LOWELL, Mass. - Senior goalie Mike Robinson (Bedford, N.H.) saved a penalty shot on the River Hawks' Matt Brown in the third period that secured the win as the University of New Hampshire men's hockey team defeated No. 20 UMass Lowell, 2-1, on Friday night at the Tsongas Center.
Robinson made a total of 25 saves, while junior forwards Jackson Pierson (Zionsville, Ind.) and Tyler Ward (Kamloops, British Columbia) each scored for UNH.
The Wildcats improve to 4-10-2 (4-10-2 Hockey East), while the River Hawks fall to 3-4-0 (3-4-0 Hockey East).
UP NEXT:
- The Wildcats are back to action on Saturday, Feb. 6 as they complete the home-and-home series against No. 20 UMass Lowell at 5 PM at the Whittemore Center on College SportsLive.
Score: New Hampshire 2, #20 UMass Lowell 1
Records: UNH (4-10-2, 4-10-2 HEA), UMass Lowell (3-4-0, 3-4-0 HEA)
Location: Lowell, Mass. (Tsongas Center)
Date: Friday, Feb. 5, 2021
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Pierson gave the 'Cats a 1-0 lead at 11:31 of the first period as he picked up the puck in front of the net and poked it into the net. Sophomore defenseman Kalle Eriksson (Leksand, Sweden) and freshman defenseman Luke Reid (Warman, Saskatchewan) picked up assists on the goal.
- UNH outshot UML 8-7 in the first period. The River Hawks went 0-2 on the power play.
- Ward buried the puck at 11:04 of the second period as he one-timed a pass from freshman forward Nick Cafarelli (Middleton, Mass.). Ward's goal extended the Wildcat lead to 2-0. Junior forward Filip Engarås (Stockholm, Sweden) also posted an assist on the goal.
- Charlie Levesque found the back of the net for the River Hawks at 13:20 of the second to cut the Wildcat lead in half.
- UML outshot UNH, 9-8 in the second period, while the Wildcats went 0-1 on the power play.
- At 7:38 of the third period, Robinson made a big penalty shot save on an attempt by Brown to hold the Wildcats' 2-1 lead.
- The River Hawks went with the empty net at 17:30 of the third period but were unable to score the equalizer as the Wildcats secured the 2-1 win.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Robinson made 25 saves, while Henry Welsch recorded 17 for the River Hawks.
- UML outshot UNH, 26-19.
- The Wildcats went 0-1 on the power play and the River Hawks went 0-2.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
- UNH leads UMass Lowell in the all-time series 64-45-18.
- UNH is 14-11-7 all-time versus the River Hawks at the Tsongas Center.
- Ward scored his first game-winning goal as a Wildcat.
- With Pierson's goal tonight, he extended his point streak to four games. He now leads the team with 15 points (6 goals and 9 assists).
- Cafarelli now has six points over six games with his assist on Ward's goal tonight.
