Friday at #9 Boston University: Live Stats | Watch | Listen | Game Notes
Saturday vs. #9 Boston University: Live Stats | Watch | Listen | Game Notes
LOWELL, Mass. – After a 5-1-0 start to the 2024-25 season and a come-from-behind overtime victory last weekend against Holy Cross, the No. 17/16 UMass Lowell ice hockey team (5-1-0, 1-0-0 Hockey East) will take on No. 9 Boston University (4-3-0, 1-0-0 Hockey East) in a two-game, home-and-home conference series this weekend.
SCOUTING THE RIVER HAWKS
UMass Lowell entered the 2024-25 season coming off an 8-24-4 campaign that saw the River Hawks enter the Hockey East Tournament as the #11 seed. The team has graduate a handful of players and have bolstered their lineup of 17 returners with 15 newcomers, including seven transfers and eight freshmen. Of those transfers, five are graduate students and two are juniors. The team kicked off the 2024-25 season in the ninth spot in the Hockey East Preseason Poll with 40 points. Through six games this season, they hold a 5-1-0 record (1-0-0 Hockey East). Nationally, in the USCHO poll, they are currently ranked No. 17, while ranking No. 16 in the USA Hockey poll.
UMass Lowell enters this game with Boston University after a standalone matchup at Holy Cross last Friday, where the squad picked up a comeback 5-4 victory in overtime. The River Hawks' offense exploded for three goals within 58 seconds to tie the game at three, before fighting for the 5-4 overtime win. Jak Vaarwerk scored the game winner and finished with two points, joining Matt Crasa and Scout Truman for a tie for the team lead. Vaarwerk, Crasa, Owen Cole, Chris Delaney and Libor Nemec were the goal scorers. Beni Halasz started in net, allowing two goals with three saves, but Welsch took over in the first period, making 24 saves the rest of the way for the win.
SCOUTING THE TERRIERS
The Terriers enter the weekend with a 4-3-0 overall record, after opening their season with three consecutive wins. They split with North Dakota, before dropping both games at Michigan last weekend. Game one ended with a 5-1 score, while Saturday's game two was a 5-4 overtime loss.
The Terriers are coming off a 28-10-2 year where they fell to the eventual national champions, Denver, in the Frozen Four. They return two of their top five point-scorers from 2023-24 in sophomores Quinn Hutson and Ryan Greene. Both Hutson (18g, 18a) and Greene (12g, 24a) totaled 36 points. For goaltenders, the team returned Caron and Lacroix from last year's roster. Caron was the team's primary goaltender, appearing in all 40 games with a 28-10-2 record, GAA of 2.35 and save percentage of .915
This season, the Terriers have three players tied with a team-leading seven points in Cole Eiserman (5g, 2a), Shane Lachance (2g, 5a) and Quinn Hutson (1g, 6a). Eiserman leads the team with five goals, while Ryan Greene (3g, 3a) and Tom Willander (2g, 4a) have six points each.
AT THE DOT
UMass Lowell currently ranks 22nd in the nation at the faceoff dot going into this weekend's slate. The River Hawks have won 210 of their 399 faceoffs taken for a .526 faceoff win percentage through their first six games.
FACING OFF AGAINST THE HOME STATE
Just four River Hawks hail from the state of Massachusetts. Graduate students
Ben Meehan (Walpole, Mass.) and
Ian Carpentier (Worcester, Mass.), sophomore
Jaiden Moriello (Saugus, Mass.) and freshman
Chris Delaney (Hopkinton, Mass.) will be going against a school from their home state this weekend.
UMASS LOWELL vs. BOSTON UNIVERSITY
The River Hawks have seen quite a bit of Boston University throughout program history, registering a 36-81-12 (.326) all-time mark against the Terriers. Last season, UMass Lowell concluded the year with an 0-2-0 record against them. The River Hawks fell just short, 3-2, in game one on November 10, 2023 at the Tsongas Center, before dropping game two the next night by a score of 6-1 at Agganis Arena in Boston.
IN THE POLLS
After a 1-0-0 weekend against Holy Cross to secure a 5-1-0 start to the year, the River Hawks continue to move up in the rankings. They rank 17
th in the nation in the USCHO poll and 16
th in the USA Hockey Poll.
A WIN TODAY...
A win today would move the River Hawks to a 6-1-0 record on the season and a 37-81-12 record all-time against the Terriers. Head Coach
Norm Bazin would also move to a 19-14-4 career mark against Boston University. This would also extend UMass Lowell's active win streak to six games.
UP NEXT
Next, the River Hawks will travel to Vermont for a two-game road series on Friday, November 15 and Saturday, November 16. Game one is set for 7:00 p.m., while Saturday's game two will begin at 6:00 p.m.
