Like many New Englanders, Ryan Dmowski was introduced to college hockey at a pretty early age.
The East Lyme, Conn., native played for the Providence Capitals and frequented Schneider Arena in Rhode Island’s capital city as a youngster. To this day, a memory of watching the team on which he is now a senior still stands out.
“I remember going to a (Providence College) game when they were playing UMass Lowell and saying, ‘Man, that team is good,’ ” said Dmowski, who is one of four New Englanders on the Lowell roster. “I had the opportunity to come up for a visit one day and I fell in love with the program.”
The River Hawks were good back then, but eighth-year head coach Norm Bazin has had Dmowski contributing to some of the club’s greatest times as a Hockey East program. He has both competed for league championships and been within a game of reaching the Frozen Four twice in his career, helping Lowell move into the conference winner’s circle for the third time in history as a sophomore.
How do you not love that?
Dmowski hit the Tsongas Center ice after attending The Gunnery School and playing 62 games for the United States Hockey League’s Des Moines Buccaneers over parts of two seasons. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound forward was just 18 years old when he stepped on campus, so Bazin has watched the Nutmeg State product grow throughout his career and sees good things ahead this winter.
“Those earlier experiences certainly helped him adjust and realize that he can take somebody under his wing now that he’s an upperclassman, but I think he’s been developing all the way along,” Bazin said of Dmowski. “I just think that this year will be a strong year for him because he’s got the confidence and he’s earned the extra ice time and opportunities and made the most of them.”
Dmowski’s junior season was his best collegiate work to date as he played in 35 of his team’s 36 games, posting 11 goals and 11 assists. He trailed only senior teammate Ryan Lohin — a Tampa Bay Lightning prospect out of Pennsylvania — for the team scoring lead with his 22 points and was one of just two double-digit goal scorers on the team a year ago.
It was a career year gone by for Dmowski, though the season didn’t end so well on a team level as the River Hawks finished seventh in Hockey East before Merrimack ended their season with a two-game sweep in the opening round of the league’s postseason.
While it’s a new year, you bet there’s still a feeling of unfinished business. There’s no position Dmowski would rather be in than competing for another Lamoriello Trophy come March.
“We’re always playing with a little bit of a chip on our shoulder after last year,” Dmowski said. “It was a humbling experience to show how much hard work it takes and that it’s not going to be just showing up every year and making it to that point. I want to get back to where we were, and it all starts with executing the right things and how we want to play in each game.”
Strength, hard work and simply gaining experience over the trials and tribulations of Division 1 hockey seasons have been key for Dmowski as he found his place and a regular role in the River Hawk lineup.
And the trust from Bazin and his other coaches goes a long way. It helped him get senior year off to a good start as he recorded three points over two games against RIT, including the game-winning goal on the power play and an assist in the Oct. 12 season opener.
“One of the biggest things is that I’m maturing into a man now,” said Dmowski, who played in 95 games over his first three seasons in Lowell, including 26 during a 13-point rookie campaign. “I’m taking advantage of opportunities being given to me, like being on the power play. It’s a great feeling to have the trust from Coach, and it’s helping me with executing what I need to with special teams.”
Dmowski’s presence on and off the ice will be even more important this year as he helps to guide a team that welcomed in 13 freshmen, following in the footsteps of A.J. White and Michael Kapla who captained the team during his first collegiate year. No team in college hockey has more first-year players than the River Hawks, who entered last year with only six.
Bazin sees Dmowski playing a perfect role in a class of five seniors that includes a pair of captains in Lohin and Connor Wilson.
“You need (your seniors and captains) not only guiding them verbally but showing them the way by example. I think that’s where Ryan is best,” the coach said. “He can play very hard and he’s built himself up to be a very strong player in Hockey East.”
Dmowski quickly learned that college hockey is a different beast, but he credits a great deal of his development as a hockey player and total athlete — as he also played lacrosse, ran cross-country and was part of a weightlifting program in high school — to Gunnery. He played for coaches Chris Baudo, Craig Badger and Peter Whitney at the prep school located in Washington, Conn., for three years, totaling 58 points in that span and 18 goals in each of his past two seasons.
“All of them were all great with helping me grow into a junior player and then a college player. They progressed me in the weight room and groomed me into a younger man on and off the ice with academics and athletics,” Dmowski said. “I obviously couldn’t have done it all without going to Gunnery and playing prep school hockey, which was such a great experience.”
The time at Gunnery prepared him for another next step in the USHL, which preceded the start of his college years. The path, he said, was “perfect” and taught him all that was necessary to make the jump to the nation’s top college conference.
“I was pretty dominant especially growing up, but throughout my whole time there was more learning about things off the ice to help me prepare,” Dmowski said. “They taught me how to battle every shift. I might not be the most dominant player in every single game, but if I play the way that I should play I’ll still have the same amount of success.”
As senior year ramps up, Dmowski can’t help but think back to when he was that kid in the stands during the early stages of his hockey journey. And his story can certainly offer a lesson or two to those in that position now.
“I’ve always wanted to stay local ever since I was a kid growing up watching Providence, BC, BU, UNH, all these teams,” Dmowski said. “This was a dream of mine, so to make it a reality, to come here and play, and actually win a Hockey East championship is so special. It just shows that you should never give up on the dreams of what you want.”
