LOWELL, Mass. - The UMass Lowell ice hockey team (5-7-1, 2-5-1 Hockey East) fell, 4-1, to Bentley (7-7-0, 4-5 AHA) Friday afternoon at the Tsongas Center in the first game of the 2023 Turkey Leg Classic.
Sophomore Dillan Bentley (Peoria, Ill.) scored the lone River Hawk goal in the second period, while freshman Jak Vaarwerk (Clarence, N.Y.) joined him on the scoresheet with the assist. Defensively, junior Isac Jonsson (Ängelholm, Sweden), sophomore Mark Cooper (Cambridge, Ontario) and freshman Sean Kilcullen (Kensington, Md.) led the way with two blocked shots each, while senior goalie Henry Welsch (Lakeville, Minn.) got the nod in net, making 36 saves.
"Tonight wasn't one of our finest games," said Head Coach Norm Bazin. "Congratulations to our opponent. They did a heck of a job; they came in here and outcompeted us and that's something I haven't said all year. I thought our effort has been really good up until this game, and the effort wasn't there tonight, and we've got to be better tomorrow."
UMass Lowell threatened Bentley in the first, firing off 10 shots on goal compared to Bentley's eight. Towards the midway point of the period, Bentley was called for a tripping penalty, giving the River Hawks the first power play opportunity of the game. They collected two shots on goal during the man advantage, but to no avail, as they were both saved by Bentley's Connor Hasley.
The best chance of the first period for the River Hawks came at the 13:49 mark when Crasa skated to the middle of the offensive zone and fired a quick shot that dinged off the crossbar. Both teams traded off possessions for the remainder of the period, with a combined 27 blocked shots to keep the game quiet in the scoring department and send it to intermission with a 0-0 score.
The River Hawks found the back of the net on a power play in the second period, when Dillan Bentley sniped a shot past Hasley at 5:57 to get the team on the board and take the lead. Both Cooper and Vaarwerk fought for the puck with a Bentley player in the corner just 38 seconds into the power play, and it was Vaarwerk who was able to get a stick on it and dish it out to Dillan Bentley, who sent a wrister to the top corner for the goal. The Falcons found a groove offensively and racked up 20 shots on goal, eventually tying it up on an Arlo Merrit goal, and the period ended with both teams knotted up at one.
Bentley extended their lead in the third period with two back-to-back goals at 3:49 and 4:01. The first was on a power play from Kellan Hjartarson, followed by an even-strength goal 12 seconds later from Ryan Upson. They later made it 4-1 on an empty netter, and the game concluded with that same score.
Next up, the River Hawks will host Army tomorrow, Saturday, November 25 for game two of the Turkey Leg Classic. Puck drop is scheduled for 4:05 p.m.
