2020–21 UMass Lowell River Hawks men's ice hockey season
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The 2020–21 UMass Lowell River Hawks men's ice hockey season was the 54th season of play for the program, the 38th season competing at the Division I level, and the 37th season in the Hockey East conference. The River Hawks represented the University of Massachusetts Lowell (UML) and were coached by Norm Bazin, in his 10th season.
| 2020–21 UMass Lowell River Hawks men's ice hockey season | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Conference | 7th Hockey East |
| Home ice | Tsongas Center |
| Rankings | |
| USCHO | 19 |
| USA Today | NR |
| Record | |
| Overall | 10–9–1 |
| Conference | 7–8–1–1–1–0 |
| Home | 4–5–1 |
| Road | 6–4–0 |
| Neutral | 0–0–0 |
| Coaches and captains | |
| Head coach | Norm Bazin |
| Assistant coaches | Andy Jones Juliano Pagliero Tom Ford |
| Captain(s) | Charles Levesque Connor Sodergren |
| Alternate captain(s) | Lucas Condotta |
| UMass Lowell River Hawks men's ice hockey seasons « 2019–20 2021–22 » | |
Season
Summarize
Perspective
As a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic the entire college ice hockey season was delayed. Because the NCAA had previously announced that all winter sports athletes would retain whatever eligibility they possessed through at least the following year, none of UML's players would lose a season of play.[1] However, the NCAA also approved a change in its transfer regulations that would allow players to transfer and play immediately rather than having to sit out a season, as the rules previously required.[2]
UML was heavily impacted by COVID-19 early in the season. After a delayed start, the team played just four games in the first two months of the campaign. Entering their game with UMass on 29 January, Lowell had played just four games while the Minutemen had competed in 17. The lack of playing time appeared to hurt the River Hawks since the team, which had been highly ranked entering the season, swiftly fell out of the top 20. UML appeared to regain its form by the end of the regular season, but by then their only path into the NCAA tournament was with a conference championship. The River Hawks won their first postseason game without much difficulty and entered the quarterfinals having to beat Boston University to stay alive. Despite being on a four-game unbeaten streak, Owen Savory was replaced as the starting goaltender by freshman Henry Welsch and the move paid off. While he only faced 17 shots in the game, Welsch turned aside all but one and helped UML advance to the semifinals. Here the team's run was expected to end as they faced the top ranked team in the nation, Boston College (BC). The Eagles built a three-goal lead after two periods and looked to be sailing into the championship, but the River Hawks' offense awoke in the third, scoring three times to tie the game. Less than two minutes later, however, BC was again in the lead with a power play goal. Welsch was pulled for an extra attacker and in less than a minute UML had again tied the score. It took another 34 minutes of game time for the winning goal to be scored and UML's Matt Brown netted the biggest goal for the River Hawks all season.
Lowell faced off against Massachusetts for the Hockey East championship. Welsch continued his strong play but the Minutemen defense was stifling, allowed the Hawks only 16 shots on goal, none of which found the back of the net. UML has to settle for second place but the team had redeemed itself for an otherwise disappointing campaign.
Ben McEvoy sat out the season.
