Tuesday preview: Getting sick of writing previews already

The Lowell River Hawks (2-0-0, 0-0-0 HE) vs. the UConn Huskies (1-1-1, 1-0-0 AH)

7 p.m. Tuesday at Conway Arena, Nashua, New Hampshire.

Lowell has yet to start its conference schedule. UConn has two points from one game and is tied for second in Atlantic Hockey.

Last three games
Lowell — 4-1 at Minnesota State, 4-2 at Minnesota State, 3-3 vs. UNB (exh.).
UConn — 5-0 at Army, 4-4 at Bowling Green, 1-2 at Bowling Green.

Prior meetings
Lowell leads UConn 17-5-1 all-time.

Season series
Nothing to report.

Top scorers
Lowell:
Riley Wetmore — 2 GP, 2-2-4
Matt Ferreira — 2, 2-1-3
Derek Arnold — 2, 2-1-3
Terrence Wallin — 2, 1-2-3
Chad Ruhwedel — 2, 0-3-3

UConn:
Brant Harris — 3 GP, 4-1-5 (1 GP, 1-1-2 AH)
Cole Schneider — 3, 2-3-5 (1, 2-1-3)
Sean Ambrosie — 3, 1-4-5 (1, 0-2-2)
Jordan Sims — 3, 1-1-2 (1, 1-0-1)
Billy Latta — 3, 1-1-2 (1, 0-1-1)

Goaltending

Lowell:
Doug Carr (1-0-0) — 1 GP, 60:00, 1.00 GAA/.960 sv%
Brian Robbins (1-0-0) — 1, 60:00, 2.00/.926

UConn:
Garrett Bartus (1-1-1) — 3 GP, 183:55, 1.96 GAA/1.000 sv% (1 GP, 60:00, 0.00 GAA/1.000 sv% AH)

Team stats

Lowell:
Overall (2 games) — 8 goals for (4.00/gm), 3 goals against (1.50/gm). Power play 3/13 (23.1%, 0 SHGA), penalty kill 6/6 (100.0%, 0 SHGF)

UConn:
Overall (3 games) — 10 goals for (3.33/gm), 6 goals against (2.00/gm). Power play 5/19 (26.3%, 0 SHGA), penalty kill 18/21 (85.7%, 0 SHGF)
Atlantic Hockey (1 game) — 5 goals for (5.00/gm), 0 goals against (0.00/gm). Power play 1/2 (50.0%, 0 SHGA), penalty kill 4/4 (100.0%, 0 SHGF)

Outlook
Not much to tell here, honestly.

We suppose that you go in looking at a team whose top line has scored five points each in three games, or a goalie whose most recent game was a 47-save shutout and you say, “Well they could be pretty good.” But the truth of the matter is that they’re not. UConn might be good for a school that doesn’t offer its players scholarships. But “good for a school that doesn’t offer its players scholarships” translates to “bad for every other team it plays against that does.” Let’s look at it this way: Bowling Green won just 10 games last year and would have lost more if not for the fact that it played Alabama-Huntsville three times. And they earned three points against UConn.

Lowell? An undefeated team from a good league? Yeah, Lowell should demolish them, weird neutral site rink or not. The last time these teams met (and granted it was 10 years ago almost to the day), Lowell won 6-0, and if memory serves, it could have been a lot worse. Are we wrong in remembering a four- or five-goal second period in which UConn had two shots on net? If we are, it was really close to those numbers, and more or less indicative of the entire game.

Not much has changed since then. In the intervening 10 years, UConn has played a Hockey East opponent 18 times, and gone 2-14-2 (the wins, you ask? They were predictably against Amherst and Merrimack. Maine, oddly, and Providence accounted for the ties), having been outscored 84-38. That’s an average of about 4.67 goals allowed per game compared to just 2.11.

Lowell’s going to kill these guys. Believe it.