60 Days. 60 Teams. 600 Words (or Less): UMass Lowell

UMass Lowell

2018-19 Record: 19-13-5 (12-7-5, 4th in Hockey East)
Head Coach: Norm Bazin, 9th Year
Top returning scorer: Kenny Hausinger (13G-9A)
Top returning goaltender: Tyler Wall (Sr.)

In Dickensian fashion, 2019 was a tale of two halves for UMass Lowell. It was the best of times followed by the worst of times.

The River Hawks began the calendar year with a 2-1 win over rival Massachusetts en route to a 9-0-1 hot streak. Tyler Wall and Christoffer Hernberg were en fuego, giving up one goal or less in seven games and shutting out teams four times during the stretch. One of the shutouts was Massachusetts to bookend the high point of UMass Lowell's year.

Over the final 10 games, the River Hawks ended up going 2-5-3, losing to Boston University in the Hockey East quarterfinals and sliding out of a potential NCAA Tournament berth. To make matters worse, leading scorer Ryan Lohin signed a pro contract after his junior season with Tampa Bay and Mattias Goransson went home to his native Sweden, all while UMass Lowell had to watch Massachusetts' run to the national championship game.

What's New: The River Hawks, along with Merrimack, start what hopes to be a new Thanksgiving tradition with a combined tournament. Each of the Hockey East teams faces RPI and Penn State at home.

Also on the non-conference schedule is Alabama Huntsville, Minnesota Duluth, Colgate, and RIT. All in all,18 games are at the Tsongas Center.

Bazin this season has a nine-person freshman class to replace six seniors, Lohin and Goransson. Among the group are six forwards, two defenders and goalie Logan Neaton who combined hail from four different countries (United States, Canada, Sweden and Slovakia). It's a large group both in numbers and size. All except one incoming freshman is six feet or taller.

Closing Thoughts: Despite the ending, UMass Lowell continues to be a good story. The River Hawks, in what was supposed to be a down season due to roster turnover, went from 30th in the Pairwise at the holiday break to 10th at one point. Bazin had both an NCAA-high 12 freshmen and the hottest team. For those players, getting an experience like that under their belts can be seen as beneficial in the long run.

Sure, it's important to not dance around the fact the team ended up short of an NCAA Tournament goal for a second consecutive season. However, if contending and fading down the stretch ends up being considered a season of Darkness, that is not a horrible spot to be as a program. Picked to finish eighth in Hockey East, UMass Lowell ended up fourth on the backs of goaltending and depth scoring.

Six River Hawks players had at least 20 points last season. Three return as does Wall in goal. Losing Goransson is a blow to a still-young blue line, but it comes with several now-sophomores skating big minutes in big situations. Of the incoming freshmen, Matt Brown led Des Moines and was tied for ninth in the USHL with 30 goals. Andre Lee had 20 for Sioux Falls, helping the Stampede win the Clark Cup.

There's plenty to look forward to as the River Hawks begin the latest chapter. UMass Lowell also will be witness to UMD unveiling its 2019 national championship banner at Amsoil Arena for any extra motivation.

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