UMass Lowell 2018: Champions of the Offseason

[Patronick]

Re: UMass Lowell 2018: Champions of the Offseason

It's official.

Good morning, #RiverHawkNation! I am honored to be your Director of Athletics and thrilled to begin this next chapter for our department.

— Peter Casey (@RiverHawksAD) September 18, 2018

Woof

[Middle Street]

Re: UMass Lowell 2018: Champions of the Offseason

Woof

What's wrong with the guy? I know nothing about him.

[Patman]

What's wrong with the guy? I know nothing about him.

Back when he was sports marketing or running the arena he had some run ins with the Patronicks and Lambert over signs and other stuff like that... “dean strong hates America” was one... nothing I’d ever do but I got the bit in the sense that (UVM player) dean strong’s name sounds like one of those super hero names. Peter is a hardass at times and can be insufferable in that way.

That being said, I personally fully support this move... but I can understand why they are a bit miserable about it. Peter can rub people the wrong way

[boblav1]

Re: UMass Lowell 2018: Champions of the Offseason

In other HE news:
UConn to build a new arena on campus. It will only hold 2,500.

[Turk_Sanderson]

Re: UMass Lowell 2018: Champions of the Offseason

In other HE news:
UConn to build a new arena on campus. It will only hold 2,500.

Are they just redoing Freitas Ice Forum?

[boblav1]

Re: UMass Lowell 2018: Champions of the Offseason

Are they just redoing Freitas Ice Forum?

From the Hartford Courant article.

What Happens To Freitas Ice Forum?
Freitas Ice Forum’s locker rooms, coaches’ office and equipment room will be renovated after the renovation was approved by the board in August. There will also be strength and training facilities added.
Freitas will be adjacent and attached to the new arena, according to a spokesperson for the team. The decision to renovate part of Freitas, according to the resolution, is UConn’s attempt to keep the cost of the new arena low.

Why Are There Only 2,500 Seats?
Despite Hockey East’s requirement of 4,000 seats, the conference has approved UConn’s request to complete the new arena with just 2,500. The resolution states that UConn is focused on renovating the locker room area and facilities to bring them up to the conference’s requirements first.
There has been no indication as to whether the new arena will be constructed in a way that will make future expansion possible, as detailed plans aren’t set to go before the board until the end of October.

http://www.courant.com/sports/hockey...927-story.html

[sterlippo1]

Re: UMass Lowell 2018: Champions of the Offseason

In other HE news:
UConn to build a new arena on campus. It will only hold 2,500.

seriously? i guess they are following through on their promise to invest in the program. I'm thinking Cav isnt too please with that

[boblav1]

Re: UMass Lowell 2018: Champions of the Offseason

seriously? i guess they are following through on their promise to invest in the program. I'm thinking Cav isnt too please with that

I'm surprised HE is ok with this.

[Patronick]

Re: UMass Lowell 2018: Champions of the Offseason

Back when he was sports marketing or running the arena he had some run ins with the Patronicks and Lambert over signs and other stuff like that... “dean strong hates America” was one... nothing I’d ever do but I got the bit in the sense that (UVM player) dean strong’s name sounds like one of those super hero names. Peter is a hardass at times and can be insufferable in that way.

That being said, I personally fully support this move... but I can understand why they are a bit miserable about it. Peter can rub people the wrong way

It has nothing to do with signs. He was a complete dick to deal with as a reporter for The Connector.

[ScottK]

Re: UMass Lowell 2018: Champions of the Offseason

Lowell was picked 6th in the Hockey East Media poll released this morning.

1. Providence (9)
2. Boston College (8)
3. Boston University (2)
4. Northeastern (1)
5. Maine
6. Massachusetts-Lowell
7. Massachusetts
8. Connecticut
9. Vermont
10. New Hampshire
11. Merrimack

They were picked 7th in the Coaches Poll

1. Boston College (5)
2. Providence (4)
3. Boston University (1)
4. Northeastern (1)
5. Maine
6. Massachusetts
7. UMass Lowell
8. UConn
9. New Hampshire
10. Vermont
11. Merrimack

[Fishhawk]

Re: UMass Lowell 2018: Champions of the Offseason

Lowell was picked 6th in the Hockey East Media poll released this morning.

