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TOURNEY TIME
The River Hawks are making their 35th postseason appearance this weekend in the 38th annual Hockey East Tournament. Coming off a trip to the semifinals last year, UMass Lowell owns a 51-52-3 all-time mark in the tournament. The team makes their way back to the semifinal round for the 22nd time in program history. Most recently, the team dropped a 3-1 decision to Massachusetts at TD Garden last year. Behind the bench, Head Coach Norm Bazin is the winningest coach in the postseason amongst all active HEA head coaches, boasting a .658 win percentage. Bazin is 25-13 in his career in the HEA Tournament and has three Hockey East titles to his credit (2013, '14, '17). This season, the River Hawks earned the No. 5 seed for the first time since 2010. When seeded fifth, the River Hawks own an 11-14 record.
 
SCOUTING THE RIVER HAWKS
A hard-fought 2-1 win over No. 4 seeded UConn last weekend helped the River Hawks earn their spot in Friday's semifinal round for the 22nd time in program history. Carl Berglund continues to lead the team's scoring efforts with 27 points off 12 goals and 15 assists. Behind Berglund, graduate student Jon McDonald sits in second with 20 points followed by Brian Chambers with 19. Chambers' points have come from eight goals and 11 assists, while McDonald has three goals and a team-high 17 assists in his fifth and final season. The River Hawks defense has been working hard during the 2022-23 campaign, ranking amongst the nation's best all season long. Brehdan Engum has been a force to be reckoned with on the blue line, jumping in front of a career and team-high 58 shots this season. A contributor on both ends of the ice, McDonald backed up his explosive performance on attack with an impressive tenure defensively this season. With 46 blocks to his credit, McDonald plays major minutes on UMass Lowell's nationally ranked penalty kill unit and has helped the team register one of the country's best team goals against average. In goal, Henry Welsch and Gustavs Davis Grigals have shared the spotlight this season, with Grigals making 23 appearances and Welsch 16. Across his 23 games played, Grigals has amassed a 2.10 GAA and a .922 save percentage on his way to a 12-8-2 record. Meanwhile, Welsch owns a 2.25 GAA and a .916 save percentage this season to earn a 6-6-1 mark.
 
SCOUTING THE WARRIORS
Making just their third-ever semifinal appearance, the Warriors are coming into TD Garden on a six-game win streak dating back to February 17. Following a length double-overtime bout with Boston College, the Warriors managed to squeak out a 1-0 victory to punch their ticket. Junior Alex Jefferies leads the team in all three scoring categories, with 14 goals, 27 assists and 41 points in his 35 games played. Ben Brar joins Jefferies with a tie for first in goals, scoring 14 and adding 11 assists for 25 points. Christian Felton has been a major net-front presence for the Warriors, logging a team-best 53 blocks this season. Felton also owns a squad-best +17 rating. In net, Merrimack has relied on both Hugo Ollas and Zachary Borgiel throughout the regular season. Ollas got the nod last weekend in the quarterfinal round. The sophomore currently sits at a 10-8-0 record with a 2.28 GAA and a .916 save percentage. Borgiel, on the other hand, has a 2.09 GAA and a .917 save percentage to his credit in his 16 starts.
 
SCOUTING THE TERRIERS
The 2023 Hockey East Regular Season Champions, Boston University comes into the weekend as the top seed in the tournament. The Terriers are 77-43-1 all-time in the tournament, with a 12-13 record in the semifinals. Freshman Lane Hutson paces the team and the league in points, with 44 points thanks to 12 goals and 32 assists. Though Hutson sits atop the team in assists and points, Matt Brown owns a squad-best 15 goals this season. The Terriers pack a one-two punch on defense with Cade Webber and Case McCarthy, who rank two-three in the league in blocks with 79 and 70, respectively. Goaltender Drew Commesso has seen a majority of the minutes for BU this year, making 29 starts during his junior season. Letting in 70 goals, Commesso owns a .909 save percentage, a 2.60 GAA and a 20-7-0 record.
 
SCOUTING THE FRIARS
With an upset over Northeastern last weekend in the quarterfinal round, Providence advances to the semifinals for the first time since 2021 and for the 18th time in program history. Parker Ford led the scoring efforts for Providence this season, with 12 goals, 14 assists and 26 points. He sits atop the leaderboard for the Friars in goals and assists. Max Crozier owns a team-high 21 assists in his 36 appearances this year. Crozier also owns a team-best 59 blocks to rank sixth in Hockey East in the category. At the faceoff dot, Providence sits just behind UMass Lowell for the top spot, sitting in second in the conference with a .537 win rate on the faceoff. Between the pipes, the Friars have relied heavily on Philip Svedebäck. The freshman owns a 2.19 GAA and a .909 save percentage heading into this weekend's semifinals.
 
