2024–25 UMass Lowell River Hawks men's ice hockey season
College ice hockey team season
The 2024–25 UMass Lowell River Hawks Men's ice hockey season was the 58th season of play for the program, the 42nd at the Division I level and 41st in Hockey East . The River Hawks represented the University of Massachusetts Lowell in the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season , played their home games at Tsongas Center and were coached by Norm Bazin in his 14th season.
Season
Recovering from their worst season in nearly 15 years, Lowell began the season well with the offense providing a well-rounded attack over the first 6 weeks of the season. By Thanksgiving , the team was well established as a tournament hopeful with a 9–3 record which included a 6-game winning streak. The goaltending situation was a little shaky at times but Henry Welsch was able to keep his team on the right side of the ledger with the substantial goal support he was receiving. However, by the middle of November the team was looking for a better performance in goal and looked like they would receive it when they paired Welsch with junior transfer Béni Halász . The two netminders helped lead the team to a pair of in-season tournament championships during the holiday season even though the offense cooled off a bit.
By the time the River Hawks started the second half of their season, the team had risen up to 8th in the PairWise and was primed for a return to the national tournament. Unfortunately, Lowell had to run through a gauntlet of strong opponents with Hockey East having no less than 6 programs in position for tournament berths after the new year. The stiffer competition caused the Hawks' offense to collapse with the team only managing to score 31 goals over their final 15 games. Goaltending, too, suffered over the back half of the year but Massachusetts Lowell had little opportunity to win when they needed to hold the opponents to one or two goals. The River Hawks went 3–10–2 down the stretch, sliding down just far enough so that they were on the edge of the playoff bubble with a .500 record.
Despite the poor showing in the later part of the season, the Hawks still could earn their way into the tournament. Even without a conference championship, an appearance in the title game or, possibly, in the semifinal might allow Lowell to get just far enough ahead of the other teams clamoring for an at-large bid. They met one such team, New Hampshire in the opening round but got off to a poor start. The Hawks found themselves down by a goal after the first period but spent the remainder of the game throwing everything they could at the net. UMass Lowell outshot UNH 29–13 over the final 40 minutes but only managed to score a single goal. Fortunately, Welsch was able to close the door on the Wildcats and force the match into overtime. It took less than 4 minutes for Scout Truman to steal the puck from a UNH defender, skate into the left circle, and fire a shot into the far corner for the winning goal.[ 1]
With their first hurdle surmounted, the team had to travel north to take on #5 Maine . The first period was fairly even, with neither side being able to register a goal. However, second period saw the team completely melt down. Just over a minute into the period, the Hawks took the first of four minor penalties in the second. About 3 minutes afterwards, while killing a second penalty, Truman was handed a game misconduct for contact to the head and gave Maine a 5-minute power-play. The Bears were only able to score once on the man-advantage despite the multiple opportunities but it turned momentum in favor of the Black Bears and the Hawks were unable to recover. Maine rang up four goals before Lowell was able to respond in the third, but by then it was too late. UML surrendered another three goals before their season ended, finishing with an embarrassing end to a once-promising season.
Departures
Recruiting
Player
Position
Nationality
Age
Notes
Nick Anderson
Defenseman
United States 25
Portsmouth, NH ; graduate transfer from Colgate
Pierson Brandon
Defenseman
United States 24
New York, NY ; graduate transfer from Colgate
Tate Brandon
Goaltender
United States 24
Irvington, NY ; graduate transfer from Skidmore
Daniel Buchbinder
Defenseman
United States 20
Buffalo, NY
Mirko Buttazoni
Forward
Canada 20
Langley, BC
Ian Carpentier
Forward
United States 24
Worcester, MA ; graduate transfer from Yale
Dylan Cook
Forward
United States 21
Princeton, MN
Chris Delaney
Forward
United States 20
Hopkinton, MA
Connor Eddy
Forward
Canada 22
Victoria, BC ; transfer from Northern Michigan
Béni Halász
Goaltender
Hungary 23
Budapest, HUN ; transfer from Northern Michigan
Jacob MacDonald
Forward
United States 20
Fort Worth, TX
Libor Nemec
Forward
Slovakia 21
Bardejov, SVK
Lee Parks
Forward
Canada 19
Stittsville, ON
Dominick Rivelli
Forward
United States 21
Highland Park, IL
Jack Robilotti
Defenseman
United States 23
New York, NY ; graduate transfer from Holy Cross
Roster
As of September 19, 2024.[ 2]
No. Nat.
