{"id":150153,"date":"2024-12-11T06:00:51","date_gmt":"2024-12-11T12:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/?p=150153"},"modified":"2024-12-11T05:40:08","modified_gmt":"2024-12-11T11:40:08","slug":"this-week-in-hockey-east-healthy-umass-lowell-squad-a-totally-new-team-turns-in-monster-first-half-of-2024-25-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2024\/12\/11\/this-week-in-hockey-east-healthy-umass-lowell-squad-a-totally-new-team-turns-in-monster-first-half-of-2024-25-season\/","title":{"rendered":"This Week in Hockey East: Healthy UMass Lowell squad, ‘a totally new team,’ turns in monster first half of 2024-25 season"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Owen Cole celebrates his shootout winner for UMass Lowell last Friday after the River Hawks tied Boston College (photo: UMass Lowell Athletics).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If ever there was a team that needed a spark plug, it was UMass Lowell at the end of last season.<\/p>\n

The River Hawks got it with a 2024-25 roster full of young players that have turned the River Hawks into not just a great comeback story, but a bona fide contender. After an 8-24-4 campaign last season (4-17-3 in Hockey East) \u2013 by far the worst of coach Norm Bazin\u2019s otherwise illustrious 13-year tenure \u2013 the River Hawks are 10-4-2 overall (5-3-1), tied for second place in the Hockey East standings and are tied for 10th in the latest edition of the USCHO Division I men\u2019s poll.<\/p>\n

Among the River Hawks\u2019 top six scorers, three are freshman and one is a graduate transfer.<\/p>\n

\u201c(It\u2019s) a totally new team,\u201d Bazin said. \u201cLast year was not what we\u2019re all about. And we hope to prove in the second half that we can turn in a very good season this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stressing that it\u2019s not an excuse for Lowell\u2019s poor performance last year, Bazin noted that the team was hampered by injuries all season long, including four players that required season-ending surgery.<\/p>\n

While the new faces have served Lowell well, Bazin credits his upper-class leadership \u2013 he mentioned by name captains Owen Cole, Piers Brandon and Ben Meehan \u2013 as a driving force contributing to the team\u2019s success.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe leadership is excellent,\u201d Bazin said. \u201cThey\u2019ve all been major cogs \u2013 bringing everybody together, making them feel welcome. (They\u2019re) excellent human beings.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another bright spot for Lowell has been the play of freshman Chris Delaney. Through 16 games, the forward from Hopkinton, Mass., has six goals and three assists, including an assist in Monday night\u2019s 3-2 loss at Boston College.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen he\u2019s on, he\u2019s an energetic player,\u201d Bazin said. \u201cHe was certainly on all cylinders the first 13 (games) or so, and the last few, the gas tank is half empty. But that\u2019s normal for a young guy who\u2019s going through it for the first time. He\u2019s a really good player. He brings energy, he brings you emotion to the lineup. And certainly, he\u2019s a real spark plug when he\u2019s on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Freshman Mirko Buttazzoni of Langley, B.C., leads Lowell in scoring with five goals and nine assists. He scored twice in a 3-3 tie vs. Boston College on Dec. 6, a contest in which the River Hawks earned the extra league point with a shootout win at the Tsongas Center.<\/p>\n

Lowell will restart its season on Jan. 3 with an appearance in the Coachella Valley Cactus Cup tournament in Palm Springs, Calif., against Michigan Tech (CCHA). Omaha (NCHC) and Holy Cross (Atlantic Hockey) are the other two participants. Hockey East play resumes a week later with a weekend series vs. Maine, with both games at home.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the intensity ratcheting up in the league, it\u2019s going to get tighter,\u201d Bazin said. \u201cIt always does, right? Seems like the playoff position isn\u2019t figured out until the last game of the year, which makes Hockey East exciting for a lot of people. What\u2019s it going to take? The veterans to lead and the young guys to follow them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If ever there was a team that needed a spark plug, it was UMass Lowell at the end of last season. The River Hawks got it with a 2024-25 roster full of young players that have turned the River Hawks into not just a great comeback story, but a bona fide contender. After an 8-24-4 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":126,"featured_media":150154,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[812],"coauthors":[1664],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThis Week in Hockey East: Healthy UMass Lowell squad, 'a totally new team,' turns in monster first half of 2024-25 season - College Hockey | USCHO.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If ever there was a team that needed a spark plug, it was UMass Lowell at the end of last season. 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