Departures
| Player | Position | Nationality | Cause |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eric Green | Goaltender |  United States | Left program |
| Kenny Hausinger | Forward | United States | Graduation |
| Cale List | Defenseman |  Canada | Transferred to Norwich |
| Colin O'Neill | Forward | United States | Graduation |
| Derek Osik | Forward | United States | Transferred to Long Island |
| Chris Schutz | Forward | United States | Graduation (Signed with Tulsa Oilers) |
| Tyler Wall | Goaltender | Canada | Graduation (Signed with New York Rangers) |
Recruiting
| Player | Position | Nationality | Age | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Allen | Forward | United States | 20 | Minco, OK |
| Nik Armstrong-Kingcade | Forward | United States | 21 | Rostock, GER |
| Brehdan Engum | Defenseman | United States | 20 | Burnsville, MN |
| Matt Kinash | Forward | Canada | 20 | Edmonton, AB |
| Josh Latta | Forward | Canada | 22 | West Vancouver, BC; transfer from Alabama–Huntsville |
| Ben Meehan | Defenseman | United States | 21 | Walpole, MA; Selected 140th overall in 2020 |
| Owen Savory | Goaltender | Canada | 22 | Cambridge, ON; transfer from Rensselaer |
| Jackson Sterrett | Defenseman | United States | 21 | Hendersonville, TN |
| Henry Welsch | Goaltender | United States | 19 | Lakeville, MN |
Roster
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Perspective
As of February 12, 2021[3]
| No. | Nat. | Player | Class | Pos | Height | Weight | DoB | Hometown | Previous team | NHL rights |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Logan Neaton | Sophomore | G | 6' 4" (1.93 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | 1999-04-07 | Brighton, Michigan | Prince George (BCHL) | WPG, 144th overall 2019 | |
| 2 | Dominick Procopio | Junior | D | 6' 2" (1.88 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | 1997-06-11 | Grosse Pointe, Michigan | Shreveport (NAHL) | — | |
| 4 | Sam Knoblauch | Junior | F | 6' 1" (1.85 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | 1998-02-15 | Rochester, Michigan | Carleton Place (CCHL) | — | |
| 5 | Chase Blackmun | Junior | D | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | 1999-04-02 | Hudson, Wisconsin | Cedar Rapids (USHL) | — | |
| 7 | Jordan Schulting | Sophomore | D | 6' 2" (1.88 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | 1999-08-06 | Penticton, British Columbia | Coquitlam (BCHL) | — | |
| 8 | Nik Armstrong-Kingkade | Freshman | F | 5' 9" (1.75 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | 1999-05-01 | Alexandria, Virginia | Minot (NAHL) | — | |
| 9 | Reid Stefanson | Junior | F | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | 1997-02-20 | Winnipeg, Manitoba | Sioux Falls (USHL) | — | |
| 10 | Matt Brown | Sophomore | F | 5' 9" (1.75 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | 1999-08-09 | Wood-Ridge, New Jersey | Des Moines (USHL) | — | |
| 11 | Jon McDonald | Junior | D | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | 1998-06-15 | Livonia, Michigan | Fargo (USHL) | — | |
| 12 | Charlie Levesque (C) | Senior | F | 5' 10" (1.78 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | 1998-05-29 | Russell, Ontario | Hawkesbury (CCHL) | — | |
| 13 | Austin O'Rourke | Junior | F | 6' 4" (1.93 m) | 211 lb (96 kg) | 1997-08-17 | Canton, Georgia | Amarillo (NAHL) | — | |
| 14 | Ben Meehan | Freshman | D | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | 2001-04-20 | Walpole, Massachusetts | Cedar Rapids (USHL) | LAK, 140th overall 2020 | |
| 15 | Jackson Sterrett | Freshman | F | 5' 11" (1.8 m) | 183 lb (83 kg) | 1999-06-24 | Hendersonville, Tennessee | Maryland (NAHL) | — | |
| 16 | Josh Latta | Sophomore | F | 5' 11" (1.8 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | 1998-08-14 | West Vancouver, British Columbia | Alabama Huntsville (WCHA) | — | |
| 17 | Marek Korenčík | Sophomore | D | 6' 3" (1.91 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | 1999-07-19 | Žilina, Slovakia | Luleå J20 (J20 SuperElit) | — | |
| 18 | Carl Berglund | Sophomore | F | 6' 2" (1.88 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | 2000-01-16 | Hammarö, Sweden | Sioux Falls (USHL) | — | |
| 19 | Anthony Baxter | Senior | D | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | 1997-11-26 | Oakville, Ontario | Burlington (OJHL) | — | |
| 20 | Matt Allen | Freshman | F | 5' 10" (1.78 m) | 168 lb (76 kg) | 2000-05-13 | Minco, Oklahoma | Amarillo (NAHL) | — | |
| 21 | Brian Chambers | Sophomore | F | 6' 1" (1.85 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | 1998-07-24 | Weymouth, Massachusetts | Sioux Falls (USHL) | — | |
| 22 | Blake Wells | Sophomore | F | 6' 2" (1.88 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | 1999-08-02 | Blackie, Alberta | Okotoks (AJHL) | — | |
| 23 | Zach Kaiser | Sophomore | F | 6' 1" (1.85 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | 1998-09-06 | Orangeville, Ontario | Sherwood Park (AJHL) | — | |
