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

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

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.

## Departures

| 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

| 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

As of September 14, 2022.

## Standings

2022–23 Hockey East Standingsvte :
| | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall 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

| 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: ||||||||||

## Scoring statistics

| 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 |

## Goaltending statistics

| 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

| Poll | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | 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.

## Awards and honors

| Player | Award | Ref |
| Gustavs Dāvis Grigals | Hockey East Third Team | |
| Jon McDonald | Hockey East Third Team | |