2020–21 UMass Lowell River Hawks men's ice hockey season

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2020–21 UMass Lowell River Hawks
men's ice hockey season
UMass Lowell Athletics wordmark.png
Conference7th Hockey East
Home iceTsongas Center
Rankings
USCHO.com19
USA Today/
US Hockey Magazine
NR
Record
Overall10–9–1
Conference7–8–1–1–1–0
Home4–5–1
Road6–4–0
Neutral0–0–0
Coaches and Captains
Head CoachNorm Bazin
Assistant Coaches

Captain(s)Charles Levesque
Connor Sodergren
Alternate captain(s)Lucas Condotta
UMass Lowell River Hawks men's ice hockey seasons
« 2019–20 2021–22 »

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 and were coached by Norm Bazin, in his 10th season.

Season[]

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 Massachusetts–Lowell'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]

UMass-Lowell was heavily impacted by COVID-19 early in the season. After a delayed start, the team played just 4 games in the first two months of the campaign. Entering their game with UMass on the 29th of January, Lowell had played just 4 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 4-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 Lowell 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. The Eagles built a 3-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. UMass Lowell 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[]

As of February 12, 2021.[3]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
1 Michigan 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 Michigan Dominick Procopio Junior D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1997-06-11 Grosse Pointe, Michigan Shreveport (NAHL)
4 Michigan Sam Knoblauch Junior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1998-02-15 Rochester, Michigan Carleton Place (CCHL)
5 Wisconsin Chase Blackmun Junior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1999-04-02 Hudson, Wisconsin Cedar Rapids (USHL)
7 British Columbia Jordan Schulting Sophomore D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1999-08-06 Penticton, British Columbia Coquitlam (BCHL)
8 Virginia Nik Armstrong-Kingkade Freshman F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1999-05-01 Alexandria, Virginia Minot (NAHL)
9 Manitoba Reid Stefanson Junior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1997-02-20 Winnipeg, Manitoba Sioux Falls (USHL)
10 New Jersey Matt Brown Sophomore F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1999-08-09 Wood-Ridge, New Jersey Des Moines (USHL)
11 Michigan Jon McDonald Junior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1998-06-15 Livonia, Michigan Fargo (USHL)
12 Ontario Charlie Levesque (C) Senior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1998-05-29 Russell, Ontario Hawkesbury (CCHL)
13 Georgia (U.S. state) Austin O'Rourke Junior F 6' 4" (1.93 m) 211 lb (96 kg) 1997-08-17 Canton, Georgia Amarillo (NAHL)
14 Massachusetts 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 Tennessee Jackson Sterrett Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 183 lb (83 kg) 1999-06-24 Hendersonville, Tennessee Maryland (NAHL)
16 British Columbia Josh Latta Sophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1998-08-14 West Vancouver, British Columbia Alabama Huntsville (WCHA)
17 Slovakia Marek Korenčík Sophomore D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1999-07-19 Žilina, Slovakia Luleå J20 (J20 SuperElit)
18 Sweden Carl Berglund Sophomore F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2000-01-16 Hammarö, Sweden Sioux Falls (USHL)
19 Ontario Anthony Baxter Senior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1997-11-26 Oakville, Ontario Burlington (OJHL)
20 Oklahoma Matt Allen Freshman F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 168 lb (76 kg) 2000-05-13 Minco, Oklahoma Amarillo (NAHL)
21 Massachusetts Brian Chambers Sophomore F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1998-07-24 Weymouth, Massachusetts Sioux Falls (USHL)
22 Alberta Blake Wells Sophomore F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1999-08-02 Blackie, Alberta Okotoks (AJHL)
23 Ontario Zach Kaiser Sophomore F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1998-09-06 Orangeville, Ontario Sherwood Park (AJHL)
24 Ontario Lucas Condotta (A) Junior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 209 lb (95 kg) 1997-11-06 Georgetown, Ontario Markham (OJHL)
25 Minnesota Nolan Sawchuk Junior D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1997-09-25 Burnsville, Minnesota Minot (NAHL)
26 Sweden 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 British Columbia 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 Massachusetts Connor Sodergren (C) Senior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1996-09-11 Tewksbury, Massachusetts West Kelowna (BCHL)
29 Alberta Matt Kinash Freshman F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1999-12-15 Edmonton, Alberta Drayton Valley (AJHL)
30 Massachusetts Benjamin McEvoy Senior G 6' 5" (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1998-10-13 Dunstable, Massachusetts Groton-Dunstable (USHS–MA)
31 Ontario Owen Savory Junior G 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1997-10-11 Cambridge, Ontario RPI (ECAC)
33 Minnesota Henry Welsch Freshman G 6' 2" (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2000-11-17 Lakeville, Minnesota Aberdeen (NAHL)
37 Minnesota 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[]

