2022–23 UMass Lowell River Hawks men's ice hockey season

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2022–23 UMass Lowell River Hawks
men's ice hockey season
Conference5th Hockey East
Home iceTsongas Center
Rankings
USCHONR
USA TodayNR
Record
Overall18–15–3
Conference11–9–3
Home10–5–2
Road7–8–1
Neutral1–2–0
Coaches and captains
Head coachNorm Bazin
Assistant coachesAndy Jones
Taylor Nelson
Tom Ford
Captain(s)Carl Berglund
Jon McDonald
Alternate captain(s)Zach Kaiser
Blake Wells
UMass Lowell River Hawks men's ice hockey seasons
« 2021–22 2023–24 »

The 2022–23 UMass Lowell River Hawks Men's ice hockey season was the 56th season of play for the program, the 40th competing at the Division I level and 39th in Hockey East. The River Hawks represented the University of Massachusetts Lowell in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season, were coached by Norm Bazin in his 12th season and played their home games at Tsongas Center.

Season[edit]

Despite a great deal of roster turnover, the River Hawks were expected to compete for the NCAA tournament. While the loss of starter Owen Savory would be difficult to overcome, the addition of grad transfer Gustavs Dāvis Grigals was expected to soften the blow. Grigals did perform well for Lowell while understudy Henry Welsch also shone when given the chance. Unfortunately, the Hawk's offense, which had only been average last year, worsened when the scoring of Andre Lee and Lucas Condotta could not be fully replaced.

Lowell hovered around the .500 mark for most of the season but stayed on the positive side the entire time. Early on, that served the team well as Hockey East sat high in the rankings. Even with just an okay record of 10–6–1, Lowell was above the cutoff line for the NCAA tournament when they stopped for the winter break. The team's chances was dealt a heavy blow upon their return to the ice when they were swept at home by Alaska Anchorage, a team that was playing its first hockey in nearly three years. Lowell dropped 13 places in the rankings, settling in the high-20s and needed a strong second half to recover. They started out well, going 5–1 in their next six games but the River Hawks slumped in the later portion of the season, winning just 2 out of their final 9 matches. To make matters worse, seemingly the entire conference fell apart in the second half of the year and Lowell received less credit for their wins as time went on.

By the end of the regular season, Lowell was sitting well outside of the NCAA bubble and would likely need to win the Hockey East championship to make an appearance. While the team was fortunate enough to receive a bye into the conference quarterfinals, they still had to travel for their match. The River Hawks met Connecticut, who were also fighting for their postseason lives, and the team had a tall task to reach the semifinals. Luckily, Lowell got off to a good start and scored twice in the first period. Carrying a 2–0 lead into the second, the Hawks played defense the rest of the game, only getting 5 shots on goal, but the maneuver worked and UMass Lowell escaped with a 2–1 win. In the next round, Merrimack too had to win to keep their season alive and Warriors showed great desperation early in the game. Merrimack outshot Lowell 22–7 in the first 40 minutes but, thanks to a stellar effort from Grigals, neither team was able to score. The Warriors finally broke through with about 10 minutes to play and caused Lowell to throw caution to the wind and begin their own attack. The River Hawk offense finally showed some life and were able to get the tying goal with just 31 second left in regulation. Lowell continued to get their chances once overtime began but could not beat Zachary Borgiel. In third minutes of extra hockey, UML outshot Merrimack 19–12 but it was the Warriors who managed to nab the game-winner and Lowell would have to wait for another year.[1]

Departures[edit]

Player Position Nationality Cause
Matt Allen Forward  United States Transferred to Alaska Anchorage
Nick Austin Defenseman  United States Graduation (retired)
Lucas Condotta Forward  Canada Graduation (signed with Montreal Canadiens)
Matt Kinash Forward  Canada Transferred to Alaska Anchorage
Sam Knoblauch Forward  United States Graduation (retired)
Josh Latta Forward  Canada Transferred to Bentley
Andre Lee Forward  Sweden Signed professional contract (Los Angeles Kings)
Owen Savory Goaltender  Canada Graduation (signed with Laval Rocket)
Jordan Schulting Defenseman  Canada Transferred to Bentley
Connor Sodergren Forward  United States Graduation (retired)
Reid Stefanson Forward  Canada Graduation (signed with Maine Mariners)
Jackson Sterrett Forward  United States Left program (retired)

Recruiting[edit]

Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Mitchell Becker Defenseman  United States 21 Rogers, MN
Dillan Bentley Forward  United States 21 Peoria, IL
Jack Collins Forward  United States 20 Canton, NY
Mark Cooper Defenseman  Canada 21 Dunnville, ON
Filip Fornåå Svensson Forward  Sweden 23 Linköping, SWE; transfer from Alaska
Owen Fowler Forward  United States 20 Tewksbury, MA
Gustavs Dāvis Grigals Goaltender  Latvia 24 Riga, LAT; graduate transfer from Alaska
Nick Rhéaume Forward  Canada 20 Sherbrooke, QC
T. J. Schweighardt Defenseman  United States 21 Wayne, NJ
Jake Stella Forward  Sweden 23 Karlstad, SWE; transfer from American International
Roc Truman Forward  Canada 21 Lethbridge, AB
Scout Truman Forward  Canada 19 Lethbridge, AB

Roster[edit]

As of September 14, 2022.[2]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
1 Sweden Edvard Nordlund Sophomore G 6' 2" (1.88 m) 176 lb (80 kg) 2001-07-12 Nacka, Sweden Danbury (NAHL) —
2 Minnesota Mitchell Becker Freshman D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 2001-05-24 Rogers, Minnesota New Mexico (NAHL) —
4 New Jersey T. J. Schweighardt Freshman D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2001-03-15 Wayne, New Jersey Youngstown (USHL) —
5 Ontario Owen Cole Sophomore F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 173 lb (78 kg) 2000-01-29 Dunnville, Ontario Brooks (AJHL) —
6 Sweden Isac Jonsson Sophomore D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 173 lb (78 kg) 2000-10-08 Ängelholm, Sweden Tri-City (USHL) —
7 Ontario Mark Cooper Freshman D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2001-03-01 Cambridge, Ontario Hawkesbury (CCHL) —
8 Germany Nik Armstrong-Kingkade Junior F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1999-05-01 Mannheim, Germany Minot (NAHL) —
9 New York (state) Jack Collins Freshman F 6' 4" (1.93 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 2001-11-13 Canton, New York Lone Star (NAHL) —
10 Minnesota Brehdan Engum Junior D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 2000-08-10 Burnsville, Minnesota Waterloo (USHL) —
11 Michigan Jon McDonald (C) Graduate D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1998-06-15 Livonia, Michigan Fargo (USHL) —
12 Alberta Roc Truman Freshman 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 Junior 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 Freshman F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 182 lb (83 kg) 2002-06-04 Tewksbury, Massachusetts Sioux City (USHL) —
17 Slovakia Marek Korenčík Senior D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1999-07-19 Žilina, Slovakia Luleå J20 (J20 SuperElit) —
18 Sweden Carl Berglund (C) Junior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2000-01-16 Hammarö, Sweden Sioux Falls (USHL) —
19 Illinois Dillan Bentley Freshman F 6' 4" (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2001-03-31 Peoria, Illinois New Mexico (NAHL) —
21 Massachusetts Brian Chambers Senior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1998-07-24 Weymouth, Massachusetts Sioux Falls (USHL) —
22 Alberta Blake Wells (A) Senior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1999-08-02 Blackie, Alberta Okotoks (AJHL) —
23 Ontario Zach Kaiser (A) Senior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1998-09-06 Orangeville, Ontario Sherwood Park (AJHL) —
24 Alberta Scout Truman Freshman F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2002-10-15 Lethbridge, Alberta Des Moines (USHL) —
25 New York (state) Matt Crasa Sophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2001-03-04 South Setauket, New York Fargo (USHL) —
26 Quebec Nick Rhéaume Freshman F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 2002-05-02 Trois-Rivières, Quebec Prince George (BCHL) —
27 Virginia Stefan Owens Sophomore F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 169 lb (77 kg) 2000-04-24 Midlothian, Virginia Maine (NAHL) —
28 Sweden Jake Stella Junior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 1998-11-14 Karlstad, Sweden American International (AHA) —
29 Quebec Ryan Brushett Senior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1998-06-14 Montreal, Quebec Omaha (NCHC) —
30 Latvia Gustavs Dāvis Grigals Graduate G 6' 1" (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1998-07-22 Riga, Latvia Alaska (NCAA) —
33 Minnesota Henry Welsch Junior G 6' 2" (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2000-11-17 Lakeville, Minnesota Aberdeen (NAHL) —
77 New York (state) Gabe Blanchard Sophomore D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2000-09-15 East Aurora, New York Sioux City (USHL) —

Standings[edit]