| 24 | Lucas Condotta (A) | Junior | F | 6' 2" (1.88 m) | 209 lb (95 kg) | 1997-11-06 | Georgetown, Ontario | Markham (OJHL) | — | |
| 25 | Nolan Sawchuk | Junior | D | 5' 11" (1.8 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | 1997-09-25 | Burnsville, Minnesota | Minot (NAHL) | — | |
| 26 | Andre Lee | Sophomore | F | 6' 4" (1.93 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | 2000-07-26 | Karlstad, Sweden | Sioux Falls (USHL) | LAK, 188th overall 2019 | |
| 27 | Seth Barton | Junior | D | 6' 3" (1.91 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | 1999-08-18 | Kelowna, British Columbia | Trail (BCHL) | DET, 81st overall 2018 | |
| 28 | Connor Sodergren (C) | Senior | F | 5' 11" (1.8 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | 1996-09-11 | Tewksbury, Massachusetts | West Kelowna (BCHL) | — | |
| 29 | Matt Kinash | Freshman | F | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | 1999-12-15 | Edmonton, Alberta | Drayton Valley (AJHL) | — | |
| 30 | Benjamin McEvoy | Senior | G | 6' 5" (1.96 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | 1998-10-13 | Dunstable, Massachusetts | Groton-Dunstable (USHS–MA) | — | |
| 31 | Owen Savory | Junior | G | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | 1997-10-11 | Cambridge, Ontario | RPI (ECAC) | — | |
| 33 | Henry Welsch | Freshman | G | 6' 2" (1.88 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | 2000-11-17 | Lakeville, Minnesota | Aberdeen (NAHL) | — | |
| 37 | Brehdan Engum | Freshman | D | 6' 2" (1.88 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | 2000-08-10 | Burnsville, Minnesota | Waterloo (USHL) | — |
Standings
| Conference record | Overall record | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | W | L | T | OTW | OTL | SOW | HEPI | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | ||
| #6 Boston College | 21 | 16 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 58.61 | 82 | 46 | 24 | 17 | 6 | 1 | 91 | 58 | |
| #11 Boston University | 14 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 56.36 | 49 | 37 | 16 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 52 | 45 | |
| #1 Massachusetts * | 22 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 55.44 | 76 | 42 | 29 | 20 | 5 | 4 | 103 | 48 | |
| Connecticut | 22 | 10 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 52.01 | 69 | 63 | 23 | 10 | 11 | 2 | 70 | 69 | |
| #16 Providence | 23 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 50.80 | 63 | 61 | 25 | 11 | 9 | 5 | 71 | 67 | |
| Northeastern | 20 | 9 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 49.94 | 68 | 60 | 21 | 9 | 9 | 3 | 69 | 64 | |
| #19 Massachusetts–Lowell | 16 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 48.00 | 46 | 53 | 20 | 10 | 9 | 1 | 59 | 63 | |
| Maine | 15 | 3 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 46.66 | 41 | 61 | 16 | 3 | 11 | 2 | 43 | 68 | |
| Merrimack | 18 | 5 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 45.38 | 47 | 66 | 18 | 5 | 11 | 2 | 47 | 66 | |
| New Hampshire | 21 | 5 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 43.66 | 51 | 83 | 23 | 6 | 14 | 3 | 60 | 88 | |
| Vermont | 12 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38.02 | 17 | 37 | 13 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 20 | 42 | |
| Championship: March 20, 2021[4] No Regular Season Champion Awarded[5] * indicates conference tournament champion (Lamoriello Trophy) Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll | |||||||||||||||||
Schedule and results
Summarize
Perspective
Source:[6]
| Date | Time | Opponent# | Rank# | Site | TV | Decision | Result | Attendance | Record | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular season | |||||||||||
| December 13 | 5:00 p.m. | vs. #19 Providence | #8 | Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts | NESN+ | Neaton | L 2–4 | 0 | 0–1–0 (0–1–0) | ||
| December 21 | 5:00 p.m. | at Connecticut | #17 | XL Center • Hartford, Connecticut | Welsch | W 2–1 | 0 | 1–1–0 (1–1–0) | |||
| January 3 | 6:00 p.m. | vs. Maine | #17 | Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts | Welsch | W 5–3 | 0 | 2–1–0 (2–1–0) | |||
| January 4 | 3:00 p.m. | vs. Maine | #15 | Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts | Savory | W 9–5 | 0 | 3–1–0 (3–1–0) | |||
| January 29 | 8:00 p.m. | at #10 Massachusetts | #16 | Mullins Center • Amherst, Massachusetts | Savory | L 0–5 | 0 | 3–2–0 (3–2–0) | |||
| January 30 | 7:00 p.m. | vs. #10 Massachusetts | #16 | Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts | Welsch | L 1–2 | 0 | 3–3–0 (3–3–0) | |||
| February 5 | 6:00 p.m. | vs. New Hampshire | #20 | Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts | Welsch | L 1–2 | 0 | 3–4–0 (3–4–0) | |||
| February 6 | 5:00 p.m. | at New Hampshire | #20 | Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire | Savory | L 6–7 OT | 0 | 3–5–0 (3–5–0) | |||
| February 9 | 5:00 p.m. | vs. #20 Connecticut | Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts | NESN | Welsch | W 3–2 OT | 0 | 4–5–0 (4–5–0) | |||
