Rolling On The River
UMass-Lowell has bounced back from the brink
Jan. 3, 2008
By Elliot Olshansky
CSTV.com
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ELLIOT OLSHANSKY
Elliot is CSTV.com's hockey editor and runs his Rink Rat hockey blog on CSTV.com. |
When Blaise MacDonald looked at his UMass-Lowell team this summer, he saw one senior and three juniors on the roster, with seven freshmen and 16 sophomores.
The veteran head coach saw three sophomore goaltenders, the most effective of whom had stopped just a shade more than 90 percent of the shots he saw in 2006-07 en route to a 4-6-1 record.
MacDonald saw a River Hawk offense that had lost two of its top three scorers to graduation after the team averaged just a hair more than two goals per game a season ago.
In total, MacDonald saw a team that would be picked to finish ninth in Hockey East by the conference's coaches.
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But at least the hard part was over.
In March, the University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees examined a proposal to move the River Hawks out of Hockey East, so as to leave the main UMass campus in
"I take a tremendous amount of pride in this program, so to go through this sort of examination, I think it's good for us," MacDonald said in a June 7 CSTV.com article, "because it's going to allow us to really achieve the highest level we can achieve. It's going to take some time to overcome some of the situations that we'll have to address in the future, but I think at the end of the day, this program's going to achieve tremendous heights."
Don't look now, but MacDonald and his team are running ahead of schedule.
Less than seven months after their coach made those remarks, the River Hawks have taken their new lease on life and made substantial improvements to the property. UMass-Lowell enters 2008 at No. 14 in the USCHO.com/CSTV Division I rankings with a 9-4-4 record - surpassing the eight wins recorded during the 2006-07 campaign - and the River Hawks' 4-4-4 mark in Hockey East has them tied for third place with the
Friedrich Nietzsche, the philosopher who gave us the adage that "That which does not kill us makes us stronger," would have a field day with the River Hawks.
"I think human nature is that whenever something is almost taken away from you," MacDonald said, "you learn to appreciate what you have to a larger degree, and I think that it just added to our resolve as a program."
In some ways, the wins at Germain Arena were emblematic of the way the River Hawks have won this season. For starters, the River Hawks got excellent goaltending in
For a program that's struggled in goal since current Quinnipiac netminder Peter Vetri was named Hockey East Rookie of the Year in 2005, the tandem of Hutton and Hamilton has been a very solid foundation for the River Hawks.
"We have not been overly blessed with strong goaltending in recent years," MacDonald said. "That happens, but then when you compare your goaltending to the rest of the league - the John Currys and Jon Quicks and Ben Bishops, Cory Schneiders, Joe Fallons, Kevin Regans - all of a sudden, you're like, `Wow. We really are behind the eight ball.' That was the biggest driving force behind us having some level of success: our goaltending situation. Now, somewhat to our surprise, we have two goalies that are playing very, very well."
Despite the goaltending, though, the River Hawks entered the third game of their game against Cornell facing a 2-1 deficit against a Big Red team that is known for holding onto third-period leads. However, goals by Chris Auger and Ben Holmstrom helped
"I don't think we've had many bad games, if any," MacDonald said. "What I really like is that we've been able to bounce back from either a poor first or second period and finish games very strong, and when you do those things, you have a chance to win some games."
The ability to do that starts with leadership, and sophomore Ben Holmstrom and junior Mark Roebothan have performed beyond their years as co-captains, with assistance from sophomore alternate captains Jeremy Dehner and Barry Goers.
"Next to our goaltending," MacDonald said, "I think our biggest surprise and strongest asset has been our leadership in the locker room. They have collectively been outstanding in their leadership. I think, in particular, Ben Holmstrom has a very good presence to him, where he's strong vocally, but doesn't talk just to be heard, and certainly, by example, they all lead at a very high level. I give, totally, our credit for being able to bounce back in third periods to the leadership in the locker room."
That leadership translated out on the ice as well, as Holmstrom potted the game-winner against Cornell. The result was the River Hawks' first tournament hardware since 1999, a major step for a program trying to move forward.
"It was a first-class tournament," MacDonald said, "with some big name teams that have all been in the NCAA tournament within the last couple of years. To win that gives us a nice gratifying feeling and a confidence that we can compete with these teams. It's great to see the kids enjoy that, take that in, and be in that moment, but it's most important for them to want more."
In that vein, the River Hawks know there's more to do, especially in a conference that's seen so many different teams step up, along with a couple of traditional powers that have struggled thus far, but may yet have a say.
"Clearly, the biggest challenge is going to be maintaining good work habits," MacDonald said, "consistent work habits, continually changing our limits mentally, and if we do those things, it will give us a pretty good chance to compete on Fridays and Saturdays. You can control the process much more than you can the actual game, so if you have a good, pragmatic plan going into the weekends, and you've worked at it, you've got a level of confidence going into the weekend series. It's a marathon, as they say, and we've got to be totally consumed with what's right in front of us."
In the meantime, though, the River Hawks have drawn from the community that's rallied around them, and are giving fans at Tsongas Arena a hard-working, successful team to cheer for.
"I think that's what this community really represents," MacDonald said, "toughness, the ability to adapt, and show strong resolve in times of concern. I think our guys, whether it was conscious or subconscious, have really been able to embody that."
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