2022–23 Hockey East Standings
Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OTW OTL SW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
#4 Boston University †* 24 18 6 0 2 2 0 54 99 62 40 29 11 0 154 106
#14 Merrimack 24 16 8 0 2 4 0 50 72 52 38 23 14 1 106 89
#16 Northeastern 24 14 7 3 0 2 2 49 78 45 35 17 13 5 107 82
Connecticut 24 13 9 2 4 2 2 41 78 71 35 20 12 3 113 96
Massachusetts Lowell 24 11 10 3 2 2 3 39 56 54 36 18 15 3 89 82
Maine 24 9 11 4 1 1 1 32 62 65 36 15 16 5 92 94
Providence 24 9 9 6 3 0 2 32 64 60 37 16 14 7 103 87
Boston College 24 8 11 5 0 0 1 30 70 73 36 14 16 6 104 104
Massachusetts 24 7 14 3 1 3 2 28 55 80 35 13 17 5 94 103
New Hampshire 24 6 15 3 2 2 2 23 44 76 35 11 20 3 74 105
Vermont 24 5 16 3 2 1 1 18 36 76 36 11 20 5 69 103
Championship: March 18, 2023
† indicates regular season champion
* indicates conference tournament champion (Lamoriello Trophy)
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Schedule and results[edit]

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Regular Season
October 1 6:05 PM St. Lawrence* #17 Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+ Grigals W 4–0  5,580 1–0–0
October 7 7:15 PM Miami* #15 Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+ Welsch L 1–3  4,225 1–1–0
October 8 6:05 PM Miami* #15 Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+ Grigals W 4–2  3,593 2–1–0
October 13 7:00 PM at Michigan State* #16 Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, Michigan BTN+ Grigals L 3–4  4,419 2–2–0
October 14 7:30 PM at Michigan State* #16 Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, Michigan BTN+ Welsch W 3–2  5,133 3–2–0
October 22 7:00 PM at #12 Northeastern #19 Matthews Arena • Boston, Massachusetts NESN, ESPN+ Welsch W 3–2  2,387 4–2–0 (1–0–0)
October 28 7:15 PM #9 Boston University #18 Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+ Welsch W 2–1  5,040 5–2–0 (2–0–0)
October 29 7:00 PM at #9 Boston University #18 Agganis Arena • Boston, Massachusetts ESPN+ Grigals L 1–2 OT 3,119 5–3–0 (2–1–0)
November 4 7:15 PM Vermont #17 Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+ Welsch W 4–0  4,152 6–3–0 (3–1–0)
November 5 6:05 PM Vermont #17 Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+ Welsch W 2–0  4,390 7–3–0 (4–1–0)
November 15 7:00 PM at Boston College #13 Conte Forum • Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts ESPN+ Welsch L 2–3  3,002 7–4–0 (4–2–0)
November 18 7:15 PM #7 Connecticut #13 Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+ Grigals W 3–2 OT 4,806 8–4–0 (5–2–0)
November 19 3:35 PM at #7 Connecticut #13 XL Center • Hartford, Connecticut ESPN+ Welsch L 2–4  3,665 8–5–0 (5–3–0)
Friendship Four
November 25 2:00 PM vs. #17 Massachusetts* #14 SSE Arena Belfast • Belfast, Northern Ireland (Friendship Four Semifinal)   Grigals L 1–2  5,487 8–6–0
November 26 10:00 AM vs. Dartmouth* #14 SSE Arena Belfast • Belfast, Northern Ireland (Friendship Four Consolation Game)   Grigals W 4–3  5,513 9–6–0
Regular Season
December 3 7:00 PM at #15 Massachusetts #16 Mullins Center • Amherst, Massachusetts ESPN+ Grigals T 1–1 SOW 5,579 9–6–1 (5–3–1)
December 9 7:00 PM at Dartmouth* #14 Thompson Arena • Hanover, New Hampshire ESPN+ Grigals W 3–2  1,511 10–6–1
December 30 6:05 PM Alaska Anchorage* #13 Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+ Welsch L 2–4  4,483 10–7–1
December 31 4:05 PM Alaska Anchorage* #13 Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+ Grigals L 2–3  3,543 10–8–1
January 7 1:05 PM at American International* #17 MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts FloHockey Grigals W 4–2  449 11–8–1
January 13 7:00 PM at Maine #16 Alfond Arena • Orono, Maine ESPN+ Grigals W 2–1  3,150 12–8–1 (6–3–1)
January 14 7:00 PM at Maine #16 Alfond Arena • Orono, Maine ESPN+ Grigals L 3–5  4,039 12–9–1 (6–4–1)
January 20 7:15 PM New Hampshire #19 Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+ Grigals W 6–2  6,016 13–9–1 (7–4–1)
January 21 7:00 PM at New Hampshire #19 Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire ESPN+ Welsch W 3–2  4,237 14–9–1 (8–4–1)
January 27 7:15 PM Massachusetts #18 Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+ Grigals W 1–0  6,339 15–9–1 (9–4–1)
February 3 7:15 PM Boston College #16 Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+ Grigals T 2–2 SOW - 15–9–2 (9–4–2)
February 4 6:05 PM New Hampshire #16 Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+ Grigals L 4–5  5,252 15–10–2 (9–5–2)
February 12 2:05 PM Maine #17 Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+ Welsch T 1–1 SOW 4,019 15–10–3 (9–5–3)
February 17 7:00 PM at Providence #18 Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island ESPN+ Welsch L 2–3 OT 2,626 15–11–3 (9–6–3)
February 18 6:05 PM Providence #18 Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+ Grigals W 2–1  4,675 16–11–3 (10–6–3)
February 24 7:15 PM #17 Merrimack #19 Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts NESN, ESPN+ Grigals L 3–5  5,025 16–12–3 (10–7–3)
February 25 7:00 PM at #17 Merrimack #19 J. Thom Lawler Rink • North Andover, Massachusetts ESPN+ Welsch L 0–2  5,025 16–13–3 (10–8–3)
March 3 7:15 PM #15 Northeastern Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+ Grigals W 3–1  5,394 17–13–3 (11–8–3)
March 4 7:00 PM at #15 Northeastern Matthews Arena • Boston, Massachusetts NESN, ESPN+ Grigals L 3–7  2,539 17–14–3 (11–9–3)
Hockey East Tournament
March 11 4:00 PM at #19 Connecticut* Toscano Family Ice Forum • Storrs, Connecticut (Quarterfinal) NESN+, ESPN+ Grigals W 2–1  2,691 18–14–3
March 11 7:30 PM vs. #14 Merrimack* #20 TD Garden • Boston, Massachusetts (Semifinal) NESN, ESPN+ Grigals L 1–2 2OT 13,187 18–15–3
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.
Source:[3]

