The UMass Lowell ice hockey team fought through a challenging 36-game season in 2023-24, finishing with an 8-24-4 record (4-17-3 Hockey East). Despite the record, the Men of Lowell stayed true to their gritty ways and battled the adversity head-on. 

Before the season, Head Coach Norm Bazin brought two new coaches onto the staff; Associate Head Coach Andy Boschetto and Assistant Coach Eric Sorenson, in addition to the promotion of former Director of Hockey Operations and former River Hawk defenseman, Dylan Zink. 

ANDY BOSCHETTO HIRE RELEASE  |  ERIC SORENSON HIRE RELEASE  |  DYLAN ZINK PROMOTION RELEASE   

The new coaching staff welcomed 11 newcomers to help bolster the River Hawks' roster. This group included eight freshman and three transfers. Two of the three transfers chose Lowell as their graduate destination. 

The River Hawks collected plenty of accomplishments throughout the 2023-24 season, including four Hockey East Weekly Awards, a school record 11 overtime games and ranking within the nation's top 15 teams in crowd attendance after averaging 5,191 fans per game for the largest average since 2017. The team also ranked fourth in the Hockey East with 324 blocks.  

The River Hawks then moved on to Colgate before heading into Hockey East play, where they earned a two-game sweep against the Raiders. Game one concluded with a 4-2 score, while junior Matt Crasa's four goals led to a 5-2 victory in game two. Crasa earned Hockey East Player of the Week honors for his performance and became the first River Hawk with four goals in a game since Ben Walter did it in October of 2004 against RPI. 

The team opened up conference play in front of a sellout crowd at the Tsongas on October 27, beginning a home-and-home series against Connecticut. That night, the squad fell short in a heartbreaking 2-1 overtime loss, but bounced back the next night at the XL Center in Hartford with a 1-0 shutout victory. Senior Henry Welsch had an outstanding performance between the pipes in game two, making a career-high 46 saves in the shutout, breaking current Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck's school record of 40 saves in a shutout against Notre Dame in 2013. This showing earned Welsch his first of two Hockey East Goaltender of the Week honors.

Conference success was also found against Merrimack in mid-November, finishing 1-0-1 against the Warriors in a two-game, home-and-home series. They kicked off the series in North Andover, where both teams played to a 1-1 draw. After a scoreless overtime, the game went to a shootout that the Warriors took 1-0. The River Hawks bounced back from the tie with an electric 3-2 overtime win at home the next night. Nick Rhéaume led the way for the River Hawks with two goals, including the overtime game-winner, while Scout Truman added a goal as well.  

Rhéaume was named the River Hawk of the Week for his performance in the series.

The River Hawks collected one more conference win against Vermont on December 3, before heading to Arizona for the non-conference Desert Hockey Classic. The Sunday matchup at Vermont followed up a hard-fought 1-0 loss at Connecticut two days prior. Junior Stefan Owens and grad student Alex Peterson each picked up their first goals of the season to lead the River Hawks to a 2-1 win. Welsch was impressive in net for the River Hawks once again throughout the weekend, allowing just one goal in each game, and making 27 saves in the win at Vermont, while not allowing a goal for 58:50 of the game. This earned him his second Hockey East Goaltender of the Week nod.  

Along with three other team's (Omaha, Arizona State and Harvard), the River Hawks flew west to Tempe to compete in the Desert Hockey Classic, hosted by Arizona State at Mullett Arena. The team was able to practice at the arena on Thursday, January 4, before dropping the puck on game one against Omaha. 

Another hard-fought effort led to a 4-3 overtime loss against Omaha in game one, sending the River Hawks into an afternoon consolation game against Harvard on Saturday. Owen Cole, Isac Jonsson and Nick Rhéaume found the back of the net in game one, as Cole's goal marked the second of a five-game goal-scoring streak.  

After a tough gauntlet of Hockey East games throughout the remainder of January, the River Hawks welcomed Vermont to the Tsongas for a two-game set on February 9 & 10. The teams battled back-and-forth all weekend, playing to a tie in both matchups. Game one concluded with a 1-1 score, with the Catamounts taking the shootout 1-0. Saturday's game two featured more offensive production, finishing with a score of 3-3. The River Hawks picked up an exciting 2-1 shootout victory, earning their revenge.  

The River Hawks rode their momentum into the next week, taking down Northeastern, 4-2, immediately following their Beanpot victory. Scout Truman's two goals and one assist helped lead the team to the win, and Head Coach Norm Bazin reached a massive milestone with the victory; His 300th career victory as an NCAA Head Coach.  

At the conclusion of the regular season, the River Hawks entered the Hockey East Tournament as the 11 seed, matching up against No.6 New Hampshire in the Opening Round on March 13. Henry Welsch made 18 saves and allowed just one goal in the game, but the Wildcats took the 1-0 victory after 60 minutes of play.  

The end of the 2023-24 season brought some wins for individual players in the form of signings. Graduate transfer Nick Granowicz and senior captain Jake Stella each inked contracts with ECHL teams. Granowicz signed on with the Las Vegas Golden Knights' ECHL affiliate, Savannah Ghost Pirates, while Stella joined the Calgary Flames' ECHL affiliate, Rapid City Rush.

Nick Granowicz Signs With Savannah Ghost Pirates  |  Jake Stella Signs On With Rapid City Rush 

STAT LEADERS

Following the season, here's who led the way in different stat categories for the River Hawks:

Scout Truman

Led the team with a career-high 21 points //  Led the team with a career-high 14 assists // Hobey Baker Nominee

Owen Cole

Led the team with a career-high 10 goals // Led the team with a career-high four power play goals // Hobey Baker Nominee

TJ Schweighardt

Led the team with a career-high 55 blocks 

Jak Vaarwerk

Led all rookies with 15 points (third on team) // Led all rookies with five goals (tied for fifth on team) // Led all rookies with 10 assists (third on team) // Led all rookies with 36 games played (played in all of team's games) 

Henry Welsch

Led the team with 2.45 GAA // Led the team with .907 SV% // Tied for fourth in Hockey East with .913 conference SV% // Fifth in Hockey East with 2.34 conference GAA // Two-time Hockey East Goaltender of the Week // New England Hockey Writers Association Unsung Hero Award Winner

In one final get-together and celebration of the 2023-24 season, the team gathered for their annual Awards Banquet to honor the team's accomplishments throughout the year and hand out the team's awards. 

(Left to Right) Henry Welsch was named the teams Most Valuable Player, Scout Truman received the G. Harvey Chandler Award, which is given annually to the team's top scorer, Owen Cole was became a back-to-back recipient of the Gus Coutu Award, which is given to the player who best exemplifies the spirit of the River Hawk hockey program, Isac Jonsson took home Defensive Player of the Year honors and Jak Vaarwerk earned the Rookie of the Year Award. 

(Left to Right) Ben Meehan earned his second consecutive Coaches' Perseverance Award for his unrelenting determination and drive displayed throughout the season, Stefan Owens was given the Billy Riley "Unsung Hero" Award for his impact both on and off the ice, Jack Collins was honored with the Most Improved Player Award, setting career-bests in games played, goals, assists and points and Equipment Manager Brian Mundy was given the Marc Connelly Award, which is presented annually to a non-player who makes a positive significant impact on the program.