LOWELL, Mass. - Freshman defenseman Damien Carfagna (Wood-Ridge, N.J.) and senior captain Chase Stevenson (West Kelowna, British Columbia) each scored two goals, and freshmen goaltender Tyler Muszelik (Long Valley, N.J.) made 40 saves as the University of New Hampshire men's hockey team defeated No. 16 UMass Lowell, 5-4, on Saturday evening at the Tsongas Center. Freshman forward Stiven Sardarian (Saint Petersburg, Russia) posted three assists for three points.
With the win, the Wildcats improve to 9-18-1 (4-13-1 Hockey East), while the River Hawks fall to 15-10-2 (9-6-2 Hockey East). UNH went 2-0-0 this weekend with wins over two ranked teams with the 3-2 overtime victory versus No. 15 Merrimack and tonight's win versus the No. 16 River Hawks.
UP NEXT: Wildcats will return to action on Friday and Saturday,
- The Wildcats will return to action on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 10-11 versus UConn at the Whittemore Center. The game on Friday is Tropical Night at 7 p.m. with a lei giveaway, while the contest on Saturday is at 4 p.m. presented by Eversource.
- Go to UNHWildcats.com/Tickets or call the ticket office at (603) 862-4000 to catch the most exciting family entertainment in New Hampshire.
Score: New Hampshire 5, #16 UMass Lowell 4
Records: UNH 9-18-1 (4-13-1 Hockey East), UML 15-10-2 (9-6-2 Hockey East).
Location: Lowell, Mass. (Tsongas Center)
Date: Saturday, February 4, 2023
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Attendance: 5,252
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- At 8:08 of the first period, freshman forward Cy LeClerc (Brentwood, N.H.) scored from the slot, low glove side over the pad of UML goaltender Gustavs Davis Grigals to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead. Junior defenseman Luke Reid (Warman, Saskatchewan) cleared the puck out the zone to freshmen forward Jake Dunlap (Windham, N.H.) who passed it to LeClerc.
- Shortly after, at 12:04, Carfagna shot the puck from the point over the left shoulder of Grigals. Sardarian passed the puck from the top of the crease to junior defenseman Nikolai Jenson (Cold Spring, Minn.) who found Carfagna wide open at the point.
- 3:31 into the second period, UMass Lowell answered back with a power play goal from Carl Berglund who fired the puck from the top of the left circle over the right shoulder of Muszelik.
- Then at 12:27 Scout Truman tied up the game for the River Hawks by sneaking the puck under the glove of Muszelik from the right circle.
- At 1:29 of the third period Filip Fornåå Svensson fired the puck from the slot under the blocker of Muszelik.
- The Wildcats tied the game at 3-3 at 8:20, when Carfagna sent the puck from the point over the glove of Grigals to give the 'Cats a power play goal. Sophomore forward Liam Devlin (Needham, Mass.) sent the puck to LeClerc in front of the net who ultimately found Carfagna open at the point.
- At 13:04, Stevenson knocked the puck by the left skate of Grigals to give UNH a 4-3 advantage. Sardarian passed the puck from behind the net to grab his second assist of the night. Sophomore forward Conor Lovett (Franklin Mass.) also tallied an assist on the play for his first point as a Wildcat.
- Just16 seconds later, Stevenson made a move on top of the crease and shot the puck off his back hand to get it past the right pad of Grigals. Sardarian, again, had a pass from behind the net to grab his third assist on the night. Jenson also had an assist on the play.
- At 15:42, McDonald grabbed the puck from in front of the goal and found the back of the net to cut the UNH lead to 5-4.
- The River Hawks went with an empty net with 1:18 remaining in the third period, but the Wildcats were able to keep UML from scoring the equalizer for the 5-4 win.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Muszelik made 40 saves to earn the win, while Grigals tallied 12 saves for the River Hawks.
- UML outshot UNH, 44-17.
- The Wildcats went 1-1 on the power, while the River Hawks went 1-2.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
- LeClerc scored his team-best 13th goal of the season.
- Stevenson scored two goals for the third time in his career.
- Carfagna posted his first multi goal game of his career.
- Sardarian's three assists and three points were career highs.
- Muszelik's 40 saves was a career best.
- UNH is 4-2-0 over its last six games versus nationally ranked teams.
- The Wildcats are 67-49-18 all-time versus UMass Lowell and 14-13-7 versus the River Hawks at the Tsongas Center.
