Big crowds crucial for River Hawks
When they look up from their bench and gaze out at the Tsongas Center on game nights, the River Hawks feel comfort and hear noise. Lots of it.
The Umass Lowell hockey team is 8-3 this winter on home ice and the players credit much of their home success on the support they receive.
Ever since Norm Bazin arrived back on campus in 2011 and turned the program around, the River Hawks have been at or near the top of Hockey East attendance figures. The 2022-23 season is no different. Entering this weekend, UML is 12th in the nation out of 62 teams in attendance, averaging 4,742 fans (79 percent capacity) through 11 dates.
Only Boston College (5,471) has drawn more fans on average and the only other Eastern program besides BC above the River Hawks is Penn State.
“You love to play at home because you have a good crowd. It’s a good building. We’ve got great fans,” UML head coach Norm Bazin said. “We say that all the time, but it’s not a cliche. We’ve got some of the best fans in Hockey East. We have a great marketing team that works extremely hard. It takes a whole community to help push attendance.”
Bazin said he’s seen the effect of UML’S home ice advantage, especially in the third period of games when the fans give his players a jolt of energy with their enthusiasm.
Two more large crowds are expected this weekend when Boston College (Friday) and New Hampshire (Saturday) visit the Tsongas.
When he decided to transfer from Alaska Fairbanks, graduate student Filip Fornaa Svensson said UML’S reputation for playing in front of large home crowds was a factor in him deciding to become a River Hawk.
“Nothing beats it. When the
place is full the atmosphere (is fantastic). It’s a good community feeling. You want to play in front of a lot of fans,” Svensson said, “and it’s been a blast so far.”
UML has sold out its last two games, including drawing a 6,339 turnout for a 1-0 win over Umass.
“It’s a huge advantage, especially in our league,” said sophomore defenseman Brehdan Engum, who feels UML’S fans are the most loyal in Hockey East. “There’s no one in the building that doesn’t want you to succeed.”
The River Hawks sold out the last six games of the 2016-17 season.
Weekend look: The 16thranked River Hawks (159-1, 9-5-1) will host a pair of Hockey East opponents this weekend.
UML is coming off a strong 5-1 January in which the River Hawks went 4-1 in league games. Bazin’s boys have won three in a row.
On Friday (7 p.m.), the River Hawks will host BC (9-10-5, 5-7-4). The Eagles have dropped four straight, including a 2-1 loss Tuesday to Northeastern. On Saturday (6 p.m.),
New Hampshire (7-18-1, 2-13-1) will visit the Tsongas Center. The Wildcats are coming off 6-2 and 3-2 losses to UML.
“Every weekend is going to have new, different challenges,” Bazin said. “You have to keep on improving all the way through.”
“I think we’re moving in the right direction,” Engum said.
UML hasn’t had a player reach 100 career points since the 2016-17 season. Senior Carl Berglund (3252-82) is making a bid. … Graduate student goaltender Gustavs Davis Grigals leads the nation with a .933 save percentage and his 1.83 goals against average ranks him third. In Hockey East games, Grigals and junior Henry Welsch have been even stingier between the pipes. Grigals has a save percentage of .943 in league games, while Welsch has posted a .939. … Three of the River Hawks’ top six scorers are defensemen: sophomore Isac Jonsson (5-10-15), junior Ben Meehan (4-9-13) and grad student Jon Mcdonald (2-11-13).