Two players from Illinois – one a goaltender, the other a forward – recently committed to the UMass Lowell hockey program.
Nikola Goich and Elliot Gulley will put on River Hawks uniforms after committing to Norm Bazin and his staff.
Goich is a 6-5, 175-pound goaltender coming off a strong season for the Shreveport Mudbugs of the North American Hockey League. A native of Homer Glen, Ill., Goich compiled a 41-20-5 record, a 2.28 goals against average and a .918 save percentage in NAHL action.
This past season, in 39 regular season games, Goich posted a 24-13-5 record for Shreveport. He was seventh in the NAHL in wins, and ninth in goals against average (2.24) and save percentage (.924).
Elliot Gulley (Courtesy photo)
In the playoffs, in three games, his numbers were even more impressive – 1.81 and .936.
Goich is expected to compete for time next season at UMass Lowell with Beni Halasz, the lone returning goaltender, and another incoming goalie, Austin Elliott of the Ontario Hockey League’s London Knights.
Gulley also spent a good portion of his 2024-25 season in the NAHL.
In fact, he was leading the league in scoring when he switched leagues. A 5-10, 187-pound forward from Champaign, Ill., he put up an impressive 9-32-41 line in 27 games for the Wisconsin Windigo. He was the team’s captain when he left the NAHL to join Green Bay of the United States Hockey League.
In 37 regular-season games with Green Bay, Gulley tallied eight goals and 10 assists for 18 points. He picked up one assist in two playoff games.
The River Hawks, coming off a 16-16-4 season which included two in-season championships, are putting together a strong incoming class. Several of the new players, like Elliott, are coming from the Canadian Hockey League.
Three of the incoming skaters have been drafted by National Hockey League teams – forward Dalyn Wakely (Edmonton), and defensemen Tnias Mathurin (Detroit) and Nate Misskey (San Jose).