LOWELL, Mass. - Three different players earned multi-point games, as the UMass Lowell ice hockey team (1-1-0, 0-0-0 Hockey East) earned a 4-1 victory against Minnesota Duluth (1-2-0, 0-0-0 NCHC) on Saturday to close out opening weekend at the Tsongas Center. The victory gives the River Hawks their first of the year and a split of the two-game series with the Bulldogs.
Junior Scout Truman (Lethbridge, Alberta) and graduate student Ben Meehan (Walpole, Mass.) both scored a goal with an assist, while freshman Mirko Buttazzoni (Langley, B.C.) collected two assists for his first career points. Meehan now has two assists in each of the first two games of the season for the River Hawks. Graduate student Jack Robilotti (New York, N.Y.), senior Owen Cole (Dunnville, Ontario) and graduate student Nick Anderson (Orono, Minn.) each added one helper apiece.
Defensively, nine different River Hawks blocked at least one shot, with Robilotti and Meehan leading the way with three each, while Truman added two. Senior Henry Welsch (Lakeville, Minn.) got the nod between the pipes, making 20 saves for the victory.
"I certainly liked the effort tonight," said Head Coach Norm Bazin. "The guys came up with a more complete effort, and that's good. It's nice to do it at home and hopefully we can create some momentum for subsequent games here next weekend."
UMass Lowell came out of the gates hot, collecting the first four shots on goal, including a scoring chance from sophomore Sean Kilcullen (Kensington, Md.) 1:46. On the other end, Welsch made a great pad save on a Minnesota Duluth wraparound chance at 10:26 to keep it scoreless.
Truman went on to give the River Hawks the lead just eight seconds into a power play at the 11:50 mark. He one-timed a pass across the offensive zone from Buttazzoni, after Anderson initiated the sequence at the blue line. The defensive unit held strong for the remainder of the period, allowing just four shots on goal and the River Hawks brought the one-goal lead to the first intermission.
The second period saw a similar start, with the River Hawks putting pressure on the Bulldogs immediately, and the goals followed. Just 48 seconds in, Ben Meehan rifled a rocket of a shot to the back of the net off a pass from Truman for his first of the year and the first of three goals in the period for the River Hawks. Freshman Jacob MacDonald potted his first career goal at the 6:21 mark, tipping a Robilotti shot to make it 3-0, before sophomore Jak Vaarwerk (Clarence, N.Y.) sent a loose Meehan rebound past the goal line for the team's fourth goal. Welsch came up clutch once again, making a sliding save with 13.4 seconds remaining in the second to send the game to the second intermission with a 4-0 score.
The River Hawks kept it going in the third, controlling the puck and continuing to create chances, while making it difficult for Minnesota Duluth to get anything going on their end. The Bulldogs got on the board at the 12:49 mark of the third, finishing a loose puck in front of the net, but the stout River Hawks defensive unit limited them to just the one, as the game concluded with a 4-1 score.
Next weekend, the River Hawks host Colgate for a two-game set on Friday, October 18 and Saturday, October 19. Game one is scheduled for 7:15 p.m., while Saturday's game two is set for 6:05 p.m.
