Friday at Northeastern: Live Stats | Watch (ESPN+) | Listen
Saturday vs. Northeastern: Live Stats | Watch (ESPN+) | Listen
LOWELL, Mass. – The No. 13 UMass Lowell ice hockey team (14-10-3, 7-8-2 Hockey East) will take on Hockey East foe Northeastern this weekend in a two-game, home-and-home series. It will begin at Northeastern on Friday, February 14 at 7:00 p.m., followed by game two on Saturday, February 15 at the Tsongas Center at 6:05 p.m.
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 27 games this season, they hold a 14-10-3 record (7-8-2 Hockey East). Nationally, they rank #13 in the USCHO Poll and #13 in the USA Hockey Poll. In the Pairwise Rankings, they sit at #11.
UMass Lowell enters this weekend after dropping two games last weekend to Vermont and UConn, they fell 5-3 on Friday, before coming up short, 5-4, in overtime vs. UConn on Saturday.
Dillan Bentley had a big weekend, with a hat trick in game two and an assist in game one for four total points.
At the moment,
Owen Cole (7g, 10a) leada the way with 17 points, while
Mirko Buttazzoni (5g, 11a) and
Scout Truman (8g, 8a) each have 16.
Beni Halasz leads the two goaltenders with a 2.49 GAA and .911 save percentage, while
Henry Welsch boasts a 2.50 GAA and .895 save percentage.
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
The Huskies enter the weekend with a 9-14-3 overall record (4-9-3 Hockey East), most recently dropping both of their games in the Beanpot to Boston College (8-2) and Harvard (4-3).
Northeastern is coming off a 2023-24 season year where they finished 17-16-3 (9-14-1 Hockey East), falling to BU in the Hockey East Quarterfinal Round. They return three of their top five point-scorers from 2023-24 in Jack Williams, Dylan Kryckowian and Cam Lund. Williams finished third on the team with 36 points (17g, 19a), while Hryckowian (7g, 27a) was just behind him with 34 and Lund (11g, 19a) was fifth with 30. For goaltenders, the team returned Cameron Whitehead and Harrison Chesney from last yearís roster. Whitehead appeared in 35 games last season, collecting a 2.62 GAA and .917 save percentage with a 17-14-3 record. Chesney appeared in one game with one save.
This season, Williams leads the team with 31 points (14g, 17a), while Lund (11g, 16a) is second with 27 points and Hryckowian (13g, 12a) is just behind with 25.
UMASS LOWELL vs. NORTHEASTERN
The River Hawks have seen a lot of Northeastern throughout program history, registering a 68-54-10 (.553) all-time mark against the Huskies. The two teams last played on February 17, 2024 when the River Hawks fell, 4-0.
SCORING AGAINST THE HUSKIES
15 players have played at least one game against Northeastern in their careers.
Ben Meehan leads the way with 9 games played, and it is Meehan,
Scout Truman and
Owen Cole that lead in points against Huskies, each tallying five on two goals and three assists.
IN THE POLLS
UMass Lowell ranks #13 in the USCHO Poll and #13 in the USA Hockey Poll this week. They also rank #11 in the Pairwise Rankings going to into this set with Northeastern.
AT THE DOT
UMass Lowell currently ranks 37th in the nation at the faceoff dot going into this weekendís slate. The River Hawks have won 793 of their 1,607 faceoffs taken for a .493 faceoff win percentage through their first 27 games.
CAREER BESTS
Dillan Bentley already has 8 goals this season, beating his career best of 4 from last year. His 14 points surpasses his career-best 12 from last season as well.
Matt Crasa has 8 assists, tied with the 8 he had as a sophomore, and 1 behind the career-best 9 he had as a freshman.
TJ Schweighardt has 8 points this season (all assists). He only had 6 points (2 goals 4 assists) in his freshman and sophomore years combined.
Scout Trumanís 8 goals this season matches his career-best 8 that he had as a freshman. His 33 PIM is by far a career-high, beating the 18 he had as a sophomore.
Owen Coleís 10 assists is a new career-best, beating the 8 that he had as a sophomore. His 17 points ties his career-best he had last season as a junior.
Ben Meehanís 11 assists are shy of his career-best 13 as a junior.
Henry Welsch already has 9 wins, beating the career-best 6 he had as a freshman and again as a junior.
Beni Halasz has 3 shutouts, matching the career-best 3 he had as a freshman with Northern Michigan.
A WIN ON FRIDAY…
A win today would move the River Hawks to a 15-10-3 record on the season and a 69-54-10 record all-time against the Huskies. Head Coach
Norm Bazin would also move to 16-15-3 against Northeastern.
UP NEXT
The River Hawks will follow up this series with one game next weekend, traveling to Providence on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. This will be the third game against the Friars this season, after going 1-0-1 in their first series this year.
