LOWELL, Mass. – After their performances in this weekend's series sweep at Vermont, junior
Dillan Bentley (Peoria, Ill.) and graduate student
Henry Welsch (Lakeville, Minn.) of the No. 15 UMass Lowell ice hockey team (8-2-0, 4-1-0 Hockey East) have each earned Hockey East weekly awards. Bentley was named the Hockey East Player of the Week, while Welsch garnered Hockey East Stop It Goaltending Goaltender of the Week honors.
Bentley had a great series for the River Hawks, finishing the two-game set with two goals and an assist for three points. In Friday's 5-2 victory, the forward potted the game's first goal to open up the scoring and give UMass Lowell the early lead. The next night, in game two, Bentley had an assist on the game's first goal, before scoring another of his own in the third period to help the squad to the 3-0 victory.
On the other end, Welsch stood tall between the pipes for the River Hawks in both games, going 2-0-0 on the weekend with a 1.00 GAA and .951 save percentage. He also picked up his first shutout of the season in Saturday's 3-0 victory. He snagged 19 saves in game one, before the 20-save shutout the next night, moving him to 8-1-0 on the year with a 2.23 GAA and .905 save percentage.
For Bentley, this marks his first career Hockey East Player of the Week award and the second for the River Hawks this season (
Owen Cole, 10/28). Welsch now holds four Stop It Goaltending Goaltender of the Week awards for his career, earning it once in the 2022-23 season and twice during the 2023-24 season. He was also named the Stop It Goaltending Goaltender of the Month for October earlier this season.
