Boston University defenseman Charlie McAvoy skates past a UMass Lowell defender in last year’s Hockey East Quarterfinals. (Matt Dwyer/Connector)
Alexander J. Salucco
Connector Editor
The seventh-ranked UMass Lowell men’s ice hockey team look to put a winless weekend behind them as they battle two Beanpot teams, Northeastern and Boston University.
In a home-and-home series against Providence last weekend, UMass Lowell suffered two one-goal losses to drop their overall record to 15-7-3 and conference record to 7-5-1. The River Hawks blew two-goal leads in each contest.
Before the series with Providence, UMass Lowell had put together seven straight wins while allowing more than two goals only twice over that span. During the series they let past a total of seven goals.
The team that was on the ice last weekend is not the team that UMass Lowell fans and alumni are used to seeing.
That UMass Lowell team currently sits at 10th in both RPI and Pairwise ranks in the top 15 in every major statistical category: goals per game (t-9th), goals allowed per game (14th), power play (4th) and penalty kill (12th).
A big proponent to the team’s prolonged success is senior defenseman Dylan Zink. With 22 total points (8 g, 14 a), Zink ranks second in defensemen scoring in Hockey East. His 14 total points in conference games are tied for the team lead with senior forward Joe Gambardella. They are followed by junior forward John Edwardh, who is quietly having a stellar year.
Edwardh ranks fourth in overall points for the team with 21 (11 g, 10 a) with four goals in his last six games. His plus-minus of plus 12 is the best on the team and he has netted three game-winning goals this season – also good enough for the team’s top spot.
After earning the Hockey East Tournament banner last year, the Northeastern Huskies were expecting a season that built off of last year’s. With three of the top-eight scorers in the country, one wouldn’t expect their record to be 9-10-5 with a Hockey East record of 3-8-3 – but three players cannot do everything.
The Huskies’ top line of Zach Aston-Reese, Dylan Sikura and Adam Gaudette have combined for 113 points this season while the rest of the roster has combined for 112. This formula has not proven effective as they sit in ninth place in Hockey East.
Defense has been the Huskies’ weakness this season, allowing the 37th most goals per game in the country. Their offensive and special team numbers rank in the top 10 however: goals per game (7th), power play (5th) and penalty kill (7th).
This will be the first time the teams have met since last year’s Hockey East finals, a game that ended in a 3-2 victory for the Huskies.
After playing Northeastern on Friday night, the River Hawks will travel to Agganis Arena for a Saturday night showdown with the first-ranked Boston University Terriers.
The Terriers come in with a 16-6-2 overall record and a 9-3-2 conference record. They fell to Merrimack 3-1 their last time out.
Two forwards lead the Terriers in scoring with 24 points apiece – Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson (10 g, 14 a) and Patrick Harper (8 g, 14 a). Sophomore forward Jordan Greenway leads the team in game winning goals with three.
Between the pipes for the Terriers is Jake Oettinger who has posted a 13-5-2 record and carries a 1.70 goals against average and a saver percentage of .938. He also has two shutouts to his name this season.
The team defense of Boston University has been impressive this season. They are tied for third in average goals against (2.00) and have the fifth best penalty kill (87.7%) in the nation. The offense, although stout, is not how the Terriers win games. They rank eighteenth in goals per game (3.17) and have the seventeenth ranked power play (20.18%).
The last time these two teams took the ice was in the Hockey East Tournament Quarterfinals. UMass Lowell took both games at home by scores of 3-2 and 5-0.
Friday night’s contest against Northeastern will air on NESN and take place in Lowell, Mass. at the Tsongas Center with puck drop scheduled for 6 p.m.
The River Hawks’ duel at Boston University will start at 7 p.m. on Saturday night.
