HANOVER, N.H. - Two-point nights from junior Ben Meehan (Walpole, Mass.) and senior Carl Berglund (Hammaro, Sweden) helped cement the No. 14/15 UMass Lowell men's hockey team's (10-6-1, 5-4-1 Hockey East) 3-2 victory over Dartmouth (1-9-1, 1-5-1 ECAC) on the road Friday night.
Meehan earned his points off a second-period goal and an assist on the game-winning goal by sophomore Stefan Owens (Midlothian, Va.). Berglund led the way in helpers for the River Hawks with a team-high two on the night. Sophomore Gabe Blanchard (East Aurora, N.Y.) captured his first collegiate point off the opening strike, also ending the night with a +2 rating and adding two blocks to his credit. The defenseman was one of three UMass Lowell skaters to register two blocked shots. Junior Brehdan Engum (Burnsville, Minn.) as well as seniors Jake Stella (Karlstad, Sweden) and Zach Kaiser (Orangeville, Ontario) also matched Blanchard's total against the Big Green.
Graduate transfer Gustavs Davis Grigals (Riga, Latvia) picked up his second win over the ECAC foe this season with 24 stops and two goals against. Grigals also backstopped another flawless outing by the UMass Lowell penalty kill unit, shutting down all five Dartmouth power play opportunities. Heading into the break, the River Hawks' nationally-ranked special teams unit has killed off the last 18 penalty calls across seven games.
Shots were limited in the opening frame with both sides combining for six shots on goal across the first ten minutes of play. Despite the defensive start, the River Hawks dominated offensive zone time thanks to heavy forechecking allowing the team to stay above the center red line. Graduate transfer Filip Fornåå Svensson (Linköping, Sweden) earned a good chance to break the stalemate off a nifty shot off the goal line intended to skip over the shoulder of Darmouth's Cooper Black, but the Big Green netminder swatted it up and over to deny the chance.
Dartmouth earned its fair share of opportunities to light the lamp in rebuttal to even out the scoring chances, but the River Hawks struck first. After a failed Big Green attempt to break into the zone, Engum chased down Luke Haymes and edged out the forward to knock the puck loose. Bentley scooped up possession and got the offensive sequence moving up the ice. Picking up the pass from Bentley, Fowler hit a cross-ice pass to Blanchard. The defenseman broke his way into the right faceoff circle and flicked a quick shot towards Black, sneaking it over the glove to net the first of his career and give UMass Lowell the 1-0 lead.
Senior Ryan Brushett (Montreal, Quebec) nearly extended the River Hawks lead moments later with a quick test, but Black stifled the shot. Sophomore Owen Cole (Dunnville, Ontario) nearly smacked one into the back of the net but missed just wide to keep UMass Lowell up 1-0 at the first intermission.
The River Hawks' penalty kill unit quickly went to work in the first two minutes of the second frame, killing off one penalty and holding Dartmouth scoreless until a four-on-four opportunity came around. The Big Green nearly net an equalizer off a breakaway in the neutral zone, but sophomore Isac Jonsson (Ängelholm, Sweden) leaned in heavy and forced him to fire off an unsteady shot that went wide of Grigals.
Just as both sides returned to full strength, Meehan extended UMass Lowell's lead. Berglund grabbed a pass from graduate student Jon McDonald (Livonia, Mich.) as he cruised up the ice. Seeing freshman Scout Truman (Lethbridge, Ontario) advancing in the slot, Berglund fired off a centering pass to Truman as he spun to shake off his defender. Meehan kept close on the chase and stuffed in a one-timer on the doorstep off the quick look from Truman to take the 2-0 edge.
Dartmouth cut the lead back down to one less than three minutes later. A late flurry of penalties nearly gave the Big Green another chance to level the score, but impressive defending by the River Hawks' stalwart penalty kill crew shut down the extended shorthanded stretch.
With under four minutes left in the middle frame, Owens picked up his second goal of the season against the Big Green for the insurance tally moving into the final break. Berglund, on the left side circle facing pressure, crossed a crisp pass to Meehan on the opposite circle. Winding up for the shot, Meehan cracked one towards the night that rebounded off the skate of Dartmouth's Jack Cameron. Owens grabbed the loose puck and settled it just before firing it past Black for the 3-1 edge.
Looking to keep the Big Green at a distance, the River Hawks played a heavily defensive third period as Dartmouth started to press. The pressure paid off with 3:34 left on the game clock after the Big Green pulled Black in favor of the extra-skater to turn up the heat on the River Hawks. Dartmouth nearly turned the tables on UMass Lowell with eight seconds to go, but Kaiser used his body to stop the shot and cap the first half with a win.
The River Hawks ring in the New Year, Jan. 30-31, with a two-game home series against Alaska Anchorage. Puck drops for the pair of games are set for 6:05 p.m. and 4:05 p.m., respectively.
