Down two goals early, UMass Lowell hockey was unable to erase the deficit as Princeton skated to a 7-2 victory in the Hobey Baker Rink on Saturday. Freshman Derek Arnold (Foxboro, Mass.) assisted on both River Hawk goals, granting him four helpers on the weekend.
The loss pushed UMass Lowell's losing streak to nine games as they fall to 2-14-2 on the season. The Tigers get their second non-conference win of the year to improve to 8-5-0 overall.
The night started off on the wrong foot as the Tigers netted a pair of goals in the first seven minutes of play. Matt Farris (Pierre, S.D.) and Derrick Pallis (Medfield, Mass.) each found of the back of the net, capitalizing on defensive zone mistakes by UMass Lowell.
Responding to the Princeton offensive outburst, the River Hawks slashed the deficit in half at 7:44. Collecting a pass in neutral ice, Arnold broke into the Tigers' zone with speed. Drawing the defender to his side Arnold centered the puck to Matt Ferreira (Brampton, Ont.) between the circles. Ferreira immediately put the shot over Mike Condon's (Needham, Mass.) right shoulder. The score cut Princeton's lead to 2-1 and was Ferreira's fourth of the year.
Despite closing the period on a high note, the Tigers exploded out of the gate in the second frame to score three unanswered tallies. Taylor Fedun (Edmonton, Alta.) and Rob Kleebaum (Sherwood Park, Alta.) each scored in the first three minutes, followed by Farris' second tally of the game at 10:52.
Unwilling to surrender, UMass Lowell chipped away at the scoreboard with a power play goal from David Vallorani (Hamilton, Ont.) with just 23 seconds remaining in the second. Off of the face-off in Princeton's zone, Arnold knocked the puck to Vallorani who drifted slowly towards Condon while surveying his options. When Condon dropped down, Vallorani placed a shot over the goalie's glove for his fifth tally of the season. The goal cut the score to 5-2 and was Vallorani's second tally of the weekend.
The third period offered more of the same however, as the Tigers netted two more scores in the opening 49 seconds of play. Pallis scored his second goal of the game just 33 seconds after puck drop, followed by another Kleebaum tally 16 seconds later.
Both River Hawk goaltenders saw time in net as Doug Carr (Hanover, Mass.) stopped 26-of-31 shots and Marc Boulanger (Olds, Alta.), relieving Carr midway through the second period, turned away 8-of-10 shots. Princeton's Condon made 24 saves to pick up his third win of the season.
The power play units for each squad were active with UMass Lowell scoring once in seven chances while the Tigers converted three of their five opportunities.
The final buzzer finished off the River Hawks' first half of the season as they head into the holiday break. UMass Lowell doesn't return to action until Jan. 7 when they do battle with New Hampshire in the Whittemore Center.