2023–24 UMass Lowell River Hawks men's ice hockey season

2023–24 UMass Lowell River Hawks
men's ice hockey season
Conference11th Hockey East
Home iceTsongas Center
Rankings
USCHONR
USA HockeyNR
Record
Overall8–24–4
Conference4–17–3
Home2–11–3
Road5–12–1
Neutral1–1–0
Coaches and captains
Head coachNorm Bazin
Assistant coachesAndy Boschetto
Eric Sorenson
Dylan Zink
Tom Ford
Captain(s)Ben Meehan
Jake Stella
Alternate captain(s)Brehdan Engum
Owen Cole
UMass Lowell River Hawks men's ice hockey seasons
« 2022–23 2024–25 »

The 2023–24 UMass Lowell River Hawks Men's ice hockey season was the 57th season of play for the program, the 41st competing at the Division I level and 40th in Hockey East. The River Hawks represented the University of Massachusetts Lowell in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season, played their home games at Tsongas Center and were coached by Norm Bazin in his 13th season.

Season

Entering the year, Lowell was having to replace several of its key players; The top three scorers from last year were all gone, which was not ideal for a team that already had a hard time scoring. However, more critically, the River Hawks needed to find a way to replace its starting goaltender. Henry Welsch had shared the crease in '23 and was expected to compete for the job with Massachusetts transfer Luke Pavicich. At the start, the goaltending rotation looked like it was working when Lowell won 4 of its first 6 games while allowing less than 2 goals per. The tandem continued to play well in November, however, that when the lack of offense began to cost the team. The Hawks faced a gauntlet of highly-ranked opponents and lost four consecutive games, three by just a single goal. The losses dropped the squad to the bottom of the conference but there was still plenty of time to recover.

Unfortunately, from Thanksgiving on, the offense never could get on track. Over the final 24 games, Lowell managed 3 goals in just eight of their games and 4 goals in only two. They were shutout four separate times in that span and ended the regular season with just 39 goals in Hockey East play, by far the lowest mark in the conference. To make matters worse, Pavicich struggled in the second half of the season and his numbers ballooned. While Lowell's average goals against wasn't much much worse than their contemporaries, their nearly invisible offense left the team with no margin for error. The River Hawks finished last in the conference and ended with just 8 wins on the year, by far the worse season under Bazin.

In the conference tournament, the team continued the same trend and were unable to score a single goal. Even with Welsh holding New Hampshire to 1 goal, the team suffered its third consecutive blanking and quietly ended a forgettable year.

Departures

Player Position Nationality Cause
Nik Armstrong-Kingcade Forward  United States Graduation (retired)
Carl Berglund Forward  Sweden Graduation (signed with Edmonton Oilers)
Ryan Brushett Forward  Canada Graduation (retired)
Brian Chambers Forward  United States Graduate transfer to Arizona State
Gustavs Dāvis Grigals Goaltender  Latvia Graduation (signed with Milwaukee Admirals)
Zach Kaiser Forward  Canada Graduation (signed with Trois-Rivières Lions)
Marek Korenčík Defenseman  Slovakia Graduation (signed with Iowa Heartlanders)
Jon McDonald Defenseman  United States Graduation (signed with Toledo Walleye)
Blake Wells Forward  Canada Graduate transfer to American International

Recruiting

Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Ben Brunette Defenseman  Canada 21 North Bay, ON
Adam Cardona Defenseman  Canada 19 Beaconsfield, QC
Nick Granowicz Forward  United States 25 Macomb, MI; graduate transfer from Michigan
Jonathan Horn Forward  United States 21 Southbury, CT
Sean Kilcullen Defenseman  United States 21 Kensington, MD
Jaiden Moriello Forward  United States 20 Saugus, MA
Shawn O'Donnell Forward  United States 20 Pittsburgh, PA
Luke Pavicich Goaltender  United States 21 Clarence Center, NY; transfer from Massachusetts
Alex Peterson Forward  United States 21 Lansdale, PA; graduate transfer from Holy Cross
Ģirts Silkalns Forward  Latvia 20 Talsi, LAT
Jak Vaarwerk Forward  United States 20 East Amherst, NY

