LOWELL, Mass. - The No. 18/19 UMass Lowell men's hockey team (16-11-3, 10-7-3 Hockey East) held off a comeback by the Providence Friars (14-11-7, 9-7-6 HEA) to claim a crucial 2-1 victory in front of 4,675 fans Saturday night at the Tsongas Center.
Sophomore Owen Cole (Dunnville, Ontario) and junior Brehdan Engum (Burnsville, Minn.) picked up goals against the Friars, with Engum earning credit for the game-winning tally. The defenseman also blocked one shot and registered a team-best +2 rating. Graduate students Jon McDonald (Livonia, Mich.) and Filip Fornåå Svensson (Linköping, Sweden), senior Ryan Brushett (Montreal, Quebec) and freshman Owen Fowler (Tewksbury, Mass.) registered helpers. With his point tonight, Fornåå Svensson capped his weekend with two points after netting a goal on the road. Junior Ben Meehan (Walpole, Mass.) continued to be a major obstacle for Providence, adding another three blocks to bring his weekend total to seven.
Graduate student Gustavs Davis Grigals (Riga, Latvia) improved to a 10-6-2 mark after making 22 saves and allowing just one goal.
"I thought it was a good response for our team. I thought we played a good hockey game yesterday, but we were chasing it. We came back twice to tie it and lost in overtime. Tonight, we didn't have to go to OT, and I thought we deserved the win," said Head Coach Norm Bazin. "I thought the guys had a lot of will today. They did a good job."
The River Hawks opened the game with electric energy, muscling their way into the zone to test Providence's Philip Svedebäck off the draw. The aggressive offensive style paid off with sophomore Isac Jonsson (Ängelholm, Sweden) cracking a shot past the Friars' netminder to light the lamp, but the goal was called back after review. UMass Lowell remained steadfast, however, as the team continued to generate pressure in the zone. On the opposite end of the ice, the River Hawks' defense put forth a physical presence in front of the net that kept the Friars to just five shots on target through the opening 20.
Smart playmaking eventually put the River Hawks on the right side of the scoreboard once more with just 47 seconds left in the first. McDonald fired in a shot from the top of the nearside faceoff circle that thumped off Swedebäck's chest. With the puck loose in front of the net, Fornåå Svensson hit a quick tip back to Cole, who smacked in the shot for the 1-0 lead.
Engum kept momentum forward moving in the second with his first goal of the season. Pestering his defenseman, Fowler won the battle along the boards and clipped the puck over the blue line to an advancing Brushett. The winger then crossed a crisp pass to the weakside for Engum, who clapped in the one-time for the 2-0 lead at 7:56.
The Friars chipped the lead back down to one later in the second off a lucky tap from Bennett Schimek on the doorstep. Providence nearly followed up minutes later on a two-on-one rush, but Jonsson made a diving block to keep the Friars on the chase for the lead at the second intermission.
A balanced third period kept the score sitting at 2-1 with just over two minutes left in regulation. A late call against UMass Lowell forced the penalty kill unit back onto the ice as Providence called off Svedebäck to force a 6-on-4 scenario. The nationally-ranked River Hawks' PK squad held steady long enough to shut down the Providence power play and claim three points on home ice with the 2-1 victory.
UMass Lowell readies for its penultimate home-and-home of the regular season with a series against Merrimack next weekend, Feb. 24-25.