Scoring statistics[edit]

Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Carl Berglund C 36 12 15 27 12
Jonathan McDonald D 35 3 17 20 14
Brian Chambers RW 28 8 11 19 12
Isac Jonsson D 34 5 12 17 6
Ben Meehan D 34 4 13 17 43
Zach Kaiser C/LW 30 8 8 16 10
Scout Truman LW 34 8 6 14 10
Owen Cole C 33 6 8 14 6
Jake Stella LW 36 4 9 13 4
Filip Fornåå Svensson C/RW 28 6 6 12 12
Owen Fowler LW 33 5 7 12 18
Matthew Crasa C/RW 31 2 8 10 16
Ryan Brushett C 24 1 9 10 12
Marek Korenčík D 36 3 5 8 32
Dillan Bentley F 22 2 3 5 4
Gabriel Blanchard D 34 2 3 5 29
Brehdan Engum D 36 1 4 5 14
Nick Rhéaume C/LW 27 3 1 4 2
Blake Wells F 22 2 1 3 6
Mitchell Becker D 21 1 2 3 8
Stefan Owens F 26 2 0 2 2
T. J. Schweighardt D 18 1 1 2 2
Jack Collins F 12 0 1 1 19
Edvard Nordlund G 1 0 0 0 0
Mark Cooper D 2 0 0 0 0
Nik Armstrong-Kingkade F 0 0 0 0
Henry Welsch G 16 0 0 0 0
Gustavs Dāvis Grigals G 24 0 0 0 0
Total 89 150 239 281

[4]

Goaltending statistics[edit]

Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Gustavs Dāvis Grigals 24 1406:28 12 9 2 48 586 2 .924 2.05
Henry Welsch 16 774:07 6 6 1 29 318 2 .916 2.25
Edvard Nordlund 1 20:00 0 0 0 2 4 0 .667 6.00
Empty Net - 20:14 - - - 3 - - - -
Total 36 2220:49 18 15 3 82 908 4 .917 2.22

Rankings[edit]

See also: 2022–23 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 27 (Final)
USCHO.com 17 - 15 16 19 18 17 16 13 14 16 14 13 - 17 16 19 18 16 17 18 19 NR NR 20 NR - NR
USA Today 16 16 15 16 20 18 17 16 14 13 16 15 13 13 19 20 20 19 15 20 19 20 NR NR NR NR NR NR

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 1, 13, or 26.[5]

Awards and honors[edit]

Player Award Ref
Gustavs Dāvis Grigals Hockey East Third Team [6]
Jon McDonald

References[edit]

  1. ^ "FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 2023". College Hockey Inc. March 17, 2023. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
  2. ^ "2022–23 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". UMass Lowell River Hawks. Retrieved August 17, 2017.
  3. ^ "2022-23 Men's Ice Hockey Schedule". UMass Lowell River Hawks. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  4. ^ "UMass-Lowell 2022-2023 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  5. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  6. ^ "HOCKEY EAST NAMES 2022-23 MEN'S ALL-STAR TEAMS". Hockey East. March 10, 2023. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
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