jon McDonald was named the Army ROTC Defender of the Week on Monday, as announced by Hockey East. McDonald dished out three assists over the two-game series with Providence to help the River Hawks take four out of six points against the Friars. In addition to his three helpers, McDonald added four blocks and a +2 rating to his credit.

GOOSE-TENDER OF THE MONTH
Graduate student Gustavs Davis Grigals was crowned the January Stop It Goaltending Goaltender of the Month by Hockey East earlier this week. Grigals finished the month with a 4-1-0 record in his five appearances. With just nine goals against and 138 saves, the Hobey Baker Memorial Award nominee ended his five-game stint with a 1.81 GAA and a .939 save percentage. Grigals, who is also nominated for the 2023 Mike Richter award, started the February slate with the nation's best save percentage (.933) and the third-best GAA (1.83) in the NCAA after capping the month with a shutout against Massachusetts.

#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.

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 15 opponent power play goals in 102 opponent opportunities across 30 games. Heading into the back half, the tune has not changed for the River Hawks, ranking seventh in the country in PK percentage (.853) and second in Hockey East.

AT THE DOT
The River Hawks have been a force to be reckoned with at the faceoff dot this season, averaging a .538 success rate on the draw to rank sixth in the country and first in Hockey East. With 987 wins to their 849 losses, the River Hawks have held their opponents to just a .462 faceoff win rate through 30 games.

A WIN THIS WEEKEND
Six points are on the line this weekend for the River Hawks. Aside from potential HEA standing implications, a pair of wins would move the River Hawks to an 85-42-12 mark all-time against the Warriors. Head Coach Norm Bazin would also improve to a 17-8-4 record behind the bench against Merrimack. With no other changes to the Hockey East leaderboard, a six-point snag for the River Hawks would bump them just one point past the Warriors, helping their quest for home-ice advantage in the Hockey East Tournament.

UP NEXT
The River Hawks cap the regular season with one final home-and-home series against Northeastern. UMass Lowell kicks off the weekend at home on Friday, March 3, before traveling down to Historic Matthews Arena on Saturday, March 4, for their final tilt. Additionally, the River Hawks will celebrate the senior class and their endless contributions to the program with a pre-game ceremony on Friday.

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