LOWELL, Mass. – It has been a fine season for the UMass Lowell Men’s hockey team to this point. They are the #9 ranked team in the country and #9 in the Pairwise. A very good position to be in as the back end of the schedule starts. It is also a good sign when individual players start to get recognized for what they have contributed to the team’s success.
Junior goalie Ben Halasz has been named to the 2025 Mike Richter Award watch list. Halasz has formed a solid duo with graduate senior Henry Welsch to help the River Hawks to a 12-6-2 overall record, and 5-5-1 in Hockey East. The Hockey Commissioners Association announced the list. The list was made public on Tuesday afternoon. 35 netminders made the list, and will compete for the award which is given to the best goaltender in NCAA Division I hockey.
To this point of the season, Halasz has appeared in nine games, making eight starts. His save percentage of .926 ranks 19th in the nation. His goals against average of 2.13 is ranked 21st in the country. His numbers in Hockey East are better. Ben is tied for first in save percentage at .943 and second in the conference with a 1.84 GAA. His overall numbers are good for third in the league. He has posted two shutouts this season, both came back in November. On the 23rd, he backstopped the River Hawks to a 1-0 win over UConn by stopping 32 shots. Then the following Friday night in the Adirondack Winter Invitational, he made 20 stops in a 2-0 UMass Lowell win over St. Lawrence.
The program has had a winner of this award. Connor Hellebuyck took home this award back in 2014. It was the first year of this award. Over the next three weeks, a committee of voters made up of coaches, administrators, scouts, and media will pair the list down to 12 semifinalists. From those 12, the committee will then pick the three finalists that will be at this year’s Frozen Four in St.Louis to find out who walks away with this year’s Mike Richter Award.
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- John is VP of NGSC Sports and head of our New England operations. He covers sports in the America East, Big East, ACC, Hockey East conferences.
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