Player
Class
Pos
Height
Weight
DoB
Hometown
Previous team
NHL rights
2
Mitchell Becker Junior
D 6' 3" (1.91 m)
220 lb (100 kg)
2001-05-24
Rogers, Minnesota New Mexico Ice Wolves (NAHL —
3
Jack Robilotti Graduate
D 6' 3" (1.91 m)
195 lb (88 kg)
2001-07-18
New York, New York Holy Cross (AHA —
4
T. J. Schweighardt Junior
D 5' 10" (1.78 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
2001-03-15
Wayne, New Jersey Youngstown Phantoms (USHL —
5
Owen Cole C Senior
F 5' 10" (1.78 m)
173 lb (78 kg)
2000-01-29
Dunnville, Ontario Brooks Bandits (AJHL —
6
Isac Jonsson Senior
D 5' 10" (1.78 m)
173 lb (78 kg)
2000-10-08
Ängelholm, Sweden Tri-City Storm (USHL —
7
Daniel Buchbinder Freshman
D 6' 3" (1.91 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
2004-07-07
Buffalo, New York Penticton Vees (BCHL —
8
Jaiden Moriello Sophomore
F 6' 2" (1.88 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
2003-05-04
Saugus, Massachusetts West Kelowna Warriors (BCHL —
9
Jack Collins Junior
F 6' 4" (1.93 m)
215 lb (98 kg)
2001-11-13
Canton, New York Lone Star Brahmas (NAHL —
10
Chris Delaney Freshman
F 5' 6" (1.68 m)
146 lb (66 kg)
2004-09-25
Hopkinton, Massachusetts Madison Capitols (USHL —
11
Dominick Rivelli Freshman
F 5' 10" (1.78 m)
176 lb (80 kg)
2003-08-01
Highland Park, Illinois New Jersey Jr. Titans (NAHL —
12
Roc Truman Junior
F 6' 0" (1.83 m)
195 lb (88 kg)
2001-04-25
Lethbridge, Alberta Camrose Kodiaks (AJHL —
13
Connor Eddy Junior
F 6' 1" (1.85 m)
200 lb (91 kg)
2002-04-18
Victoria, British Columbia Northern Michigan (CCHA —
14
Ben Meehan C Graduate
D 6' 0" (1.83 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
2001-04-20
Walpole, Massachusetts Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (USHL LAK 2020
15
Dylan Cook Freshman
F 6' 0" (1.83 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
2003-03-02
Princeton, Minnesota Austin Bruins (NAHL —
16
Ģirts Silkalns Sophomore
F 6' 2" (1.88 m)
187 lb (85 kg)
2003-06-30
Talsi, Latvia Fargo Force (USHL —
17
Mirko Buttazoni Freshman
F 5' 10" (1.78 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
2004-09-12
Langley, British Columbia Brooks Bandits (BCHL —
18
Sean Kilcullen Sophomore
D 6' 0" (1.83 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
2002-08-03
Kensington, Maryland Maryland Black Bears (NAHL —
19
Dillan Bentley Junior
F 6' 4" (1.93 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
2001-03-31
Peoria, Illinois New Mexico Ice Wolves (NAHL —
20
Libor Nemec Freshman
F 6' 2" (1.88 m)
187 lb (85 kg)
2003-09-03
Bardejov, Slovakia Green Bay Gamblers (USHL —
21
Nick Anderson Graduate
D 5' 10" (1.78 m)
165 lb (75 kg)
1999-01-04
Independence, Minnesota Colgate (ECAC —
22
Pierson Brandon C Graduate
D 6' 0" (1.83 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
2000-06-26
Irvington, New York Colgate (ECAC —
23
Lee Parks Freshman
F 6' 2" (1.88 m)
218 lb (99 kg)
2004-10-16
Stittsville, Ontario Fargo Force (USHL —
24
Scout Truman Junior
F 5' 10" (1.78 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
2002-10-15
Lethbridge, Alberta Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL —
25
Matt Crasa Senior
F 5' 11" (1.8 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
2001-03-04
South Setauket, New York Fargo Force (USHL —
26
Jacob MacDonald Freshman
F 6' 2" (1.88 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
2004-09-23
Fort Worth, Texas Lone Star Brahmas (NAHL —
27
Stefan Owens Senior
F 5' 10" (1.78 m)
169 lb (77 kg)
2000-04-24
Midlothian, Virginia Maine Nordiques (NAHL —
28
Ian Carpentier Graduate
F 6' 0" (1.83 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
2000-06-22
Worcester, Massachusetts Yale (ECAC —
29
Jak Vaarwerk Sophomore
