TEMPE, Ariz. - The UMass Lowell ice hockey team (7-12-2, 3-6-1) finished 3-for-4 on the power play on their way to a 7-4 victory against Harvard (1-9-3, 1-4-3 ECAC) in game two of the Desert Hockey Classic Saturday afternoon at Mullett Arena.
The River Hawks had seven different goal scorers in the game, with four skaters earning multiple-point games. Graduate student Jake Stella (Karlstad, Sweden) and sophomore Nick Rhéaume (Trois-Rivieres, Quebec) led the way, each potting a goal with two assists for three points apiece. Sophomore Dillan Bentley (Peoria, Ill.) and Mitchell Becker (Rogers, Minn.) each had two points on the day, each scoring a goal with an assist. Junior Owen Cole (Dunnville, Ontario), sophomore Scout Truman (Lethbridge, Alberta) and freshman Jak Vaarwerk (Clarence, N.Y.) also had one goal each in the win.
Defensively, eight different players blocked at least one shot, with senior Ben Meehan (Walpole, Mass.) pacing the crew with two. Junior Luke Pavicich got the nod between the pipes for the second consecutive game, making 26 saves and earning the victory.
"Good rebound effort tonight," said Head Coach Norm Bazin. "I liked the energy and the will to compete. We had several lines contribute and the special teams came through. The guys persevered tonight, and I am proud of them."
For the second consecutive game, the River Hawks struck first, scoring on their first shot of the day at 7:12. It was the third of the year for Stella, as he one-timed a freshman Girts Sikalns (Talsi, Latvia) pass from behind the net to give them the lead. Becker initiated the play, bringing the puck behind the net initially, before giving it off to Silkalns and picking up the secondary assist. On the other end, Pavicich got in front of all nine of Harvard's shots, keeping them scoreless and allowing the River Hawks the opportunity to extend the lead later in the period.
Cole did just that on a power play at 18:11 of the first, giving him his second goal of the tournament. With the man advantage, Rhéaume controlled the puck in the corner of the offensive zone, backhanding a pass to Stella at the faceoff circle, and he immediately pushed a quick pass to Cole in front of the net, who sent it past Harvard goalie Aku Koskenvuo to make it 2-0 as the teams entered the locker room.
The scoring continued into the second, as the River Hawks put up three goals in the period. Becker one-timed a faceoff win by Bentley and fired it to the back of the net just under two minutes in, making it a three-goal lead for the River Hawks. Vaarwerk went on to make it four at the 10:44 mark, collecting a long pass from Blanchard at the blue line and taking it to the cage himself for his second of the season.
Harvard responded just over one minute later with their first of the game from Ryan Healey, cutting the River Hawks' lead to three again, before Rhéaume finished a Jonsson rebound in the backdoor at 16:23 on a power play. Alex Gaffney potted one for Harvard with just over a minute remaining, and the game went to intermission with a 5-2 score.
Bentley joined the scoring party on a power play to open the third period, scoring his fourth of the year just 1:15 in. He took a pass from Rhéaume on the defensive end and entered the offensive zone, before firing a wrister past Koskenvuo from the top of the right faceoff circle, making it 6-2. About 13 minutes later, Truman won a foot race to the puck while the River Hawks were short-handed and scored an empty netter for the team's seventh and final goal of the game. The Crimson did score twice within the last three minutes of the game, making it a 7-4 final score from Mullet Arena.
With the Desert Hockey Classic now in the rearview, the River Hawks will now move on to face off against conference foe Maine on Friday, January 19 and Saturday, January 20, with both games set for 7:00 p.m. in Orono.
