It was a bounce back year for the UMass Lowell ice hockey team in 2024-25, collecting eight more wins than the year prior to earn a 16-16-4 overall record (8-13-3 Hockey East) and return to the Hockey East Quarterfinals. 

The squad collected a plethora of accomplishments during the season, including a spot in the national rankings for 20 consecutive weeks and the top 10 for seven total weeks, as well as the most sellouts at the Tsongas Center (6) since Norm Bazin was named the head coach 14 years ago. Multiple individuals shined throughout the year as well, as the River Hawks totaled nine Hockey East weekly awards and one monthly award.

The River Hawks rode this momentum into a home series with Colgate, which they swept by scores of 5-2 and 2-1, giving them confidence heading into the Hockey East opener at Merrimack.

The winning streak continued in North Andover with a 6-3 victory over the Warriors, due in large part to Owen Cole’s four-point game. The forward scored the fifth goal for the River Hawks and added three assists to earn himself Hockey East Co-Player of the Week honors and help the team to their first conference win and a 4-1-0 start. Goaltender Henry Welsch was also named the Hockey East Goaltender of the Month for October, going 4-0-0 with a 1.75 GAA and .918 save percentage.  

The Crusaders from Holy Cross gave the River Hawks a scare, going up 3-0 with 14:00 to go in the second period. However, the River Hawks showed their resilience and scored three goals in 58 seconds to tie it up. 

Not long after, Holy Cross scored their fourth, but freshman Libor Nemec opened up the third period with another game-tying goal, sending the game to overtime. Halfway through the overtime period, sophomore Jak Vaarwerk became the hero, scoring the game-winner to keep the winning streak alive heading a series with Boston University. 

The No. 9 Terriers were now in the way, as the now-17th ranked River Hawks traveled to Boston for another tough Hockey East series. In game one, the River Hawks picked up the 5-3 victory, cashing in on goals from Connor Eddy, Ian Carpentier, Ben Meehan, Libor Nemec and Dillan Bentley. 

This win gave the squad a 6-1-0 record, which was the best start in Division I program history. 

They fell short in game two, but quickly got back on track the next week with a sweep of Vermont in Burlington. Dillan Bentley was named Hockey East Player of the Week for his three-point (1g, 2a) series, while Henry Welsch was named Goaltender of the Week on the other end. He went 2-0-0 on the weekend with a 1.00 GAA and .951 save percentage and snagged his first shutout of the season in a 3-0 game two victory. 

The UConn Huskies then made the trek to the Tsongas Center on November 22 and 23, and the River Hawks fell, 4-1, in the series opener, but battled back to split the series with a 1-0 shutout the next night. Goaltender Beni Halasz excelled in a 32-save performance to blank the Huskies, picking up Hockey East Goaltender of the Week honors of his own.

This sent the River Hawks into Thanksgiving with a 9-3-0 record and in possession of the No. 16 spot in both the USCHO and US Hockey Polls. 

The team spent the holiday competing in the Adirondack Winter Invitational at the historic 1980 Herb Brooks Arena, winning the tournament with a 2-0 win against St. Lawrence and a 4-4 tie and shootout win over No. 20/19 Clarkson, giving them five tournament points and the tiebreaker over the fourth team at the tournament, Providence. Senior Stefan Owens was the hero, finding the back of the net to give the River Hawks the 3-2 shoutout victory and tournament win. 

The shootout magic stayed with the River Hawks following the tournament victory, as the No. 14/13 River Hawks played to a 3-3 tie at home against No. 3 Boston College, winning the shootout 2-1. Beni Halasz made two crucial shootout saves on top of his 32 saves in regulation and overtime, before Owen Cole gave the River Hawks the extra point in the standings with the shootout-winner. 

Freshman Mirko Buttazzoni was named Hockey East Rookie of the Week for his two goals against the Eagles. 

Their 10-3-2 record was the fourth-best start through 15 games in Division I program history. 

