Since its clear that the only way Lowell will make the tourney this year is on the back of their freshmen, Riverhawk fans might like to know who's looking good enough to fill that role. After watching both games of the B.C.-Lowell series last weekend, I wasn't surprised to see the "Rookie-of-the-Week" come from these squads. Amongst several skilled freshman stand-outs, Lowell's Greg Koehler has garnered his first rookie accolades with that same award this week. This is no surprise to me since I've been posting his praises since the exhibition game against Concordia. Koehler's has some well-rounded skills packed into a relatively large (6-2, 195) frame. He reminds me of a Jeff Daw (6-3, 190) with better play-making savvy. This could have something to do with Greg wearing Jeff's #11. But, both forwards are tall snipers ... Greg seems to have Jeff's skill at putting the puck in the net. Greg also plays well along the boards with a greater ability to hold onto the puck in traffic. He's made some nice passes and seems to have a good sense of his teamates positions. Greg was manned Jeff's familiar power-play role during this last weekend. I look forward to watching this kid develope. A Lowell freshman that had gone relatively unoticed by me until the second B.C. game was #18 Derek Bell. I love watching a forward who has the presence of mind and confidence to skate out of the corner into the slot. So often, a forward will stand this position attempt a pass or shoot if they're high enough along the boards. Three times Derek saw the opportunity and carried the puck out into the slot. Twice, he scored! The first was called back on an interference penalty which I didn't really see. The third Lowell rookie I'd like to mention is defenseman Kevin Bertram. This kid came from the same junior team that Fankhouser played for last year and I'm definitely impressed so far. Bertram took several penalties last weekend so I'm hoping he soon gets savvy to the ways of college hockey. But, other than that ... he's demonstrated good puck handling skills on a defensive legion sorely in need of that. He also has seen regular ice time and pairs very well with Nicholishen. He's among several Lowell defenseman who could use some one-on-one practice, but I see this kid solidifying the Riverhawk defensive corps. Lastly, Mario Leblanc is definitely skilled but seems to snake-bitten much like B.C.'s Farkas. Ed Campbell's younger brother John and Craig Brown continue to be scrappy forwards who have some definite promise. Stay tuned. This squad may not be tournament ready yet, but those Hockey-East cellar predictions could once again be laughed off with a great Riverhawk season yet!!! Go Riverhawks! - Paul. HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey; send information to [log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.