UMass Lowell Athletics

Norm Bazin enters his 15th season as head coach of the River Hawk ice hockey program in 2025-26. He has led the River Hawks to six NCAA Tournament bids (2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2022), in addition to three Hockey East Tournament Championships (2013, 2014, 2017), two Hockey East regular-season titles (2013, 2017) and one Frozen Four appearance (2013). He also guided the team to five consecutive Hockey East Championship Game appearances (2013-2017) and has compiled seven 20-win seasons since taking over at the helm of the program in the fall of 2011.
 
Bazin owns a 278-185-47 record (.591 win%) in his 14 seasons as the River Hawks’ head coach. He is the second winningest coach in the program's history, behind Bill Riley with 363 wins. His .591 win percentage ranks ninth in the country among active coaches with at least 100 wins. He has posted a 161-127-36 record in Hockey East regular-season play in his time at UMass Lowell, which ranks first among active Hockey East coaches and all-time, passing Jerry York (160-72-25). In Hockey East Tournament action, Bazin boasts a 26-16-0 mark, once again taking the top spot among active coaches in the league.  
 
Throughout his coaching career, Bazin has coached 15 All-Americans, 38 All-League Players and 32 players who have played in the National Hockey League. More recently, 10 of his players at UMass Lowell have gone onto play at the top level, including two-time Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck, Chad Ruhwedel, C.J. Smith, Michael Kapla, Christian Folin, Scott Wilson, Joe Gambardella, Kevin Boyle, Lucas Condotta and Andre Lee. Ruhwedel, Wilson and Hainsey also have their names etched on the Stanley Cup, as part of the Pittsburgh Penguins teams that won titles in 2016 and 2017.
 
In 2012-13, Bazin guided UMass Lowell (28-11-2 overall, 16-9-2 in Hockey East) to a historic season, which included several firsts: the Hockey East regular-season and tournament championships, the NCAA Tournament Northeast Region Championship, as well as the program's first-ever appearance in the NCAA Frozen Four. Along the way, Bazin was named the Hockey East Coach of the Year for the second straight year, as well as the recipient of the Spencer Penrose Award for Division I Men's Coach of the Year.
 
Bazin’s 19-win increase in his inaugural 2011-12 campaign from 2010-11 set an NCAA Division I record for largest turnaround by a first-year head coach.
 
He was named the sixth head coach in UMass Lowell’s history on April 21, 2011. His return to the university came after three successful seasons as head coach at Hamilton College, and eight years as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Colorado College.
 
Bazin was a forward on the hockey team at UMass Lowell from 1990-94 playing for legendary coach Bill Riley and Bruce Crowder. He also served as an assistant coach for the River Hawks from 1996-2000 under then head coach Tim Whitehead, helping to guide the River Hawks to Hockey East Tournament semifinal appearances in 1997 and 1998. He was integral in recruiting standouts, such as All-American and NHL veteran Ron Hainsey, as well as Hockey East all-star Brad Rooney (`01); Yorick Treille ('02) and Laurent Meunier ('02), both members of the French Olympic squad at the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City.
 
Bazin received his bachelor's degree in criminal justice in just three and a half years at UMass Lowell and earned his master's degree in education administration in 1999. A native of Notre Dame de Lourdes, Manitoba, he played professionally for the Birmingham Bulls (ECHL) and the Cincinnati Cyclones (IHL) in 1994-95.
 
Bazin has two sons, Blake and Coleston. He resides in Windham, N.H.


 

NORM BAZIN YEAR-BY-YEAR (2011-PRESENT)
Year	Position	School	Record	Notes
1996-97	Assistant Coach	UMass Lowell	15-21-2	HEA Semifinals
1997-98	Assistant Coach	UMass Lowell	16-17-3	HEA Semifinals
1998-99	Assistant Coach	UMass Lowell	17-19-0	HEA Tournament
1999-00	Assistant Coach	UMass Lowell	9-22-3	N/A
2000-01	Assistant Coach	Colorado College	27-13-1	NCAA Quarterfinal
2001-02	Assistant Coach	Colorado College	27-13-3	NCAA Quarterfinal
2002-03	Assistant Coach	Colorado College	30-7-5	NCAA Quarterfinal
2003-04	Assistant Coach	Colorado College	20-16-3	WCHA Tournament
2004-05	Assistant Coach	Colorado College	31-9-3	NCAA Frozen Four
2005-06	Assistant Coach	Colorado College	24-16-2	NCAA Midwest Regional
2006-07	Assistant Coach	Colorado College	18-17-4	WCHA Tournament
2007-08	Assistant Coach	Colorado College	28-11-1	NCAA West Regional
2008-09	Head Coach	Hamilton College	9-15-1	NESCAC Quarterfinal
2009-10	Head Coach	Hamilton College	15-9-2	NESCAC Semifinal
2010-11	Head Coach	Hamilton College	14-7-4	NESCAC Quarterfinal
2011-12	Head Coach	UMass Lowell	24-13-1	NCAA East Regional Final
2012-13	Head Coach	UMass Lowell	28-11-2	Hockey East Regular-Season and Tournament Champions Frozen Four
2013-14	Head Coach	UMass Lowell	26-11-4	HEA Tournament Champions NCAA Northeast Regional Final
2014-15	Head Coach	UMass Lowell	21-12-6	Hockey East Championship Game
2015-16	Head Coach	UMass Lowell	25-10-5	Hockey East Championship Game NCAA East Regional Final
2016-17	Head Coach	UMass Lowell	27-11-3	HEA Regular-Season Champions HEA Tournament Champions NCAA Northeast Regional Final
2017-18	Head Coach	UMass Lowell	17-19-0	Hockey East First Round
2018-19	Head Coach	UMass Lowell	19-13-5	Hockey East Quarterfinals
2019-20	Head Coach	UMass Lowell	18-10-6	Postseason Canceled due to COVID-19
2020-21	Head Coach	UMass Lowell	10-9-1	Hockey East Championship Game
2021-22	Head Coach	UMass Lowell	21-11-3	NCAA Loveland Regional First Round
2022-23	Head Coach	UMass Lowell	18-15-3	Hockey East Quarterfinals
2023-24	Head Coach	UMass Lowell	8-24-4	Hockey East Opening Round
2024-25	Head Coach	UMass Lowell	16-16-4	Hockey East Quarterfinals
	TOTALS	17 years as NCAA Head Coach	316-216-54 (.585)	14 years at UMass Lowell 278-185-47 (.591)