Roster

As of September 21, 2023.[1]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
1 New York (state) Luke Pavicich Junior G 6' 3" (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2002-03-21 Clarence Center, New York Massachusetts (HEA) —
2 Minnesota Mitchell Becker Sophomore D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 2001-05-24 Rogers, Minnesota New Mexico (NAHL) —
4 New Jersey T. J. Schweighardt Sophomore D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2001-03-15 Wayne, New Jersey Youngstown (USHL) —
5 Ontario Owen Cole Junior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 173 lb (78 kg) 2000-01-29 Dunnville, Ontario Brooks (AJHL) —
6 Sweden Isac Jonsson Junior D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 173 lb (78 kg) 2000-10-08 Ängelholm, Sweden Tri-City (USHL) —
7 Ontario Mark Cooper Sophomore D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2001-03-01 Cambridge, Ontario Hawkesbury (CCHL) —
8 Massachusetts Jaiden Moriello Freshman F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2003-05-04 Saugus, Massachusetts West Kelowna (BCHL) —
9 New York (state) Jack Collins Sophomore F 6' 4" (1.93 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 2001-11-13 Canton, New York Lone Star (NAHL) —
10 Minnesota Brehdan Engum Senior D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 2000-08-10 Burnsville, Minnesota Waterloo (USHL) —
11 Pennsylvania Alex Peterson Graduate F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 172 lb (78 kg) 1998-03-27 Lansdale, Pennsylvania Holy Cross (AHA) —
12 Alberta Roc Truman Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2001-04-25 Lethbridge, Alberta Camrose (AJHL) —
13 Sweden Filip Fornåå Svensson Graduate F 6' 4" (1.93 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1999-01-05 Linköping, Sweden Alaska (NCAA) —
14 Massachusetts Ben Meehan Senior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2001-04-20 Walpole, Massachusetts Cedar Rapids (USHL) LAK, 140th overall 2020
16 Massachusetts Owen Fowler Sophomore F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 182 lb (83 kg) 2002-06-04 Tewksbury, Massachusetts Sioux City (USHL) —
17 Connecticut Jonathan Horn Freshman F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2002-02-16 Southbury, Connecticut Vernon (BCHL) —
18 Maryland Sean Kilcullen Freshman D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2002-08-03 Kensington, Maryland Maryland (NAHL) —
19 Illinois Dillan Bentley Sophomore F 6' 4" (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2001-03-31 Peoria, Illinois New Mexico (NAHL) —
21 Latvia Ģirts Silkalns Freshman F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 2003-06-30 Talsi, Latvia Fargo (USHL) —
22 Quebec Adam Cardona Freshman D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 188 lb (85 kg) 2003-10-05 Beaconsfield, Quebec Omaha (USHL) —
23 Pennsylvania Shawn O'Donnell Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 181 lb (82 kg) 2003-06-21 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Dubuque (USHL) —
24 Alberta Scout Truman Sophomore F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2002-10-15 Lethbridge, Alberta Des Moines (USHL) —
25 New York (state) Matt Crasa Junior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2001-03-04 South Setauket, New York Fargo (USHL) —
26 Quebec Nick Rhéaume Sophomore F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 2002-05-02 Trois-Rivières, Quebec Prince George (BCHL) —
27 Virginia Stefan Owens Junior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 169 lb (77 kg) 2000-04-24 Midlothian, Virginia Maine (NAHL) —
28 Sweden Jake Stella Senior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 1998-11-14 Karlstad, Sweden American International (AHA) —
29 New York (state) Jak Vaarwerk Freshman F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 181 lb (82 kg) 2003-06-13 East Amherst, New York Des Moines (USHL) —
33 Minnesota Henry Welsch Senior G 6' 2" (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2000-11-17 Lakeville, Minnesota Aberdeen (NAHL) —
39 Sweden Edvard Nordlund Junior G 6' 2" (1.88 m) 176 lb (80 kg) 2001-07-12 Nacka, Sweden Danbury (NAHL) —
52 Ontario Ben Brunette Freshman D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 192 lb (87 kg) 2002-08-01 North Bay, Ontario Penticton (BCHL) —
71 Michigan Nick Granowicz Graduate F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 174 lb (79 kg) 1998-03-28 Macomb, Michigan Michigan (Big Ten) —
77 New York (state) Gabe Blanchard Junior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2000-09-15 East Aurora, New York Sioux City (USHL) —

