Looking At Lowell

Tonight, BU looks to find another gear and elevate their play as 12th ranked (PWR) Lowell comes to town.

From the Vault
Lowell's Joe Gambardella tries a stuff attempt on former BU goalie
Sean Maguire in last year's Hockey East Quarterfinals in Lowel.
(Photo by Matt Dresens)

Last night, both teams lost. Despite having a 3-1 third period lead, the River Hawks fell to Northeastern, who scored three goals in the final 8:30 to win 4-3 on the road at Tsongas.

A year ago, Lowell completely dominated BU in the Hockey East quarterfinals, sweeping the Terriers in two games, before advancing to the finals for the fourth straight year.

Lowell comes into this game as losers of their last three. Much like BU, the River Hawks were cruising through the second half before getting tripped up by Providence last weekend. The Friars went on to sweep that series, ending Lowell’s seven-game win streak that dated back to December 9th. In that stretch, Lowell swept Merrimack, won the Ledyard Bank Classic in Dartmouth and just snuck by both UMass and New Hampshire by a 2-1 score.

There will be more than just league points on the line, as is usually the case when these two teams meet. BU is still three points behind BC in Hockey East and those three games in hand have all been made up. Lowell, on the other hand, is tied with UNH for fifth with 15 points, five behind BU. And then there is the PairWise. The Terriers, somehow, are ranked fifth. Lowell is 12th. To say this game and season series with the River Hawks will have NCAA tournament implications seems like quite an obvious statement.

Scouting the River Hawks
Senior Joe Gambardella is far and away the team’s scoring leader. In 26 games played, the Staten Island native has posted 11 goals and 24 assists for 35 points, seven more than second best CJ Smith. Smith is the team leader in goals scored with 13 to go along with 15 assists for 28 points. Dylan Zink is third with 24points.Other players to watch include John Edwardh, Jake Kamrass and Evan Campbell.

Freshman Tyler Wall, a Rangers prospect has seen the overwhelming majority of time in net. In 22 appearances, Wall has posted a .920 save percentage and a 2.10 goals against average. Fellow freshman Garrett Metcalf has seen action in 4 games with a 1-0-1 record and a .913 save percentage.