BURLINGTON, Vt. - The 17th-ranked UMass Lowell River Hawks tallied two second period goals and survived a Catamount push to take a 2-1 Hockey East win Friday night at Gutterson Fieldhouse. The game was presented by Vermont National Country Club.
COACH'S QUOTE
"There are no moral victories but I thought it was our best 60 minutes of the year, I thought we had all four lines going well," head coach Kevin Sneddon said. "I asked Comeau, Vlad, and Ace to play a real high-energy style of game for us. I thought they could be the line that really inspires the team and they did it. We moved Johnny DeRoche back on the blue line and I thought he was very, very good tonight, did a lot of good things out there."
HOW IT HAPPENED
- A scoreless first period ended with Vermont holding a 12-9 advantage in shots. Derek Lodermeier had UVM's best chance of the period in the final minute. He came down the right wing and wired a shot just over Tyler Wall's glove and the crossbar.
- The River Hawks took a 1-0 lead at 6:30 of the second period. Freshman Zach Kaiser powered a rebound past Stefanos Lekkas. A video review overturned the original call on the ice of no goal.
- Dzhioshvili had UVM's best chance of the second period as he cut by a Lowell defender to the net. He managed to fire two shots on goal, but Wall made both saves, including one with his mask.
- UML doubled its lead on the power play with less than two minutes to play in the middle frame. Carter Long blocked a shot blue line shot and the puck deflected into the air and off the crossbar, where Zach Kaiser batted it out of the air for the goal.
- Dallas Comeau tallied his first goal of the season to give the Catamounts life just 3:33 into the third period. Comeau received a breakout pass from Johnny DeRoche and then hit Ace Cowans with a give-and-go pass leading to the goal.
- Vermont dominated the remainder of the third period and finished the frame with a 17-5 edge in shots. However, Wall made several ten-bell saves to preserve the River Hawk Lead and win.
GAME NOTES
- UVM finished the game with a 41-24 advantage in shots, winning the shot battle in all three periods. Wall finished the game with 40 saves while Lekkas tallied 22 stops.
- The River Hawks tallied a goal on their lone power play chance of the game. Vermont could not find the back of the net on its only chance.
- DeRoche made his collegiate debut on defense. He finished the game with a plus-one rating.
UP NEXT
Vermont and UMass Lowell close the regular season series tomorrow night at Gutterson Fieldhouse. Saturday night's game is Military Appreciation Night presented by Milton Cat. The Catamounts will wear custom camouflage jerseys that are available for auction here.
