Summer 2011 - University of Massachusetts Lowell

C A M P U S N E W S
NORM BAZIN ’94
NAMED HEAD COACH
OF UMASS LOWELL
ICE HOCKEY
Continued from Page 20
The strong season in Worcester gave Roloson’s career
the jumpstart it needed. He signed a contract with the
Minnesota Wild and played some of the best hockey of
his career. Roloson helped the Wild to its first ever
playoff appearance in 2003 and the following year was
named to the NHL’s Western Conference All Star Team.
He was honored after the 2004 season with the Roger
Crozier Saving Grace Award as the goalie with the
highest save percentage.
Roloson played in Minnesota for five years, one season
lost to the battle over a collective bargaining agreement,
before Edmonton swung a deal to acquire a goaltender
who could get them into the playoffs: Roloson.
Edmonton, coached by former ULowell star Craig
MacTavish, grabbed the final playoff spot and then rode
Roloson’s spectacular play to the Stanley Cup finals. The
dream was short-circuited when Roloson was injured in
the opening game of the final series. The Oilers eventually
lost the cup to Carolina in seven games.
When you talk to Roloson or talk about him with
others the discussion always comes around to hard work.
“Dedication,” says Bruce Crowder, who coached Roloson
during his final three years at UMass Lowell. “He was
hungry, he worked hard, he was the first person on the
ice, he was the last person off. He did whatever it took to
make himself better.”
Roloson set the school record for saves in a season
(1,148) in 1993, earned All American status and was
named Hockey East’s Player of the Year in 1994, his
senior season. He was a Hobey Baker Award finalist,
given to the nation’s outstanding player.
When Roloson talks about UMass Lowell, he speaks
not of games, but of teammates. The names roll off his
tongue easily: Norm Bazin, Ian Hebert, Shane Henry,
Travis Tucker … and the list goes on. “It’s the bonds you
remember; I try to forget the games right away,” he says.
“The life experiences, the friendships that you’ve made. I
look back at how excited I was to go [to UMass Lowell].
I learned a lot, got a great education, made new friends
and those friends became lifetime friends.”
Norm Bazin, head coach at Hamilton
College for the last three years and a
former player and assistant at UMass
Lowell, has been named head coach of
the River Hawks men’s hockey team.
Bazin was introduced to the campus
community and media at a press conference
held at the UMass Lowell Inn &
Conference Center in April. He succeeds
Blaise MacDonald who resigned at the
end of the 2010-11 season after 10 years
at the helm.
In his introductory remarks, the new
coach said, “I think we have a first-class
facility, a world-class University, a loyal
fan base and a solid hockey foundation
in terms of support from our administration
and staff.”
A native of Manitoba, Canada, Bazin
was a winger for the River Hawks from
1990 to 1994 and served as an assistant
coach from 1996 to 2000. He later spent
eight seasons at Colorado College as a
SPREADING THE LOVE
Norm Bazin
coaching assistant and recruiting
coordinator.
He took over at Hamilton in 2008 and
led the Division III Continentals to the
top of the New England Small Conference
Athletic Conference (NESCAC)
last season. His success with that program
earned him NESCAC Coach of the
Year honors each of the last two years.
Athletic Director Dana Skinner says,
“The characteristics that have made
Norm such a successful leader will pay
dividends for our hockey program and
the University.”
Bazin and his wife, Michelle, have two
sons Blake, 7, and Coleston, 4.
River Hawks hockey player T.J. Massie signed autographs, posed for photos and helped make
holiday cards with nearly 1,000 students at Tyngsboro Elementary in December.
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