Know Your Enemy: The "What's a Riverhawk?" Edition

UMass Lowell Times Two

As we all know, the Riverhawk is a stupid, fake, idiot of a mascot.  It is worth every ounce of hatred and ridicule you can possibly dish out.  And don't feel bad about heckling them.  Seriously.

What else should you know about Lowell going into this big, big weekend?

Let's get something out of the way right now.  No bird on earth has molars.  None.

I truly hate to dwell on just how much I despise their mascot, but it is at the root of why I really cannot stand everything that is UMass Lowell.  Although their arena is very nice.

Second to the mascot is the fans.  In reality, I hate them for how well they travel.  There is always a strong, loud. cowbell-clanging visitor section full of red, white and blue Lowellies.  They are annoying, and they are passionate, if nothing else.  And make no mistake, they will spend the entire night getting in your face reminding you why they have nothing else to live for, as they are in fact from Lowell.  It's a boring, crappy place.

If you end up in Lowell for Friday night's game, don't forget to check out their biggest tourist attraction.

Alright, now to the hockey games.  This weekend is about as important as an October home and home series can be.  UMass Lowell is off to a hot 3-1 start, as expected, and is looking to push their way into the elite of Hockey East. 

To be fair, they attempted to do this at the end of last season in a cute little effort.  But they failed.  And it was glorious.  Ending UMass Lowell's season was almost as sweet as ending Newton U's pitiful year.

Lowell returned the main components of last year's almost-was team.  And there's no better place to begin with Lowell than with goaltender Carter Hutton.

Carter Freakin' Hutton.  Lucky recipient of Hot Dog and Jesus' Worst Human Being On Eart Award for 2008-09.  Last season he split time with some guy named Nevin, posting a 9-8-1 record.  Sort of lie a hard luck starting pitcher, that really doesn't inidicate how well he played for Lowell.  He put up a 2.06 GAA over his 19 games. 

Apparently Hutton is still sharing time with some guy named Nevin, but Hutton has 3 of UML's 4 starts this season.

Hutton started 2 of the 4 games against BU last season, and came in relief for a third.  He gave up 8 goals on 56 shots in that time.  Lowell fell short each time.

Much like Hutton, Lowell generally falls just short of beating BU.  In each of the three regular season games BU and UML played last season, BU was either losing or tied going into the third.  They just toy with the Riverhawks and break their hearts.

UML is also returning their two seven scorers from last season, all of whom scored 21 points or more, the polar opposite of a Terrier team counting on freshmen. 

Leading the way is the tandem of juniors Scott Campbell and Maury Edwards, who combined for 59 points on their own last year.  Captaining the Hawks is senior forward ben Holmstrom, who apparently thinks that it is Lowell's time to do something. 

It appears that Lowell is just as balanced offensively as they were a year ago, as nine Riverhawks have already scored through just four games.  Through three games, BU only has 5 goals as a team.  To say that Kieran Millan will have his hands full would be the understatement of the week.

Campbell and senior Kory Falite each have five points for UML to lead the team, followed by Edwards who has four.

All of this offense has put Lowell in a nice little spot early this season, sitting at ninth nationally.  Most recently, they beat Northeastern 3-1 in Lowell.  Their only loss so far came to #12 Nebraska-Omaha in this year's version of the Ice Breaker Invitational.

One reason Lowell always plays BU so close is the coaching.  Head Coach Blaise MacDonald spent 1990-1996 as Jack Parker's assistant head coach.

WTBU Sports spoke with Blaise at Hockey East Media Day this year.

UMass-Lowell Head Coach Blaise MacDonald from WTBU Sports on Vimeo.

If BU wants a chance in hell of winning this weekend, they will need to break out of their offensive slumber.  They will need to generate quality shots, which they did a much better job of against Michigan.

So strap in, it should be a really, really fun weekend.  Either BU rights the ship and gets back on the path toward defending its crown, or Lowell starts to assert itself as a true national force.  Huge impact either way.  Lots of fun either way.

Oh, and hide your kids.  Who knows what this freak is capable of?

If you want more, check out the UMass Lowell Media Guide.