River Hawks return to Hockey East play, Host Maine, Travel to Vermont

The 16th-ranked UMass Lowell River Hawks return to Hockey East play after hosting Minnesota Duluth for two games at the Tsongas Arena last weekend. UML hosts Maine Friday night and travels to Vermont Sunday afternoon.

The River Hawks are coming off back-to-back losses to Duluth, but have garnered points in six of their last nine Hockey East games. At 6-6-4 (16) UML is tied for fourth in the Hockey East standings. The River Hawks are 11-8-4 overall through 23 games this season.

For UML and Maine it’s the first of three Hockey East games, but not the first meeting of the 2007-08 season. The two squads met in the championship game of the 2007 Florida College Classic – a 6-0 River Hawks win – on December 29, 2007. The win ended Lowell’s 14-game losing skid to the Black Bears.

Friday’s meeting is the 92nd all-time meeting between the two schools. The Black Bears hold a 65-23-3 lead in the series, including a 26-9-2 mark at UML home sites. The Black Bears are 11-1-0 all-time at the Tsongas Arena. UML’s last home win in the series was a 3-2 victory on February 27, 2004.

The River Hawks haven’t won two straight against Maine since winning 4-2 on February 11, 1989 and 2-1 on January 12, 1990.

The all-time series between the UML and Vermont is deadlocked at 8-8-1. The River Hawks hold a slight edge in the series as conference foes with a 3-2-1 mark. Vermont is 4-3-1 in seven meetings at home against UML, but the River Hawks went unbeaten at the Gutterson Fieldhouse last season with a 2-1 victory (3/2) and a 3-3 tie (3/3). The Catamounts last home win in the series was a 5-2 victory on December 3, 2005.

Friday’s game against Maine also marks the end of UML’s six-game home stand. The River Hawks, 2-3-0 on the home stand, has 11 games left in their season – six at home, five on the road.

Statistically speaking a year makes a huge difference
When comparing last season to this season, through 23 games, the difference in the numbers is staggering. The River Hawks have scored 19 more goals and allowed 19 fewer. Their penalty kill has improved 13.5-percent; the power play is up 3.1-percent.

UML has scored 67 goals and allowed 53 in 2007-08, compared to 48 scored and 72 allowed through 23 games in 2006-07. UML’s 67 goals scored this season are just seven away from its 36-game total (74) from a year ago.

The River Hawks are averaging 2.90 goals per game and is on pace to record 99 during their 34-game regular season.

The River Hawks penalty kill is working at 88.8-percent this season (79-of-89), up from 75-percent through 23 games a season ago. UML has allowed one more power play attempt, but surrendered 13 fewer goals.

On the power play, the River Hawks have scored one more goal – 14 to 13 – in 19 fewer attempts. They are at 13.9-percent this season compared to 10.8-percent at the 23-game mark last season.

Comparing 2006-07 to 2007-08: Through 23 games
Category	2006-07	2007-08	Difference
Total Goals	48	67	Scored 19 more goals in 2007-08
Average	2.09	2.91	Scoring 0.83 more goals per game
Goals Against	72	53	Allowed 19 fewer goals in 2007-08
Average	3.13	2.30	Allowing 0.83 fewer goals per game
Shots on Goal	713	643	70 fewer shots on goal
Average	31.00	27.96	3.04 fewer shots per game
Shots Against	597	660	63 more shots allowed
Average	25.96	28.70	2.74 more shots allowed per game
Power Play: Goals-Attempts	13-120	14-101	One more power play goal scored; 19 fewer attempts
Power Play Pct	10.8%	13.9%	Power Play percentage increased 3.1%
Penalty Kill: PK-Attempts	66-88	79-89	13 fewer power play goals allowed; one more attempt
Penalty Kill Pct	75.0%	88.8%	Penalty Kill percentage increased 13.5%

 
Not surprisingly the better numbers have resulted in better results in the standings. The River Hawks are 11-8-4 overall, and in fourth place in the Hockey East standings at 6-6-4 (16 points). The 11 wins are already three more than last year’s squad had all season (8 in 36 games).

Through 23 games a season ago, the River Hawks were 3-15-5 overall, 2-10-2 in league play, and in the midst of their school-record 20-game winless streak (0-13-2).

Miscellaneous Notes:
The River Hawks were swept in a weekend series (single opponent) for the first time this year and have lost two straight for just the second time this season (18 games); UML lost to Merrimack (Nov. 1) and at Boston University (Nov. 3) … Friday’s loss to UMD was just the second 1-0 loss in Lowell’s history; the only other 1-0 loss was to Alaska Anchorage on October 18, 2003 in the Nye Frontier Classic … Friday’s setback was also just the second loss for the River Hawks over the last 20 games (15-2-3) when allowing two goals or less … Despite dropping his fourth straight start Friday, Carter Hutton (Thunder Bay, Ont.) lowered his league-leading GAA and save-percentage to 1.86 and .931 respectively … UML has lost two straight at home – three of four – but at 8-4-1 is tied for the second best home record (at Tsongas Arena) through 13 home games.