ABOUT LAST WEEKEND
Last weekend, the River Hawks kicked off their 35th postseason appearance with a 2-1 win over No. 4-seeded UConn at the Toscano Family Ice Forum. Senior Blake Wells and sophomore Owen Cole notched the two goals to help lift the River Hawks to victory on the road. Defenseman Ben Meehan had a full 200-foot game, dishing out an assist on Wells' goal and adding a team-high three blocks and a +1 rating to his credit. Between the pipes, graduate student Gustavs Davis Grigals logged a season-high 40 saves in the tilt while allowing just one goal.
 
MONEY MEEHAN
UMass Lowell men's hockey junior Ben Meehan (Walpole, Mass.) has been named the Army ROTC Defender of the Week, as announced by Hockey East Monday afternoon. The weekly award marks the second of Meehan's career and the seventh for the River Hawks this season. Meehan's versatility on the ice played a pivotal role in UMass Lowell's 2-1 win over UConn to secure their spot in the HEA Semifinals. Meehan dished out the lone assist on senior Blake Well's opening tally to help spark the River Hawk's offense. The Massachusetts-born defenseman also added a team-high three blocks, a shot on goals and a +1 rating to his stat line to cap his night.
 
HEY NOW, YOU'RE HEA ALL-STARS
Graduate students Gustavs Davis Grigals and Jon McDonald were named to the 2023 Hockey East All-Star Third team after incredible campaigns for the River Hawks this season. Grigals, a graduate transfer, acclimated quickly to the Hockey East landscape to amass an 11-8-2 mark this year. With a 2.15 GAA and .918 save percentage, Grigals picked up several in-season accolades, including being honored as a Hobey Baker and a Mike Richter award nominee. After a 4-1-1 mark during January, Grigals was also named the Stop It Goaltending Goaltender of the Month. A staple on the blue line, McDonald earned his first Hockey East All-Star honor after posting career numbers during his fifth season in the Mill City. On defense, McDonald ranked second on the team in blocks with 45 and finished tied for second on the team in points with 19. A staple on the blue line, McDonald has been a key fixture on the team's nationally-ranked penalty kill unit. The duo has also been instrumental in helping the River Hawks stay amongst the best teams in the country in scoring defense.
 
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 18 opponent power play goals in 113 opponent opportunities across 35 games. Heading into the semifinals, UMass Lowell ranks twelfth in the country in PK percentage (.841) and third 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 .537 success rate on the draw to rank seventh in the country and first in Hockey East. With 1,138 wins to their 981 losses, the River Hawks have held their opponents to just a .463 faceoff win rate through 35 games. Jack Collins and Owen Cole have emerged as standouts at the dot as of late, averaging .597 and .568 win rates so far this season. Senior Jake Stella continues to lead the team in faceoff wins, however, with 256 wins this season.
 
A WIN THIS WEEKEND
With a win over Merrimack, the River Hawks would move to an all-time program mark of 84-44-12 and a 4-2 record in the postseason against the Warriors. Head Coach Norm Bazin would also improve to a 16-10-4 career mark and a 26-13 postseason record against Merrimack. Though the River Hawks and the Warriors have met three times in the quarterfinal, this Friday's tilt at TD would be the first time that the two squads have squared off in the semifinals. Additionally, with a win, the River Hawks would advance to the Hockey East Championship for the second time in three seasons to face the winner of No. 1 BU vs. No. 7 Providence on Saturday at 7 p.m.
 
UP NEXT 
With a win, the River Hawks advance to the 2023 Hockey East Championships on Saturday, March 18, at 7 p.m. They'll face off against the victors of No. 1 BU vs. No. 7 Providence.
 
KEEPING IT 100
Six 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 (112), Jake Stella (113), Ryan Brushett (1112), Marek Korencik (111) and Carl Berglund (110) have all tipped the scales past 100 this season. Most recently, Brian Chambers reached 100 games against UNH on Feb. 4.
 
AT THE HELM
Head Coach Norm Bazin returns for his 12th season at the helm for the River Hawks. During his tenure, Bazin has led the program to two Hockey East regular season titles, three Hockey East tournament titles, six NCAA Tournament appearances and a Frozen Four appearance.
 
LEADING THE FLOCK
Before puck drop on the 2022-23 campaign, Head Coach Norm Bazin announced the team's leadership core for the season. Graduate student Jon McDonald and senior Carl Berglund earned the nod as captains for this year's squad, while seniors Blake Wells and Zach Kaiser will sport the 'A' this year. In addition, the team will continue its tradition of honoring a monthly alternate captain.

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