UMass Lowell Athletics

CAREER: Appeared in 110 games as a River Hawk … Amassed seven goals and 35 assists in his four seasons for 42 career points … Owns five power play goals and a +10 rating … Three-time Defensive Player of the Year, as voted by the team … Three-time Hockey East All-Academic Team selection.

AS A SENIOR (2021-22): Named an alternate captain for the 2021-22 team … Scored one goal and dished out nine assists for 10 points … Tied for first on the team in blocks with a career-best 46 … Put up a season-high two points against Massachusetts off a pair of assists (1/30) … Blocked a season-best five shots against Providence (2/18) … Named the Defensive Player of the Year at the team’s annual end-of-the-year awards banquet.

AS A JUNIOR (2020-21): Appeared in 17 games for the River Hawks, dishing out eight assists for eight points…Blocked a team-high 26 shots…Tallied a pair of assists on two game-winning goals this season (vs. UConn (2/9), at Northeastern (2/19))…Registered a season-high two assists against UNH (2/6) and BU (3/6)…Named the River Hawks Defensive Player of the Year for the second year in a row...Named to the Hockey East All-Academic Team. 

AS A SOPHOMORE (2019-20): He played in 25 games for the River Hawks, tallying a career-high 15 points (4g,11a) with a +7 plus/minus rating. Totaled 10 (3g,7a) of his 15 points in 18 league games. Posted points in 14 games this season. McDonald owned a plus or even rating in 20 of 25 games for the River Hawks this season. Earned the Best Defensive Player Award at the annual team banquet. Was named to the Hockey East All-Academic Team for the second straight season. 

AS A FRESHMAN (2018-19): McDonald played in 33 contests as freshman, posting nine points (2g,7a) with 23 shots on goal. Scored his first career goal on November 23rd vs. RPI. Had points in eight games this season, which includes a career-high two assists on Jan. 18th vs. Vermont. UMass Lowell owned a 6-1-1 record when McDonald scored a point. Had a plus or even rating in 23 of 33 games for the River Hawks. 

Previous Team: McDonald played 47 games with the Fargo Force of the United States Hockey League (USHL) under Head Coach Cary Eades. He recorded seven points (1g,6a) in the regular-season and tallied two points in 14 playoff games with the Force. Helped Fargo to a Clark Cup Championship in 2018.

Personal: Son of Julie and Brian McDonald... Has two brothers Chris and Stephen... His older brother Chris played college baseball at Hillsdale College for four years followed by a pro career in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization for three years. His aunt Debbie played volleyball at Purdue for four seasons... His nickname is JMac... In his time away from the rink he likes golfing and fishing... Favorite TV show is Chicago PD... His favorite professional sports teams are the Detroit Red Wings and Detroit Tigers... His favorite sports figure and influence is Niklas Lidstrom... His greatest sports moment was winning the Clark Cup Championship in 2018.