[6]

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Regular Season
December 13 5:00 PM vs. #19 Providence #8 Tsongas CenterLowell, Massachusetts NESN+ Neaton L 2–4  0 0–1–0 (0–1–0)
December 21 5:00 PM at Connecticut #17 XL CenterHartford, Connecticut   Welsch W 2–1  0 1–1–0 (1–1–0)
January 3 6:00 PM vs. Maine #17 Tsongas CenterLowell, Massachusetts   Welsch W 5–3  0 2–1–0 (2–1–0)
January 4 3:00 PM vs. Maine #15 Tsongas CenterLowell, Massachusetts   Savory W 9–5  0 3–1–0 (3–1–0)
January 29 8:00 PM at #10 Massachusetts #16 Mullins CenterAmherst, Massachusetts   Savory L 0–5  0 3–2–0 (3–2–0)
January 30 7:00 PM vs. #10 Massachusetts #16 Tsongas CenterLowell, Massachusetts   Welsch L 1–2  0 3–3–0 (3–3–0)
February 5 6:00 PM vs. New Hampshire #20 Tsongas CenterLowell, Massachusetts   Welsch L 1–2  0 3–4–0 (3–4–0)
February 6 5:00 PM at New Hampshire #20 Whittemore CenterDurham, New Hampshire   Savory L 6–7 OT 0 3–5–0 (3–5–0)
February 9 5:00 PM vs. #20 Connecticut Tsongas CenterLowell, Massachusetts NESN Welsch W 3–2 OT 0 4–5–0 (4–5–0)
February 12 7:00 PM at #1 Boston College Conte ForumChestnut Hill, Massachusetts NESN+ Welsch L 1–7  0 4–6–0 (4–6–0)
February 13 6:00 PM vs. #1 Boston College Tsongas CenterLowell, Massachusetts   Savory L 3–4  0 4–7–0 (4–7–0)
February 19 7:05 PM at #16 Northeastern Matthews ArenaBoston, Massachusetts NESN Welsch W 4–1  0 5–7–0 (5–7–0)
February 20 6:00 PM vs. #16 Northeastern Tsongas CenterLowell, Massachusetts   Welsch L 0–4  0 5–8–0 (5–8–0)
February 26 7:00 PM at Vermont Gutterson FieldhouseBurlington, Vermont   Savory W 3–1  0 6–8–0 (6–8–0)
February 27 7:00 PM at Vermont Gutterson FieldhouseBurlington, Vermont   Savory W 3–2  0 7–8–0 (7–8–0)
March 6 3:00 PM vs. #10 Boston University Tsongas CenterLowell, Massachusetts   Savory T 3–3 SOL 0 7–8–1 (7–8–1)
Hockey East Tournament
March 10 7:00 PM vs. Vermont* Tsongas CenterLowell, Massachusetts (Hockey East Opening Round) NESN Savory W 5–3  0 8–8–1
March 14 1:05 PM at #9 Boston University* Agganis ArenaBoston, Massachusetts (Hockey East Quarterfinals) NESN+ Welsch W 2–1  0 9–8–1
March 17 4:30 PM at #1 Boston College* Conte ForumChestnut Hill, Massachusetts (Hockey East Semifinals) NESN Welsch W 6–5 2OT 0 10–8–1
March 20 7:03 PM at #6 Massachusetts* Mullins CenterAmherst, 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

[7]

Goaltending statistics[]

Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Henry Welsch 12 686 6 5 0 29 258 0 .899 2.54
Owen Savory 8 447 4 3 1 25 137 0 .846 3.35
Logan Neaton 3 99 0 1 0 8 47 0 .855 4.85
Empty Net - 8 - - - 1 - - - -
Total 20 1241 10 9 1 63 442 0 .875 3.05

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[]

  1. ^ "NCAA approves blanket waiver for 2020 fall sports athletes to retain year of eligibility". CBS Sports. August 21, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  2. ^ "DI Council grants waiver to allow transfer student-athletes to compete immediately". NCAA. December 16, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  3. ^ "2019–20 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". UMass Lowell River Hawks. Retrieved August 17, 2017.
  4. ^ "Hockey East Unveils 2021 Tournament and Seeding Format - Hockey East Association". hockeyeastonline.com. Retrieved 2021-02-10.
  5. ^ "2021 Hockey East Women's Tournament Field Set". hockeyeastonline.com. Retrieved 2021-03-13.
  6. ^ "UMass Lowell River Hawks (Men) 2020-2021 Schedule and Results". College Hockey Stats. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  7. ^ "UMass-Lowell 2020-2021 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  8. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
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