Giving Thanks

This year there is no reason for River Hawk fans to look far. Thanksgiving is the time of the year where people look for a reason to give thanks to. Suddenly things that fans may not be thankful for are willing to give thanks to them on this day.

This year River Hawk fans have a great reason to be thankful. After seeing the success of many of the teams in the fall, and the expectations for success in the winter, many are thankful to be a part of River Hawk nation.

This was a year which ‘Hawks fans saw personal and team records broken, playoffs reached, and championships won. Just about every program in the Northeast-10 would see UMass Lowell on the schedule, and have to be concerned with that game.

Fall 2009 saw the usual success from the Field Hockey team. Despite the fact that they were not able to win the National Championship the Field Hockey team still had a successful season. This was a year that brought about two games with at least eight goals. The team also saw a record eight points scored in a single game by one player.

The ‘Hawks made it a storybook season by defeating Stonehill, a team that swept them in the regular season, in the National semi-finals on their own home field with a game winning goal by Samy Macy in the final minutes.

In Costello there was another successful season giving ‘Hawks fans a reason to be thankful. The women’s volleyball team produced a season that has fans thankful there are fewer empty spaces in the school’s trophy case.

‘Hawks fans witnessed a 10-4 regular season record at home from the Volleyball team. This was a great omen to UML hosting the Northeast-10 tournament. The ‘Hawks made sure that the Northeast-10 Championship was not leaving Costello Gym that weekend as they won their first NE-10 Championship. This also earned the team an automatic bid in the NCAA tournament, and Head Coach Karen McNulty head coach of the year honors.

One thing ‘Hawks fans did not see for much of this season was a goal against the UML women’s soccer game. The ‘Hawks women’s soccer team created a stretch of 12 consecutive games over a month long span without giving up a goal. This stretch also created a Div II record for senior goalkeeper Jamie Gillis, earning her a spot on faces in the crowd of Sports Illustrated.

After starting the season 1-2 the ‘Hawks would not lose another game until the second to last game of the regular season. This would earn UML a spot in the NCAA East regional tournament.

Fans should give thanks to be at the school at the time of this milestone. Any sports fan loves to mention how they were there for any historical moments, let alone 1,333 consecutive minutes of one.

The fall season produced many occasions which students at UMass Lowell could be thankful for. The fall programs set a standard that winter and spring looks look to keep up with, and give fans more reasons to be thankful.

Make UMass Lowell tradition friendly

UMass Lowell athletics have had a lot of success over the course of the past few years. Despite this success it always seems as though there is something missing. The missing factor does not seem to be on the field, but off the field. One thing that seems to be void from any of the River Hawks teams is the traditions that other schools made famous.

This is not in any way a negative piece on the fans of UMass Lowell. ‘Hawks fans have proved their loyalty and support over the years. The fans at UML proved to be a factor, and made themselves noticed at hockey games at home and on the road last season.

The one thing that Umass Lowell does not do is extend the celebration and party every game of every sport. The enjoyment of a college sport does have to last only between the start and conclusion of a game.

In regards to athletics students have a lot to be proud of. Whether it’s a field hockey team that is always in title contention, a women’s soccer team that refuses to allow a goal, a basketball team that can easily roll off 13 straight wins, or an Ice Hockey team that can beat any big name program.

Many college programs have traditions where there are large tailgate parties before every game. One school that made this famous is Ole Miss University. The famous tailgating on the Grove as a 10 acre plot is used as a tailgating area in Oxford, MS before every football game. Another famous tradition is at Auburn University where fans line up hours before the game to cheer and applaud the players as they arrive.

Obviously Lowell does not have a 10 acre area to tailgate, but it is more the idea of celebrating Lowell athletics, and making every game something fans can devote a portion of their day to, and not just a last second idea if there is nothing else going on.

There have been ideas used to get fans ready for the upcoming home opener of the hockey season. The River Hawk Road Show has built excitement in the students for their matchup Oct. 23 against Colgate at the Tsongas.

Along with the Road Show, UMass Lowell is hosting a Hockey First Night event hours before the home opener. The event ill include a rally along with music, and a BBQ to prepare the fans for the game.

These are great ideas to get the fans motivated and excited for the upcoming game. The only way it would make it better is ideas like this such as a rally or cookout before most games. This does not mean just the school has to set up the plans, but any group of people who want to celebrate UML athletics. Make the few hours before a game an event along with the game.

This school already has a great, loyal student fan base. UMass Lowell has far more enthusiastic fans than Stonehill could find, and far more intelligent fans than “the Zoo” at Amherst could provide. All that the Blue Fan Group or any students at UML would need to do is start the party well before the game, and then they can keep the victory celebrations going well after the game.

After Further Review

Fans already anticipated a high level of intensity during the weekend series between the ‘Hawks and the defending National Champion Boston University Terriers. That intensity multiplied when Tim Benedetto, the referee from the Hockey East Championship Game, was seen officiating this game.

This left many fans questioning why Benedetto was allowed to call the first game between the ‘Hawks and Terriers after the infamous “no goal” call last March. The truth is that the referees for games are assigned well in advance.

“This is a decision that is made near the beginning of September for games around this point in the season,” said Hockey East Commissioner Joe Bertagna. “The only restriction we may have is if an official is unable to make trips to teams further away such as Maine or Vermont.”

With Lowell not that far out of reach Commissioner Bertagna has no intention of going out of the way to keep Benedetto away from the Tsongas Arena.

“He [Benedetto] has been one of the top referees for many years here, and we are not going to forget that because of one issue,” Bertagna said. “Mr. Benedetto feels bad about the way that things went, and regrets what happened that game.”

The single issue, a questionable call back of a goal in the Hockey East Championship game, may require the blame to be spread on other areas aside from Benedetto. With all NHL reviews going to an office in the Toronto Headquarters, the TD Garden did not have sound in their replay booth.

If a similar situation should arise, and there was still no audio replay was available, Bertagna mentioned the use of video replay from networks covering the game such as NESN.
Also in defense of the decision made by Benedetto was a rule in place which states that if the referee has intention to blow the whistle, but is unable to, play will stop as if the referee blew the whistle.

“The rule was put into place from a conference tournament game a couple years ago between Boston College and New Hampshire,” Bertagna said. “When New Hampshire goalie Kevin Reagan lost his helmet, play should have been stopped, but no whistle was blown.”

While these are good steps towards any issues for the upcoming games it still makes UMass Lowell fans question why there could not be audio replay from NESN used against Boston University.

There is still question as to way a man who was seen running to his car after the Hockey East Championship game would be used for the rematch. This is in no way saying that Benedetto should be banned from any UMass Lowell or Boston university games. The fact that he is one of the longest tenured referees in Hockey East shows he is a credible official. It does seem odd to use him the very first game between Boston University and UMass Lowell though.

With all the things that happened Commissioner Bertagna wanted River Hawk fans to realize that he knows there is still anger about what happened.

“I understand that the city of Lowell is still upset about what happened in March,” Bertagna said. “Hockey East is doing everything to make sure it does not happen again.”

Be that as it may, this may not be closure for River Hawks fans, and having to see Benedetto in the first rematch with the Terriers served as nothing but a painful reminder being rubbed in.