The UMass Lowell hockey program has landed two more players from the NCAA transfer portal, one the son of a longtime National Hockey League player and the other a towering skater from Slovakia.
Agreeing to join the River Hawks for the 2026-27 season are defenseman Anthony Dowd from Arizona State and forward Tobias Pitka from Northern Michigan.
They are very different sizes — Dowd is 5-foot-7, 155 pounds, while Pitka is 6-foot-4, 225 pounds.
“We’re excited. It’s a very, very hectic and chaotic time,” said UML head coach Norm Bazin of the transfer portal, which closed Monday.
UML brought in three players from the portal: Bazin previously announced adding 6-foot-6, 214-pound goaltender Cole Moore, who starred at Bowling Green for three seasons before transferring.
Bazin said Dowd, Pitka and Moore have the potential to be impact performers right away. Unlike players from junior hockey or the Canadian Hockey League, all three have already enjoyed success in college.
“Until you hit college hockey, you don’t realize how hard it is,” Bazin said. “They’re not going to be stunned by the intensity of college.”
Dowd is the son of Jim Dowd, who starred at Lake Superior before embarking on a 16-year NHL career which saw him play more than 700 games for nine teams.
A native of Point Pleasant Beach, N.J., Anthony Dowd was held to four assists in 27 games this past season at Arizona State. He was more productive as a freshman (3-10-13 in 36 games) and sophomore (2-11-13) for the Sun Devils.
A puck-moving defenseman, Dowd was a member of the U.S. National Under-17 team during the 2020-21 season.
Bazin played against Dowd’s father in college when Bazin skated for UML and Jim Dowd was at Lake Superior.
Tobias Pitka (Northern Michigan photo)
“He was one of the best college players I ever played against,” he said. “(Anthony Dowd) doesn’t have his father’s size, but I’m sure he has a lot of the same smarts. He gives us a different dimension that we’ve been looking for. A power play guy. He moves the puck extremely well.”
Pitka is coming off a freshman season at Northern Michigan in which he posted 5-7-12 totals in 25 games. The right-shot center is a native of Poprad, Slovakia. He has represented his country on the international stage on multiple occasions.
UML associate head coach Andy Boschetto was on Slovakia’s staff this past winter when Pitka scored a goal and added an assist in five games in St. Paul, Minn., at the 2026 IIHF World Championship.
Pitka was named Slovakia’s captain for the prestigious tournament.
Unlike many European prospects, Pitka played on several North American teams prior to college, including stops at the South Kent School, Selects Academy, Green Bay Gamblers (USHL) and Victoria Grizzlies (BCHL).
“Pitka gives us a bit of depth at center. He’s someone who wins a lot of faceoffs. You can never have too much depth in the center of the ice. He’s a big boy,” Bazin said.
Six UML players from last season’s team entered the portal. Four committed to new programs: forwards Lee Parks (Maine), forward Diego Buttazzoni (Sacred Heart) and Mirko Buttazzoni (Sacred Heart), and defenseman Luke Shipley (Michigan Tech).
Freshmen defensemen James Johnson and August Classon are still looking for new homes.