| February 12 | 7:00 p.m. | at #1 Boston College | Conte Forum • Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts | NESN+ | Welsch | L 1–7 | 0 | 4–6–0 (4–6–0) | |||
| February 13 | 6:00 p.m. | vs. #1 Boston College | Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts | Savory | L 3–4 | 0 | 4–7–0 (4–7–0) | ||||
| February 19 | 7:05 p.m. | at #16 Northeastern | Matthews Arena • Boston, Massachusetts | NESN | Welsch | W 4–1 | 0 | 5–7–0 (5–7–0) | |||
| February 20 | 6:00 p.m. | vs. #16 Northeastern | Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts | Welsch | L 0–4 | 0 | 5–8–0 (5–8–0) | ||||
| February 26 | 7:00 p.m. | at Vermont | Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont | Savory | W 3–1 | 0 | 6–8–0 (6–8–0) | ||||
| February 27 | 7:00 p.m. | at Vermont | Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont | Savory | W 3–2 | 0 | 7–8–0 (7–8–0) | ||||
| March 6 | 3:00 p.m. | vs. #10 Boston University | Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts | Savory | T 3–3 SOL | 0 | 7–8–1 (7–8–1) | ||||
| Hockey East tournament | |||||||||||
| March 10 | 7:00 p.m. | vs. Vermont* | Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts (Hockey East Opening Round) | NESN | Savory | W 5–3 | 0 | 8–8–1 | |||
| March 14 | 1:05 p.m. | at #9 Boston University* | Agganis Arena • Boston, Massachusetts (Hockey East Quarterfinals) | NESN+ | Welsch | W 2–1 | 0 | 9–8–1 | |||
| March 17 | 4:30 p.m. | at #1 Boston College* | Conte Forum • Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts (Hockey East Semifinals) | NESN | Welsch | W 6–5 2OT | 0 | 10–8–1 | |||
| March 20 | 7:03 p.m. | at #6 Massachusetts* | Mullins Center • Amherst, Massachusetts (Hockey East Championship) | Welsch | L 0–1 | 0 | 10–9–1 | ||||
| *Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time. | |||||||||||
Scoring statistics
| Name | Position | Games | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andre Lee | C/LW | 20 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 18 |
| Reid Stefanson | LW | 19 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 4 |
| Matt Brown | LW | 19 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 10 |
| Charlie Levesque | C | 20 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 2 |
| Chase Blackmun | D | 19 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 8 |
| Carl Berglund | C/RW | 11 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 2 |
| Seth Barton | D | 20 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 4 |
| Lucas Condotta | F | 20 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 14 |
| Jon McDonald | D | 17 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 4 |
| Ben Meehan | D | 17 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 27 |
| Zach Kaiser | C/LW | 20 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 2 |
| Connor Sodergren | F | 18 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 2 |
| Anthony Baxter | D | 16 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 25 |
| Brian Chambers | RW | 18 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 |
| Jordan Schulting | D | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| Blake Wells | F | 12 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| Nolan Sawchuk | D | 15 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| Matt Allen | F | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Nik Armstrong-Kingkade | F | 18 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Dominik Procopio | D | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Josh Latta | F | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Brehdan Engum | D | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| Sam Knoblauch | RW | 15 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Marek Korenčík | D | 17 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Jackson Sterrett | F | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Matt Kinash | F | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Logan Neaton | G | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Owen Savory | G | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Austin O'Rourke | F | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Henry Welsch | G | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bench | - | - | - | - | - | 6 |
| Total | 59 | 99 | 158 | 186 |
Source:[7]
Goaltending statistics
Rankings
| Poll | Week | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 (Final) | ||||
| USCHO.com | 11 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 15 | 17 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 20 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | 19 | - | 19 | |||
| USA Today | 11 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 15 | NR | NR | 13 | 15 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | |||
USCHO did not release a poll in week 20.[8]
References
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