Standings

2023–24 Hockey East Standings
Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OTW OTL SW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
#2 Boston College †* 24 20 3 1 1 0 1 61 105 56 41 34 6 1 183 89
#3 Boston University 24 18 4 2 1 1 1 57 104 53 40 28 10 2 163 97
#10 Maine 24 14 9 1 0 1 0 44 76 67 37 23 12 2 119 94
#16 Providence 24 11 9 4 3 1 2 37 66 58 35 18 13 4 100 83
#13 Massachusetts 24 12 10 2 4 2 0 36 57 62 37 20 14 3 108 105
#20 New Hampshire 24 12 11 1 1 0 0 36 69 56 36 20 15 1 106 90
Northeastern 24 9 14 1 1 3 0 30 65 71 36 17 16 3 113 97
Connecticut 24 9 14 1 1 1 1 29 49 77 36 15 19 2 90 105
Vermont 24 7 14 3 1 0 3 26 52 81 35 13 19 3 87 106
Merrimack 24 6 17 1 0 1 1 21 62 85 35 13 21 1 98 114
Massachusetts Lowell 24 4 17 3 1 4 0 18 39 78 36 8 24 4 72 113
Championship: March 23, 2024
† indicates regular season champion
* indicates conference tournament champion (Lamoriello Trophy)
Rankings: USCHO Division I Men's Poll

Schedule and results

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Regular Season
October 7 8:07 PM at Alaska Anchorage* Avis Alaska Sports Complex • Anchorage, Alaska   Welsch L 2–3 OT 750 0–1–0
October 8 8:07 PM at Alaska Anchorage* Avis Alaska Sports Complex • Anchorage, Alaska   Pavicich W 2–1  650 1–1–0
October 20 7:00 pm at Colgate* Class of 1965 Arena • Hamilton, New York ESPN+ Pavicich W 4–2  847 2–1–0
October 21 7:00 pm at Colgate* Class of 1965 Arena • Hamilton, New York ESPN+ Welsch W 5–2  926 3–1–0
October 27 7:15 pm Connecticut Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+ Pavicich L 1–2 OT 6,560 3–2–0 (0–1–0)
October 28 4:00 pm at Connecticut XL Center • Hartford, Connecticut ESPN+ Welsch W 1–0  2,902 4–2–0 (1–1–0)
November 3 7:00 pm at #1 Boston College Conte Forum • Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts ESPN+ Welsch L 2–3  6,608 4–3–0 (1–2–0)
November 4 6:05 pm #1 Boston College Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+ Pavicich L 2–3  6,163 4–4–0 (1–3–0)
November 10 7:15 pm #9 Boston University Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+ Welsch L 2–3  5,748 4–5–0 (1–4–0)
November 11 7:00 pm at #9 Boston University Agganis Arena • Boston, Massachusetts ESPN+ Pavicich L 1–6  4,819 4–6–0 (1–5–0)
November 15 7:00 pm at Merrimack J. Thom Lawler Rink • North Andover, Massachusetts ESPN+, NESN Welsch T 1–1 SOL 2,576 4–6–1 (1–5–1)
November 18 6:05 pm Merrimack Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+ Welsch W 3–2 OT 4,867 5–6–1 (2–5–1)
Turkey Leg Classic
November 24 4:00 pm Bentley* Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts (Turkey Leg Game 1) ESPN+ Welsch L 1–4  3,568 5–7–1
November 25 4:00 pm Army* Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts (Turkey Leg Game 2) ESPN+ Pavicich L 2–4  3,741 5–8–1
December 1 7:00 pm at Connecticut Toscano Family Ice Forum • Storrs, Connecticut ESPN+, NESN Welsch L 0–2  2,630 5–9–1 (2–6–1)
December 3 4:00 pm at Vermont Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont ESPN+ Welsch W 2–1  2,461 6–9–1 (3–6–1)
December 8 7:15 pm Holy Cross* Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+ Pavicich T 2–2 OT 4,783 6–9–2
December 9 7:00 pm at Holy Cross* Hart Center • Worcester, Massachusetts FloHockey Welsch L 2–4  1,008 6–10–2
December 30 4:00 pm American International* Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+ Welsch L 3–4  4,468 6–11–2
Desert Hockey Classic
January 5 3:30 pm vs. Omaha* Mullett Arena • Tempe, Arizona (Desert Hockey Semifinal)   Pavicich L 3–4 OT 4,764 6–12–2
January 6 5:30 pm vs. Harvard* Mullett Arena • Tempe, Arizona (Desert Hockey Consolation Game)   Pavicich W 7–4  4,903 7–12–2
January 19 7:00 pm at #8 Maine Alfond Arena • Orono, Maine ESPN+ Pavicich L 3–5  5,043 7–13–2 (3–7–1)
January 20 7:00 pm at #8 Maine Alfond Arena • Orono, Maine ESPN+ Pavicich L 2–7  5,043 7–14–2 (3–8–1)
January 26 7:15 pm #10 Providence Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+ Pavicich L 2–7  5,929 7–15–2 (3–9–1)
January 27 6:00 pm at #10 Providence Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island ESPN+ Pavicich L 3–4 OT 2,270 7–16–2 (3–10–1)
February 2 7:15 pm #1 Boston College Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+ Welsch L 1–6  6,421 7–17–2 (3–11–1)
February 9 7:15 pm Vermont Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+ Welsch T 1–1 SOL 5,579 7–17–3 (3–11–2)
February 10 7:15 pm Vermont Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+ Welsch T 3–3 SOL 4,002 7–17–4 (3–11–3)
February 16 7:15 pm Northeastern Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+ Welsch W 4–2  5,426 8–17–4 (4–11–3)
February 17 7:00 pm at Northeastern Matthews Arena • Boston, Massachusetts ESPN+ Welsch L 0–4  3,002 8–18–4 (4–12–3)
February 24 6:05 pm #12 Providence Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+ Welsch L 1–2  5,342 8–19–4 (4–13–3)
March 1 7:15 pm #14 Massachusetts Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+ Welsch L 1–2 OT 5,268 8–20–4 (4–14–3)
March 2 6:00 pm at #14 Massachusetts Mullins Center • Amherst, Massachusetts ESPN+ Pavicich L 3–4 OT 6,289 8–21–4 (4–15–3)
March 8 7:15 pm #18 New Hampshire Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+, NESN Welsch L 0–4  4,986 8–22–4 (4–16–3)
March 9 7:00 pm at #18 New Hampshire Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire ESPN+, NESN Pavicich L 0–4  5,885 8–23–4 (4–17–3)
Hockey East Tournament
March 13 7:00 pm at #17 New Hampshire* Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire (Opening Round) ESPN+ Welsch L 0–1  4,032 8–24–4
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.
Source:[2]