Playoff format is only top 8 teams make it this year.

http://hockeyeastonline.com/men/arti...-structure.php

[boblav1]

Re: UMass Lowell 2018: Champions of the Offseason

From the Lowell Sun:

River Hawks can prove poll wrong
By Barry Scanlon
bscanlon@lowellsun.com
BOSTON — Coming off the first sub.-500 season of Norm Bazin’s tenure, the UMass Lowell hockey team was picked to finish seventh in Hockey East by the league’s head coaches.
Seventh is where the River Hawks finished in league play last winter.
“I don’t put much stock in polls. I feel a prediction is much like a forecast — it’s wrong a lot of the time. It’s up to us to go through our process and make sure we pay attention, take care of our business and improve every day. And if we do those things, we’ll (be fine) by the end of the year,” Bazin said Monday at the league’s media day at the TD Garden.
Boston College was picked as the top team, one point ahead of Providence. The 35th year of Hockey East will see three new head coaches — Albie O’Connell (Boston University), Mike Souza (New Hampshire) and Scott Borek (Merrimack) — take the helm.
Also, no longer will all 11 teams make the playoffs. Only the top eight will qualify this season, leaving three teams out in the cold.
“This is probably the most parity there’s ever been in Hockey East,” Bazin said.
Two programs that have struggled in recent years, Maine and UMass, were picked fifth and sixth, respectively.
“UMass is a team that should probably have been picked higher,” Bazin said. “I think Maine is as good as they’ve been since I’ve been in the league. And then you’ve got your cast of characters
that probably have the most talent in BC, BU and Providence. It’s a tough league and it’s going to continue to be tough. Every game is going to be a battle.”
UML’s top returning scorers are junior Ryan Lohin (9-16-25) and senior Ryan Dmowski (11-11-22). The goaltending should be solid with senior Chris Hernberg, who was terrific last season, and junior Tyler Wall, who was outstanding as a freshman.
A major question is on defense, as Tommy Panico, Chris Forney and Tyler Mueller graduated and Niklas Folin returned to Sweden to play pro hockey following his junior season. A 12-member freshmen class includes six defensemen, so they’ll be plenty of new faces in the lineup.
“We’ve done a pretty masterful job in the past of not talking about opponents. We have expectations for ourselves. We talk about our process and how we’re going to be there at the end of the year. It’s very important to me that they don’t worry about the outside noise. If we do that, I feel we have a very good corps of kids in that locker room,” Bazin said.
Under Bazin, the River Hawks won Hockey East playoff titles in 2013, 2014 and 2017.
“I think Norm has as much respect as any coach in the league. I think there’s a sense, whether it’s articulated or not, that he’s not going to allow the program to be out of the mix for too long,” Hockey East commissioner Joe Bertagna said.
“The thing with Norm, even when he had his great teams, other than the goaltenders, he doesn’t always have household names. And then the smoke clears and Norm’s got them at the Garden and winning championships with guys that you learn about as the season unfolds. So in that way I think he’s hard to predict, and his program is hard to predict, where they’re going to be.”
UML hosts Acadia on Sunday (1 p.m.) for an exhibition game before opening for real against RIT for home games Oct. 12 and 13 at the Tsongas Center.

[Middle Street]

Re: UMass Lowell 2018: Champions of the Offseason

From the Lowell Sun: ... I feel a prediction is much like a forecast — it’s wrong a lot of the time. ...

That quote won't go over well with some folks on here.

[leswp1]

Re: UMass Lowell 2018: Champions of the Offseason

That quote won't go over well with some folks on here.

Depends on if we are talking about our resident folk or the 'fake ones that pretend to know what is going on (think MC) that send them to the moon.

[boblav1]

Re: UMass Lowell 2018: Champions of the Offseason

Tough luck for former River Hawk Scott Wilson. Sabres forward Wilson to miss 8-10 weeks with broken ankle