UMass Lowell Connector Logo

River Hawk hockey moves up USCHO rankings, doesn’t crack top five

Marlon Pitter

Connector Editor

The River Hawks had an impressive weekend on the ice but fell just outside of the top five in this week’s U.S. College Hockey Online (USCHO) Division I poll.

UMass Lowell placed sixth this week, up from eighth last week and are the third-highest ranked Hockey East team, behind Boston College (3) and Boston University (5).

The River Hawks started the season ranked 17th but escalated to the ninth slot after defeating then-fourth-ranked Boston College, 5-2, at the Tsongas Center on Oct. 10. The team has slowly climbed the poll thereafter, gaining ground on the top spot each week, except for the Oct. 27 poll, in which the River Hawks fell from seventh to eighth.

UMass Lowell defeated the University of New Hampshire over the weekend, 8-2 at Tsongas Center Saturday night and 2-0 at Whittemore Center in Durham, N.H.

Sophomore Chris Maniccia totaled five points over the weekend (3g, 2a), including a hat trick Friday night. Goaltenders Kevin Boyle and Jeff Smith combined for 60 saves and two goals allowed.

UMass Lowell’s next contests will be a home-and-home series against unranked Northeastern University, first at the Tsongas Center Friday night and then at Matthews Arena Saturday night.

Marlon Pitter is a former editor-in-chief of the UMass Lowell Connector. Hailing from Hartford, Conn., he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English with a concentration in journalism and professional writing and a digital media minor in 2017. Follow him on Twitter @marlonpresents.