TEMPE, Ariz. - The UMass Lowell ice hockey (6-12-2, 3-6-1 Hockey East) team dropped a hard-fought overtime battle against the University of Nebraska Omaha (10-5-2, 3-4-1 NCHC), 4-3, Friday afternoon in game one of the Desert Hockey Classic at Mullet Arena.
Sophomore Nick Rhéaume (Trois-Rivieres, Quebec) and juniors Isac Jonsson (Ängelholm, Sweden) and Owen Cole (Dunnville, Ontario) each potted a goal for the River Hawks. Senior Ben Meehan (Walpole, Mass.) and graduate student Filip Fornää Svensson (Linköping, Sweden) each had two assists, while graduate student Alex Peterson (Collegeville, Pa.) and junior Matt Crasa (South Setauket, N.Y.) collected one helper apiece. The River Hawks also won the faceoff battle, winning 29 compared to Omaha's 27.
Defensively, five different players collected a block for the River Hawks and junior Luke Pavicich (Clarence Center, N.Y) got the nod in between the pipes, making 32 saves.
The River Hawks came out hot out of the gates, taking a 1-0 lead just 5:08 into the game. Sophomore TJ Schweighardt got the sequence started, dumping the puck into the corner, where Fornää Svensson collected it. He sent a shot that ricocheted out to the faceoff circle, where Meehan fired a hard slapshot that the Omaha goalie, Simon Latkoczy, was unable to corral. Rhéaume kept his eyes on the puck and quickly found the rebound before sending it to the back of the net. Pavicich was impressive on the other end, putting a halt to any Mavericks scoring chances and finishing the period with 11 saves to help keep the score the same entering intermission.
Just over two minutes into the second, Omaha retaliated with a goal of their own from Zach Urdahl, making it a tie game, but the River Hawks punched right back, as Jonsson scored the team's second goal at 11:52. Peterson sent a cross-ice pass to Jonsson in the offensive zone, and he dumped a short pass to Fornää Svensson who one-timed it off the goalie. Jonsson managed to find the puck through a crowd of players and scored while falling for his second of the year. Pavicich once again made double-digit saves to bring the River Hawks into the locker room with a one-goal lead.
The beginning of the third period saw two Omaha goals, one at 5:41 from Victor Mancini and one two minutes later from Jimmy Glynn. This did not stop the River Hawks from applying pressure, as Cole scored the equalizer not long after at 9:30 on a power play, redirecting a Matt Crasa shot past Latkoczy to make it a 3-3 game. Ben Meehan picked up his second assist with the initial pass to Crasa. For the remainder of the period, the River Hawks peppered Omaha with 12 shots, but to no avail, and the game went to an overtime period.
Both teams battled through overtime, but it was the Mavericks' Griffin Ludtke who scored with 18 seconds remaining, ending the game with a 4-3 score.
The River Hawks will return to the Mullett Arena tomorrow, Saturday, January 6 to play the losing team of Friday night's game between Arizona State and Harvard with the time to be determined.
