The 2017 Hockey Issue - River Hawk season preview - Player features - Women’s club hockey feature - Home opener recap
THE UMASS LOWELL
Serving the Student Body Since 1976
October 10, 2017
Big skates to fill: 2017-18 season preview
In This Issue
Hannah Manning
Hockey practice location debacle
Connector Editor
â–ş Page 3
Hockey movie reviews
► Page 4 Women’s club hockey feature ► Page 6
Final River Hawk Scores Team
Score
Overall Record
Field Hockey vs. New Hampshire
L 2-1
6-7
Volleyball vs. Stony Brook
L 0-3
5-12
M. Soccer vs. Stony Brook
W 1-0 5-4-1
Women’s Soccer vs. Vermont
T 2-2 (2OT)
3-5-4
Best UMass Lowell jerseys Andrew Sciscia Connector Editor
Having been ranked top 12 in average attendance for over five consecutive seasons, the UMass Lowell men’s ice hockey team has drawn more than their fair share of audiences. Throughout the seasons, the Tsongas Center has seen more than a handful of standing room only, maximum-capacity games. With every massive crowd, a touted student fan section arrives at every game. At times they arrive an hour or more in advance, always sporting their River Hawk hockey apparel. One cannot discuss hockey apparel without focusing in on jerseys. Ice hockey has been known since its beginnings in the U.S. and Canada for its colorful, spectacularly designed jerseys. The UMass Lowell jerseys are no different. Having changed numerous times over the years, the various River Hawk jerseys are always sharp, unique and well-received by the student body. In fact, they are some of the River Hawk Shop’s best-sellers year in and year out. The four jerseys on sale for the 2017-18 season are no exception. In Friday’s home openâ–ş See “Jerseys,â€? page 6
Sections News.............................3 Campus Life.................. 6 A&E.............................. 4 Sports........................... 8
The UMass Lowell men’s hockey team started its season with three banners being sent to the rafters honoring last year’s accomplishments, yet it is largely uncertain how this season will end. After losing key players such as C.J. Smith, Dylan Zink and Joe Gambardella to graduation or professional hockey, the River Hawks find themselves at a difficult position: with the standard set so high after winning the Hockey East championship and making it to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Regional Finals last year, can the scrappy underclassmen and refined seniors steer Lowell to more gold? The expectations are high. UMass Lowell was
ranked fifth overall in the country in the United States College Hockey Online (USCHO) preseason poll and ninth by USA Hockey Magazine’s college hockey poll. C o n f e r e n c e - w i s e,
UMass Lowell was picked to finish second in the coaches’ poll behind adversary Boston University. Despite acquiring five first-place votes compared to Boston University’s two, the Terriers edged the River Hawks by two points to take the
preseason crown. Head coach Norm Bazin, true to form, was nonplussed by this. “I honestly forgot about the preseason stuff,� said Bazin. “I don’t put too
much thought into it. You know I think those are driven by media trying to create excitement for the winter.� The media did not need to try too hard to drum up excitement; after both winning and losing big, eyes are on UMass Lowell to deliver
after a most impressive season. Helped by the at-times heroic performance of freshman goaltender Tyler Wall, the River Hawks skated to a 27-11-3 overall record. And as last year’s freshmen largely impressed, Bazin likewise thinks that this year’s crop of new players bring an elevated skill level to UMass Lowell hockey and a much-needed asset: size. Though he acknowledges that some of them may need more time to adjust to the college game, Bazin says that is not necessarily a bad thing. “You just have to let things emerge and let them get experience and see where chips fall,â€? he said. There is no better time to get them some experience than the beginning â–ş See “Preview,â€? page 7
Home opener loss leaves River Hawks devastated Andrew Sciscia Connector Editor
Despite scoring to come back from a one goal deficit twice in the third period, the fifth-ranked UMass Lowell men’s ice hockey team was bested in the closing 14 seconds by the University of New Hampshire (UNH) Wildcats in their first regular season game of the 2017-18 season. “I didn’t see a whole lot of urgency. I think it’s more in the rust. I think a lot of guys forgot how to work‌ You can call it ‘championship hangover.’ You can call it whatever you want. I call it forgetting how to work,â€? said UMass Lowell head coach Norm Bazin. The final goal came at the hands of Wildcat senior forward Shane
Eiserman, assisted by defenseman Max Gildon, exactly one minute after UMass Lowell’s senior forward Jake Kamrass knotted the
Edwardh racing for the puck against UNH.
game at 3-3 on the power play with the goaltender pulled. “It was great to get the two
points, and we’re rolling now,â€? said Eiserman, “It just kind of landed at my feet. [It] was a great bounce. It was crazy, but [we’re] back at it again tomorrow.â€? Friday’s season opener was not only the start of a home-and-home weekend between the two teams, but also their first meeting since March, when the River Hawks bested the Wildcats 8-2 in the quarterfinal round of the Hockey East Tournament. Before puck drop, with 5,426 spectators filling the seats at the Tsongas Center, the River Hawk fan section celebrated the unveiling of their 2017 Hockey East Regular and Postseason Championship banners as well as their 2017 National Collegiate Athletic Associaâ–ş See “Home opener,â€? page 7