The team fell at Boston College in game two of the series, but went into the hallway point of the season with a 10-4-2 record (5-3-1 Hockey East), ranking them No. 10 in the nation. 

UMass Lowell played the host role to open up the second half of the season, hosting the Coachella Valley Cactus Cup in Palm Springs, California, a four-team tournament featuring the River Hawks, Michigan Tech, Omaha and Holy Cross. 

The in-season tournament success rolled on, as the River Hawks became Cactus Cup Champions following two 3-2 victories over Michigan Tech and Omaha. Freshman Lee Parks had a breakout performance on the West Coast, tallying a goal and three assists for four points in the tournament to earn himself Cactus Cup MVP and Hockey East Rookie of the Week honors. 

Upon return from California, the team dropped decisions to Maine and Stonehill, before finding success against No. 7/6 Providence in a 1-0-1 weekend. In game one against the Friars at home, the River Hawks once again tapped into their shootout magic, playing to a 3-3 tie and picking up the 1-0 shootout win. The next night, graduate student captain Pierson Brandon scored the game’s only goal with just 10 seconds remaining to give the team the win in dramatic fashion, with Halasz earning his third shutout of the season. This garnered the duo Hockey East Defender and Goaltender of the Week honors. 

The team then picked up two more Hockey East wins throughout the remainder of the regular season against Merrimack, 3-2, and Northeastern, 3-1. Their 8-13-3 conference record ranked them 7th in the Hockey East after being projected 9th in the preseason poll, giving them a home game in the Hockey East Opening Round.  

River Hawk Nation got their money’s worth in the Opening Round against New Hampshire, as the squad won a thriller at the Tsongas Center, 3-2, in overtime. Scout Truman scored the game-winner with just 1:22 remaining in the overtime period to advance the team to the Hockey East Quarterfinal. Chris Delaney and Matt Crasa also scored in the win.

The team matched up with the No. 2 seed Maine for the Quarterfinal round at Alfond Arena in Orono, Maine on March 15, where they fell 7-1, concluding the 2024-25 season. 

Following the season, the Hockey East released their Yearly Awards, and it was senior Owen Cole that represented the River Hawks as the Hockey East Night Shift Academic Champion for his impact both on and off the ice. As a result, Cole received scholarship funds that include a portion of the proceeds of Hockey East Ale, the first-ever collaboration between the conference and a brewery for its own branded beverage.

STAT LEADERS

OWEN COLE

Led the team with a career-high 20 points on eight goals and career-high 12 assists

SCOUT TRUMAN

Led the team in goals with 10

PIERSON BRANDON

Led the team with 52 blocked shots // Led all defenseman with six goals

BEN MEEHAN

Tied for team lead with 14 assists // Tied career-high of 17 points (3g, 14a) to lead all defensemen 

MIRKO BUTTAZZONI

Second on the team with 19 points // tied for team lead with 14 assists

CHRIS DELANEY

Led all rookies with nine goals // Finished tied for third on the team with 18 points

BENI HALASZ

Led the River Hawk goaltenders with 2.57 GAA & .909 save percentage

The team got together one final time at the annual Awards Banquet to honor the team’s accomplishments and hand out the collection of annual team awards.

Owen Cole was named the team’s Most Valuable Player, as well as the G. Harvey Chandler honoree after leading the squad in points. 

Ben Meehan was given the Gus Coutu Award for exemplifying the spirit of the River Hawk hockey program, Mirko Buttazzoni was named the Rookie of the Year, Pierson Brandon earned Defensive Player of the Year honors, while two freshmen, Lee Parks and Daniel Buchbinder shared the Most Improved Player award. 

Former Head Coach Billy Riley was in attendance to hand out the Billy Riley “Unsung Hero” Award to defenseman Jack Robilotti, before Jak Vaarwerk was named the Coaches’ Perseverance Award for his unrelenting determination and drive displayed throughout the season. Director of Hockey Operations and Video Analysis Kolby Green rounded out the awards as the Marc Connelly Award recipient, given to the non-player who makes a positive significant impact on the program.