Scoring statistics

Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Scout Truman LW 35 7 14 21 18
Owen Cole C 36 10 7 17 8
Jak Vaarwerk C 36 5 10 15 28
Nick Rhéaume C/LW 34 9 4 13 32
Matthew Crasa C/RW 34 8 5 13 16
Dillan Bentley F 32 4 8 12 12
Isac Jonsson D 36 3 9 12 2
Ben Meehan D 25 1 11 12 31
Filip Fornåå Svensson C/RW 35 5 4 9 6
Jake Stella LW 29 3 6 9 12
Nick Granowicz F 25 4 4 8 10
Mitchell Becker D 30 3 3 6 12
Jaiden Moriello RW 16 0 5 5 6
Jack Collins F 20 3 2 5 4
Mark Cooper D 23 1 3 4 6
Alex Peterson F 30 1 3 4 16
T. J. Schweighardt D 33 1 3 4 8
Brehdan Engum D 34 0 4 4 39
Stefan Owens F 34 1 1 2 2
Ģirts Silkalns F 18 0 2 2 6
Sean Kilcullen D 27 0 2 2 25
Roc Truman F 2 1 0 1 0
Ben Brunette D 13 1 0 1 4
Adam Cardona D 15 1 0 1 8
Jonathan Horn F 5 0 1 1 6
Shawn O'Donnell F 10 0 1 1 6
Gabriel Blanchard D 12 0 1 1 19
Luke Pavicich G 17 0 1 1 0
Edvard Nordlund G 2 0 0 0 0
Henry Welsch G 22 0 0 0 0
Total 72 114 186 352

[3]

Goaltending statistics

Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Henry Welsch 25 1250:43 5 13 4 51 499 1 .907 2.45
Luke Pavicich 17 914:58 3 11 0 55 423 0 .885 3.61
Edvard Nordlund 5 14:03 0 0 0 3 7 0 .700 12.81
Empty Net - 24:28 - - - 4 - - - -
Total 36 2204:12 8 24 4 113 929 1 .892 3.08

Rankings

Main article: 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey 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 22 23 24 25 26 (Final)
USCHO.com NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR – NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR – NR
USA Hockey NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR – NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 11 and 25.[4]
Note: USA Hockey did not release a poll in week 12.

References

  1. ^ "2022–23 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". UMass Lowell River Hawks. Retrieved August 17, 2017.
  2. ^ "2023-24 Men's Ice Hockey Schedule". UMass Lowell River Hawks. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  3. ^ "UMass-Lowell 2023-2024 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  4. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.