LOWELL. Mass. - Sophomore Jak Vaarwerk (Clarence, N.Y.) scored the game-winning goal in overtime, as the UMass Lowell ice hockey team (5-1-0, 1-0-0 Hockey East) came back from a three-goal deficit against Holy Cross (3-5-0, 2-2-0 Atlantic Hockey) Friday evening to earn a 5-4 victory at the Hart Center Rink in Worcester, Mass.
Five different skaters lit the lamp for the River Hawks. Joining Vaarwerk was senior Matt Crasa (South Setauket, N.Y.), senior Owen Cole (Dunnville, Ontario), freshman Chris Delaney (Hopkinton, Mass.) and freshman Libor Nemec (Bratislava, Slovakia). Senior Isac Jonsson (Ängelholm, Sweden) and junior Scout Truman (Lethbridge, Alberta) each had two assists in the win, as Crasa, Vaarwerk, graduate student Ben Meehan (Walpole, Mass.), freshman Mirko Buttazzoni (Langley, B.C.), graduate student Nick Anderson (Orono, Minn.) and graduate student goaltender Henry Welsch (Lakeville, Minn.) all had one helper apiece.
Defensively, Truman led the way with three blocked shots, with graduate student Pierson Brandon right behind him with two. Seven other skaters gathered one blocked shot each, as well. Junior Beni Halasz (Budapest, Hungary) got the starting nod in net, making three saves, while Welsch got the win after entering the game in the first period and finishing with 24 saves.
The River Hawks controlled the puck in the offensive zone for much of the start, but it was Holy Cross that got on the board first, scoring two goals at the 5:26 and 7:26 marks of the period. After a timeout at 11:00, Welsch entered the game for the River Hawks in net, helping the squad kill off a Holy Cross 5-on-3 and concluding the first period with seven saves. Delaney and Nemec had a great two-on-one scoring opportunity with less than a minute to go on a Nemec one-time slapshot, but it was just saved and the period ended with the score at 2-0.
Juniors Connor Eddy (Victoria, B.C.) and Mitchell Becker (Rogers, Minn.) began an eventful second period with great scoring opportunities that could not find the back of the net, but a Crusaders goal at 5:51 made it 3-0. However, the River Hawks answered back with three goals within 58 seconds to tie it up..
Crasa got the scoring parade started with a power play goal at 10:26. He collected and buried a Meehan rebound, after Meehan initially received a pass from Jonsson. Cole added the second goal and his fourth of the year just 40 seconds later, finishing a loose puck in front of the net. Just 18 seconds after that, Delaney sniped one past Holy Cross goaltender, Thomas Gale, from the high slot when a Buttazzoni rebound found his stick, tying the game at three. The Crusaders answered with a goal of their own at 13:05 to make it 4-3 in favor of Holy Cross heading into the second intermission.
The River Hawks began the third hot, tying it up just 2:03 into the period. Crasa zoomed behind the net and sent a backhand pass in front that Nemec finished to the back of the net for his first collegiate goal. Welsch kept the score the same with some crucial saves on the other end as well.
The River Hawks drew a penalty with 6:06 remaining, giving them a power play opportunity that saw a near-goal from Delaney, but they were unable to find the net during the man advantage, and the game went to overtime with the score knotted up at four.
The overtime period saw an immediate slashing penalty from Holy Cross just 25 seconds in, giving UMass Lowell a 4-on-3. Three River Hawk shots during the man advantage were saved, but just five seconds after going back to full strength, Vaarwerk ended it with game-winner. It all started when Welsch came out of the net to grab the puck in the faceoff circle and sent a long pass to Vaarwerk in the offensive zone, who found Truman for a breakaway opportunity. Instead of shooting it, Truman had the awareness to leave it behind him for Vaarwerk to clean up and send into an open net to clinch the victory.
The River Hawks have now won five straight games and will move on to next weekend's two-game series against No. 5 Boston University. Game one is set for Friday at Boston University at 7:00 p.m., while Saturday's game two at the Tsongas Center is scheduled for a 6:05 p.m. puck drop.
