LOWELL, Mass. -- Senior forward Kenny Hausinger (Anchorage, Alaska) scored three points (1g,2a) to lead the UMass Lowell Hockey team in its 5-1 season opening victory against Alabama Huntsville on Saturday night at the Tsongas Center.
UMass Lowell scored three third period goals, all by freshmen, to seal the win for the River Hawks. Matt Brown (Wood Ridge, N.J.), Zach Kaiser (Orangeville, Ont.) and Andre Lee (Karlstad, Sweden) all scored their first collegiate tallies in the final frame for the River Hawks. Freshman forward Carl Berglund (Hammaro, Sweden) totaled two assists in his collegiate debut.
"It was a back and forth hockey game, obviously the special teams were a big part of the game and the second period is something we need to improve upon," said UMass Lowell Head Coach Norm Bazin. "Overall, I like the way these guys battled and the third period was a good comeback effort from the second."
UAH's Christian Rajic cut the UMass Lowell to 2-1 with 1:47 left in the second period.
The River Hawks got on the scoreboard first just 1:21 into the game on a rebound goal by senior forward Colin O'Neill (Odenton, Md.). Hausinger added a pretty shorthanded goal to give the River Hawks a 2-0 lead halfway through the second period. Hausinger finished the night with a game-high five shots on goal, while Connor Sodergren (Tewksbury, Mass.) added four shots on net. O'Neill won 10 of his 12 face-offs, while sophomore Lucas Condotta (Georgetown, Ont.) won 10-of-11 face-offs on the evening and Berglund added nine face-off victories.
UMass Lowell finished the night with a 34-19 shots advantage, including a 23-10 edge over the final two periods of play. The River Hawks went a perfect 7-for-7 on the penalty kill, while they went 1-for-5 on the man advantage.
Senior goaltender Tyler Wall (Leamington, Ont.) stopped 18 shots in his 41st career victory, while Mark Sinclair amassed 29 saves in the losing effort for the Chargers.
The River Hawks return to action on Sunday, October 6th in the series finale vs. Alabama Huntsville on Touch-A-Truck Day (1:30 to 3:30pm). Game time from the Tsongas Center is 4 p.m.
To purchase season tickets, individual tickets, visit www.TsongasCenter.com. To save with a group of 10 or more, contact Jonathan Healy at Jonathan_Healy@uml.edu or by phone at (978) 934-6280.
