BURLINGTON, Vt. - The 17th-ranked UMass Lowell River Hawks (6-2-2, 3-0-1 HEAM) took a 5-3 win and completed the weekend sweep over Vermont (1-5-0, 0-3-0 HEAM) on Saturday's Military Appreciation Night presented by Milton Cat at Gutterson Fieldhouse.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- A turnover in the Catamount slot gave Chris Shultz the puck alone with Stefanos Lekkas. Schultz hesitated before firing a shot over the glove of Lekkas into the right corner just minutes into the game.
- Christian Evers scored his second goal of the season just one minute into the second period. He picked up the puck alone in the neutral zone coming out of the penalty box and fired a breakaway shot five-hole on Tyler Wall (30 saves).
- The River Hawks answered immediately, scoring 48 seconds after the Evers tally to re-gain the lead. UML added another to make it 3-1 at 10:03 of the second period.
- Andrew Lucas scored his first career goal at 10:57 of the second period to bring the Catamounts within a goal.
- UMass Lowell pushed its lead to 4-2 with a power play goal following a high-sticking call against Vermont. An extended review determined that Lowell neither interfered with Lekkas and also remained onside.
- Alex Esposito brought the Catamounts within a goal with 2:49 to play in the third period. He redirected a pass from Jacques Bouquot off the right post and in from the slot.
- Joey Cipollone ripped a shot on Wall in the final seconds with an extra skater on the ice. The rebound came off Wall's blocker to the slot, but the puck bounced over a pair of Vermont sticks and into the neutral zone, where Lowell's Brian Chambers picked it up and scored the empty-net goal.
GAME NOTES
- Lucas became the first of the five-member Class of 2023 to record a collegiate goal.
UP NEXT
Vermont stays off the ice next weekend before hosting 15th-ranked Boston College (3-4-0, 1-2-0 HEAM) for a Hockey East weekend series on Friday (Nov. 15) and Saturday (Nov. 16).
