A quick look at the River Hawks

Minnesota State is back in the NCAA tournament for the second year in a row. The Mavericks are playing an old national-tourney foe, UMass-Lowell. The two teams squared off three years in a row as Division II opponents from 1979 to 1981. They played in the '79 title game, with Lowell winning 6-4. MSU won the next year in the semifinals and went on to win the national title. Lowell won a semifinal matchup in '81 and won another championship.

Here's a look at this year's Lowell team ...

Overall record: 25-10-4

Hockey East record: 11-6-4 (second place, won Hockey East tournament)

Coach: Norm Bazin (sixth season)

Leading scorers: sr. Joseph Pendenza (13-16—29), so. Adam Chapie (12-11—23), sr. Derek Arnold (11-12—23)

Top goaltender: so. Connor Hellebuyck (17-8-2, .943, 1.73)

Notes: Lowell was ranked No. 1 in the nation in the USCHO preseason poll and is ranked fifth in the final poll (MSU is 11th) and seventh in the Pairwise (MSU is 10th). ... The River Hawks won the Hockey East tournament, shutting out Notre Dame 4-0 and New Hampshire 4-0 over the weekend in Boston. ... Hellebuyck, a Winnipeg Jets draft pick and first-team Hockey East pick, leads the nation in goals-against average and save percentage. He was named the Hockey East tournament's most outstanding player.