LOWELL, Mass. — Coaches love early-season road trips for the “team bonding” aspects of them. Get on the road, and all the players have to do is hang around each other and focus on the task at hand.
For UMD, it’s doubly valuable here in Massachusetts. 12 newcomers, 11 freshmen, and this is the Bulldogs’ only road trip until a mid-November jaunt to Oxford, Ohio.
And while the group flew into Boston’s Logan Airport on Thursday and commuted by TD Garden as the multi-time Frozen Four host was about to house the Bruins’ home opener (they beat Montreal, by the way), the Lowell/Tewksbury area — where UMD is playing and staying on this trip — doesn’t exactly scream “hustle and bustle.”
OK, I’ll just say it: It’s truly a chance for the players to focus on hockey because unless someone slyly rents a car or decides to book an Uber, there isn’t much else to do around here.
Anyway, there is hockey. Should be an interesting weekend. Bit of a style clash, with UMass-Lowell loaded with bigger veterans. Yes, UMD has size right now that it hasn’t consistently had in recent years, but the Bulldogs also have a serious speed component, especially up front.
Time to take a look at the lines without Max Plante for the first of what is said to be four to six weeks. Rooting for the low end.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD forwards
Perkins – James – Bettens
Shaugabay – Plante (Zam) – Arnott
Molenaar – Smith – Loney
Menghini – Fischer – Bechen
UMD defense
Gallatin – Dubinsky
Pionk – Kleber
Hanson – Francis
Pierce
UMD goalies
Gajan – Knapp – Sandy
UMass-Lowell forwards
Truman – Bentley – Carpentier
Eddy – Cole – Parks
Nemec – Vaarwerk – Crasa
Delaney – Owens – Buttazzoni
UMass-Lowell defense
Meehan – Becker
Jonsson – Robilotti
Brandon – Anderson
Schweighardt
UMass-Lowell goalies
Welsch – Halasz – Brandon
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