Spring 2007 - University of Massachusetts Lowell

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whom who had played for Riley in
the early seventies, just prior to the
golden years.
Many of these players, says Riley,
he remains in touch with today:
“We formed a bond. I could push
them hard and know that they’d
take it, because they knew I cared for
them, that I’d do anything I could to
support them—in hockey or in life.
When you have that kind of trust in
each other, you can accomplish a
lot of things.”
At least three of his players from
those years—MacTavish, Jenkins and
Mark Kumpel (number 55 on the
scoring list)—went on to play in the
NFL, where MacTavish remains
today, as coach of the Edmonton
Oilers. (MacTavish, who holds the
all-time school record for most points
in a single season, 88, might well
have out-pointed Carr for the number-one
career tally had he not left
after his sophomore year to join the
Bruins, where he was a standout for
six seasons.)
“We were a talented group of players,”
remembers Dean Jenkins, the
Billerica walk-on—today a real estate
developer in Lowell—who played on
a line with Carr and Charbonneau.
“Some of the guys—not me, really,
but some of the others—were players
who’d been passed over by Division I
teams, but maybe had Division I
abilities. Then along comes Bill
[Riley], who recognizes their talent
and finds a place for them…
“He was a master recruiter, and a
master motivator of men that age.
Well-educated and tough-minded.
He had a vision, and he wasn’t going
to stop ’til he got it.”
In the 1983-’84 season, a year after
closing the season 29-2 (including a
10-1-1 record against Division I foes)
The ’82 team, the last of three championship squads
Dean Jenkins
All-Americans Tom Jacobs and Craig MacTavish
“He was a master recruiter,
and a master motivator of
men that age. Well-educated
and tough-minded.
He had a vision, and he
wasn’t going to stop ’til he
got it.” —Dean Jenkins
to finish second in the nation,
ULowell was elevated to a Division
I team. Now with opponents like
Michigan State, Ohio State and
Northern Arizona, it would be four
more years before they saw another
winning record. (“When we went to
Michigan State that first year,” Bill
Riley remembers, “they had a sign
hung over one side of the rink—
‘What’s a Lowell?’ ” They lost both
games of a two-game series, by a
combined score of 16-4.)
Riley would stay on as coach
another seven years after that, tallying
two more winning seasons, before
he would step aside to take the position
as events coordinator. (He is also
assistant commissioner of officials in
the Hockey East conference.) He still
manages to get to most UMass Lowell
homes games, he says, as well as to
some weekend games at Bowdoin,
where his son is today an assistant
22 UMASS LOWELL MAGAZINE SPRING 2007