F 6' 0" (1.83 m)
181 lb (82 kg)
2003-06-13
East Amherst, New York Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL —
30
Béni Halász Junior
G 5' 11" (1.8 m)
184 lb (83 kg)
2001-08-13
Budapest, Hungary Northern Michigan (CCHA —
31
Tate Brandon Graduate
G 5' 10" (1.78 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
2000-06-06
Irvington, New York Skidmore (NEHC —
33
Henry Welsch Graduate
G 6' 2" (1.88 m)
195 lb (88 kg)
2000-11-17
Lakeville, Minnesota Aberdeen Wings (NAHL —
39
Edvard Nordlund Senior
G 6' 2" (1.88 m)
176 lb (80 kg)
2001-07-12
Nacka, Sweden Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks (NAHL —
Standings
Schedule and results
Date
Time
Opponent#
Rank#
Site
TV
Decision
Result
Attendance
Record
Exhibition
October 6
4:00 pm
at Bentley *
Bentley Arena • Waltham, Massachusetts (Exhibition)FloHockey
W 6–5
Regular Season
October 11
7:15 pm
Minnesota Duluth *
Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+
Halász
L 2–4 6,241
0–1–0
October 12
6:05 pm
Minnesota Duluth *
Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+
Welsch
W 4–1 3,701
1–1–0
October 18
7:15 pm
Colgate *
Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+
Welsch
W 5–2 3,703
2–1–0
October 19
6:05 pm
Colgate *
Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+
Welsch
W 2–1 3,027
3–1–0
October 26
7:00 pm
at Merrimack
J. Thom Lawler Rink • North Andover, Massachusetts ESPN+
Welsch
W 6–3 2,531
4–1–0 (1–0–0)
November 1
7:00 pm
at Holy Cross *
#20
Hart Center • Worcester, Massachusetts FloHockey , NESN
Welsch
W 5–4 OT
1,002
5–1–0
November 8
7:00 pm
at #9 Boston University
#17
Agganis Arena • Boston , Massachusetts ESPN+
Welsch
W 5–3 4,799
6–1–0 (2–0–0)
November 9
6:05 pm
#9 Boston University
#17
Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+
Welsch
L 2–5 6,259
6–2–0 (2–1–0)
November 15
7:00 pm
at Vermont
#15
Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont ESPN+
Welsch
W 5–2 2,145
7–2–0 (3–1–0)
November 16
6:00 pm
at Vermont
#15
Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont ESPN+
Welsch
W 3–0 2,667
8–2–0 (4–1–0)
November 22
7:15 pm
Connecticut
#15
Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+
Welsch
L 1–4 5,780
8–3–0 (4–2–0)
November 23
6:05 pm
Connecticut
#15
Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+
Halász
W 1–0 5,389
9–3–0 (5–2–0)
Adirondack Winter Invitational
November 29
4:00 pm
vs. St. Lawrence *
#16
Herb Brooks Arena • Lake Placid, New York (Winter Invitational Game 1)ESPN+
Halász
W 2–1 2,407
10–3–0
November 30
7:30 pm
vs. #20 Clarkson *
#16
Herb Brooks Arena • Lake Placid, New York (Winter Invitational Game 2)ESPN+
Welsch
T 4–4 SOW
2,237
10–3–1
December 6
7:15 pm
#3 Boston College
#14
Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+
Halász
T 3–3 SOW
6,002
10–3–2 (5–2–1)
December 9
7:00 pm
at #2 Boston College
#10т
Conte Forum • Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts ESPN+ , NESN
Halász
L 2–3 5,195
10–4–2 (5–3–1)
December 29
7:05 pm
Simon Fraser *
#10
Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts (Exhibition)ESPN+
Welsch
W 9–2
Coachella Valley Cactus Cup
January 3
6:30 pm
vs. Michigan Tech *
#10
Acrisure Arena • Thousand Palms, California (Cactus Cup Semifinal)
Welsch
W 3–2 —
11–4–2
January 4
10:00 pm
vs. Omaha *
#10
Acrisure Arena • Thousand Palms, California (Cactus Cup Championship)
Halász
W 3–2 —
12–4–2
January 10
7:15 pm
#7 Maine
#8
Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+
Welsch
L 1–3 5,462
12–5–2 (5–4–1)
January 11
6:05 pm
#7 Maine
#8
Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+ , NESN
Halász
L 1–2 6,005
12–6–2 (5–5–1)
January 18
6:05 pm
Stonehill *
#9
Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+
