Dillan Bentley has signed a two-year deal with Laval, the Habs AHL club.
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UMass Lowell 2025-2026: Youth will be served
- Thread starter Will
- Start date
Mike McMahon was asked in his mailbag about Bazin:
Hayden (X): How does anyone support Norm Bazin’s coaching to continue at Lowell? How much longer can you keep beating this dead horse before you lose all your talent? The fans don’t care about any success he had over 10 years ago. We care about now.
I don’t think it’s entirely fair to say the program hasn’t had success in the last decade. UMass Lowell made the NCAA Tournament in 2022, and the River Hawks almost certainly would have qualified in 2020 had the tournament not been canceled for COVID.
That said, there’s no denying the last three seasons have been disappointing.
Still, it’s worth remembering the context of what Norm Bazin inherited. When he took over, Lowell had made just three NCAA Tournament appearances in 26 years as a Division I program. Under Bazin, the River Hawks reached the NCAA Tournament seven times in his first 15 seasons.
He’s shown before that he can build a winning program there, and that track record likely earns him some runway to find that formula again.
The landscape of college hockey is also very different today than it was in 2011, particularly with revenue-sharing and other financial dynamics now shaping recruiting. This season also marked the first year with a somewhat restructured staff. Eric Sorenson returned, and the program added Andy Boschetto and Dan Darrow behind the bench. From a recruiting standpoint, those are going to be the guys finding the players.
Looking ahead, the evolving pipeline from the CHL could also benefit a program like UMass Lowell. Access to that player pool may give schools in Lowell’s position another avenue to rebuild the type of roster that helped fuel the program’s success from 2011 through 2017
Hayden (X): How does anyone support Norm Bazin’s coaching to continue at Lowell? How much longer can you keep beating this dead horse before you lose all your talent? The fans don’t care about any success he had over 10 years ago. We care about now.
I don’t think it’s entirely fair to say the program hasn’t had success in the last decade. UMass Lowell made the NCAA Tournament in 2022, and the River Hawks almost certainly would have qualified in 2020 had the tournament not been canceled for COVID.
That said, there’s no denying the last three seasons have been disappointing.
Still, it’s worth remembering the context of what Norm Bazin inherited. When he took over, Lowell had made just three NCAA Tournament appearances in 26 years as a Division I program. Under Bazin, the River Hawks reached the NCAA Tournament seven times in his first 15 seasons.
He’s shown before that he can build a winning program there, and that track record likely earns him some runway to find that formula again.
The landscape of college hockey is also very different today than it was in 2011, particularly with revenue-sharing and other financial dynamics now shaping recruiting. This season also marked the first year with a somewhat restructured staff. Eric Sorenson returned, and the program added Andy Boschetto and Dan Darrow behind the bench. From a recruiting standpoint, those are going to be the guys finding the players.
Looking ahead, the evolving pipeline from the CHL could also benefit a program like UMass Lowell. Access to that player pool may give schools in Lowell’s position another avenue to rebuild the type of roster that helped fuel the program’s success from 2011 through 2017
Lowell2001
Lowell Hockey Diehard
From the freshman class, I'm hoping we're at least able to keep Misskey, Diego, Adaszynski, and Wakely. I thought those four showed the most growth and potential.
Off topic: One and done. I wonder what happened?
goriverhawks.com
UMass Lowell and Jon Plefka Mutually Agree to Part Ways - UMass Lowell Athletics
LOWELL, Mass. – UMass Lowell Athletics and Head Women's Basketball Coach Jon Plefka have mutually agreed to part ways, the department announced on Friday.
goriverhawks.com
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