LOWELL, Mass.- Led by a two-goal night from freshman Scout Truman (Lethbridge, Ontario), the No. 18 UMass Lowell men's hockey (5-2-0, 2-0-0 Hockey East) edged out No. 9 Boston University (3-3-0, 1-2-0 HEA), 2-1, in front of a bustling crowd of 5,040 at the Tsongas Center Friday night.
"Overall, we're excited about getting some points at home against a very good opponent. I thought we started the game a little slower than we would've liked and ended up defending most of the first period. As the game progressed, I thought we got a little bit better, and I thought the third period was much better," commented Head Coach Norm Bazin. "PK was decent. We scored a power play goal. That's something we've been working on this week. The goaltending was strong again. But, I think we've got several areas where we have to shore up if we hope to have any success against a team that good."
Truman's two-point night marked the first multi-goal performance from the rookie River Hawk. On top of his two tallies, Truman was one of four UMass Lowell skaters to register a team-best two blocked shots against the Terriers. Junior Ben Meehan (Walpole, Mass.), senior Marek Korencik (Zilina, Slovakia) and graduate student Jon McDonald (Livonia, Mich.) each stopped a pair of BU attempts short with strong net-front performances. McDonald and Meehan also ended the night with an assist each.
Junior Henry Welsch (Lakeville, Minn.) earned the nod in net once again, making 32 saves and allowing just one goal to move to a 3-1-0 mark this year.
A defensive first period kept both teams scoreless through the opening frame. The River Hawks and the Terriers spent the first eight on the chase, shifting possession through the neutral zone until a call against the home crew sent the River Hawks down a man at 12:42.
The Terriers registered their fair share of chances on the first power play, peppering Welsch with a flurry of shots. BU earned a fair chance at the opening tally after a loose rebound bounced off the pad of the UMass Lowell netminder, but Kaiser was waiting with the poke check. The senior then returned the favor with a straight chance up the middle, but Kaiser's chance was deflected away on the doorstep by BU's Domenick Fensore.
Meehan followed up Kaiser's shorthanded push with excellent offensive work up high to draw a penalty and challenge Duplessis. Although the defenseman's sneaky backhanded shot was denied, Meehan's pressure in the slot gave UMass Lowell an opportunity to tackle the Terriers on the power play. Sophomore Isac Jonsson (Ängelholm, Sweden) added to UMass Lowell's full-ice press with a head-on challenge in the first, zipping down the ice for a shot on net, only to be blocked at the last second.
Welsch's unwavering confidence between the pipes held through the first, shutting down the Terriers on several grade-A chances. With just over three minutes left, BU's Ryan Greene tried to put one away on a breakaway. Receiving the cross-ice feed from Jeremy Wilmer, Greene snapped a one-timer from the point, but Welsch bumped it away on the weakside to move to the first intermission scoreless.
Crasa looked to spark UMass Lowell's attack in the second with a doorstep shot. Stifling the Terriers' forecheck, Meehan settled the puck behind Welsch. Meehan looked up ice to Crasa and sent a stretch pass up the center to the winger. Crasa took the opportunity to go for the five-hole but missed the mark and lodged the puck under the left pad of Duplessis.
A major call against the Terriers at 15:03 knocked the visitors down a man and brought out UMass Lowell's power play unit. Wasting no time on the advantage, the River Hawks won possession off the faceoff and went to work. Cycling the puck behind the net, Kaiser sent a pass to Meehan on the blue line. Switching sides with graduate student Jon McDonald (Livonia, Mich.), Meehan faked a look back to his linemate before sending a cross-ice pass to Truman at the strongside point for the wrister and the 1-0 lead.
Trading power play blows, the Terriers leveled the score midway through the second off a lucky tip from Ethan Phillips in the slot. A centering pass from Fensore clipped off Phillips' stick in traffic and bounced just over Welsch's shoulder for the equalizer.
Truman's scoring touch returned later in the frame just in time to claim the lead before the final break. After a BU stint in the zone, McDonald skated up the boards and skipped a pass off the boards to Truman. The freshman was joined by Crasa as they went two-on-one with BU's Cade Webber while cutting up the ice. Truman passed back to Crasa, who remained up high, as he crossed towards the weakside. Crasa planted himself before sending a perfectly placed pass onto Truman's stick for the tip and the game-winner.
The River Hawks travel to Agganis Arena tomorrow, Saturday, Oct. 29, to close out the two-game series. Puck drop is slated for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