Welsch
L 2–3 OT
4,308
12–7–2
January 24
7:15 pm
#7 Providence
#12
Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+
Halász
T 3–3 SOW
—
12–7–3 (5–5–2)
January 25
4:30 pm
at #7 Providence
#12
Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island ESPN+
Halász
W 1–0 2,967
13–7–3 (6–5–2)
January 31
7:00 pm
at #1 Boston College
#8
Conte Forum • Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts ESPN+
Halász
L 0–4 7,884
13–8–3 (6–6–2)
February 1
6:05 pm
Merrimack
#8
Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+
Halász
W 3–2 6,006
14–8–3 (7–6–2)
February 7
7:15 pm
Vermont
#10
Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+
Halász
L 3–5 3,979
14–9–3 (7–7–2)
February 8
3:30 pm
at #11 Connecticut
#10
XL Center • Hartford, Connecticut ESPN+
Halász
L 4–5 OT
5,558
14–10–3 (7–8–2)
February 14
7:00 pm
at Northeastern
#13
Matthews Arena • Boston , Massachusetts ESPN+
Welsch
L 0–2 2,192
14–11–3 (7–9–2)
February 15
6:05 pm
Northeastern
#13
Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+
Welsch
W 3–1 5,305
15–11–3 (8–9–2)
February 22
6:00 pm
at #8 Providence
#13
Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island ESPN+
Welsch
L 2–4 2,545
15–12–3 (8–10–2)
February 27
7:00 pm
at #17 Massachusetts
#16
Mullins Center • Amherst, Massachusetts ESPN+
Halász
T 2–2 SOL
3,845
15–12–4 (8–10–3)
March 1
6:05 pm
#17 Massachusetts
#16
Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+
Halász
L 3–5 6,552
15–13–4 (8–11–3)
March 7
7:15 pm
New Hampshire
#17
Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+ , NESN+
Welsch
L 1–4 5,291
15–14–4 (8–12–3)
March 8
7:00 pm
at New Hampshire
#17
Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire ESPN+
Halász
L 2–4 6,501
15–15–4 (8–13–3)
Hockey East Tournament
March 12
7:05 pm
New Hampshire *
#19
Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts (Hockey East Opening Round)ESPN+
Welsch
W 3–2 OT
2,995
16–15–4
March 15
6:00 pm
at #5 Maine *
#19
Alfond Arena • Orono, Maine (Hockey East Quarterfinal)ESPN+
Welsch
L 1–7 5,043
16–16–4
*Non-conference game. # Rankings from USCHO.com Poll . All times are in Eastern Time . [ 3]
Scoring statistics
Name
Position
Games
Goals
Assists
Points
PIM
Owen Cole C 36
8
12
20 6
Mirko Buttazzoni F 32
5
14
19 16
Scout Truman LW 36
10
8
18 52
Chris Delaney C 35
9
9
18 16
Ben Meehan D 36
3
14
17 29
Dillan Bentley F 34
9
7
16 16
Jak Vaarwerk C 36
5
11
16 12
Lee Parks RW 34
8
6
14 10
Matthew Crasa C /RW 29
5
9
14 12
Nick Anderson D 35
2
12
14 14
Libor Nemec LW /RW 26
6
6
12 14
Isac Jonsson D 35
2
10
12 4
Connor Eddy C 36
5
5
10 32
T. J. Schweighardt D 36
0
10
10 6
Ian Carpentier C 27
2
7
9 8
Pierson Brandon D 34
6
2
8 16
Jack Robilotti D 36
2
4
6 32
Jacob MacDonald C /LW 14
2
2
4 4
Ģirts Silkalns F 10
1
2
3 2
Mitchell Becker D 17
1
2
3 8
Stefan Owens F 26
2
0
2 0
Daniel Buchbinder D 15
0
1
1 4
Jack Collins F 16
0
1
1 0
Jaiden Moriello RW 2
0
0
0 0
Dominick Rivelli RW 4
0
0
0 2
Sean Kilcullen D 8
0
0
0 0
Béni Halász G 18
0
0
0 0
Henry Welsch G 20
0
1
1 0
Bench
–
–
–
–
–
16
Total
93
155
248
331
[ 4]
Goaltending statistics
Name
Games
Minutes
Wins
Losses
Ties
Goals Against
Saves
Shut Outs
SV % GAA
Béni Halász 18
1003:09
5
8
3
43
432
3
.909
2.57
Henry Welsch 20
1174:50
11
8
1
53
454
1
.895
2.71
Empty Net
-
13:12
-
-
-
5
-
-
-
-
Total
36
2191:11
16
16
4
101
886
4
.898
2.77
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
RV
NR
NR
NR
20
17
15
15
16
14
10т
10
–
10
8
9
12
8
10
13
13
16
17
19
20
RV
–
RV
USA Hockey
RV
NR
NR
NR
19
16
15
13
16
13
10
9
–
10
8
9
13
8
9
13
13
15
17
19
20
RV
RV
RV
Note: USCHO did not release a poll in week 12 or 26. [ 5] Note: USA Hockey did not release a poll in week 12.
References
