Given his success and longevity, few were surprised to hear that UMass Lowell’s Norm Bazin was the latest member of the college hockey coaching ranks to reach the 300-win milestone.
Except, maybe, Bazin himself.
“I wasn’t aware of it until someone mentioned it,” said Bazin in a recent interview with USCHO. “It’s going to be a nice milestone to look back on when I’m no longer doing this. But for now, it was (on to) the next game.”
Bazin, in his 13th season with Lowell, hit the milestone when the River Hawks notched a 4-2 win at home vs. Northeastern on Feb. 16. His 300 wins as a coach date back to the 2008-09 season at Division III Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y. He currently sports a 262-164-43 career record with Lowell.
The ever-gracious Bazin said that while he’s honored to reach the 300-win mark, he sees it as less of an individual accomplishment and more of a collective effort.
“I treat it like a team award — without good athletes and good assistant coaches, you never achieve those milestones,” he said. “It’s not something I categorize, I guess. Especially when you’ve had a challenging season. You’re just looking for the next positive around the corner. You hope that it comes sooner rather than later.”
The River Hawks have struggled this season. Picked to finish seventh in the Hockey East preseason coaches poll, Lowell currently sits in last place with a 4-13-3 record (8-19-4 overall). Lowell has been beset by injuries all season, but Bazin was happy to say his team is close to 100 percent entering the final two weekends.
This year’s downturn aside, the River Hawks have been one of college hockey’s most solidly performing programs for the bulk of Bazin’s tenure. He is 149-97-30 all time in Hockey East regular-season play, which ranks first among the conference’s active coaches and second all-time behind only Boston College’s Jerry York. In Hockey East tournament action, Bazin sports a 25-14-0 record.
The program’s peak under Bazin (so far) came in 2012-13, when Lowell went 28-11-2, won the Hockey East regular-season and tournament championships and earned its first appearance in the Frozen Four. Bazin earned Hockey East Coach of the Year honors for the second straight year, and earned the Spencer Penrose Award for Division I men’s coach of the year.
“It’s great respect for the program — that’s first and foremost,” Bazin said when asked about the outpouring of well wishes he has received since reaching win No. 300. “I appreciate that. I can see that they do realize that the program’s been highly successful in the past. This year has been a glitch in the screen. We hope to get back there. But it’s nice to hear back from a lot of people.”
Bazin has coached at least 30 players who have gone on to play in the NHL, including Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnepeg Jets, who won the Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goaltender in 2020.
“The biggest bonus of hitting any milestone is, you hear back from players you’ve coached,” Bazin said. “They mention how the program has impacted their lives. It’s really a phenomenal thing to hear about, how they’re doing in life, and the culture and the impact the program had on them.”
The River Hawks have a pair of home-and-home series remaining to close out the regular season — intra-state rivals Massachusetts this weekend and New Hampshire the next. Bazin said Lowell is hoping to end the season on a high note, and perhaps make some noise in the upcoming Hockey East tournament.
“For us, it’s going to be putting 60 minutes together of intense hockey,” Bazin said. “I like our chances. (We) have four games to certainly sharpen up our game and play meaningful hockey heading into the postseason. We’re looking forward to it.”
