BURLINGTON, Vt. - The UMass Lowell ice hockey team (7-2-0, 3-1-0 Hockey East) collected five different goal scorers on their way to a 5-2 victory against Vermont (2-5-3, 2-3-2 Hockey East) Friday evening at Gutterson Fieldhouse in Burlington, Vt.
Senior Stefan Owens' (Midlothian, Va.) first goal of the year proved to be the game-winner in the matchup, as freshman Mirko Buttazzoni (Langley, B.C.) joined him with his first of the year and his career, in addition to his eighth assist. Junior Dillan Bentley (Peoria, Ill.), freshman Chris Delaney (Hopkinton, Mass.) and junior Scout Truman (Lethbridge, Alberta) also lit the lamp for the River Hawks.
Sophomore Girts Silkalns (Talsi, Latvia) picked up an assist in his first appearance of the year, while graduate students Nick Anderson (Orono, Minn.) and Ben Meehan (Walpole, Mass.) upped their point to streaks to six games with an assist each. Freshman Lee Parks (Ottawa, Ontario), graduate student Ian Carpentier (Worcester, Mass.), sophomore Jak Vaarwerk (Clarence, N.Y.), junior Connor Eddy (Victoria, B.C.) and senior Isac Jonsson (Ängelholm, Sweden) picked up helpers, as well.
Defensively, graduate student Jack Robilotti (New York, N.Y.) led the way with two blocks, while four other skaters had one apiece. Graduate student Henry Welsch got the nod between the pipes for the River Hawks, making 19 saves and getting the win to move to 7-1-0.
"It was a good effort tonight by all involved," said Head Coach Norm Bazin. "I felt the team was able to make adjustments as the game progressed today, which is a good sign."
The River Hawks got started early, as Bentley opened up the scoring just 2:01 into the game. It all started when Anderson fed Bentley behind the net and he fires a quick pass to Silkalns, who collects the puck and finds Bentley again. Bentley then circles the net and fires a wrist shot from the faceoff circle that beats Vermont goaltender, Axel Mangbo, for the early lead. The River Hawks went on to kill a penalty at the 12:41 mark, but Vermont tied it up at 13:55, and the game went to the first intermission knotted up at one.
UMass Lowell went right back to their scoring ways in the second, beginning at 1:03 when Meehan sent a pass to set up a Buttazzoni breakaway, and he put a move on the goalie and buried it for his first career goal, giving the River Hawks the lead once again. Just over a minute later, Owens potted his first of the year when Parks found Carpentier near the net, and he sent one on goal that ricocheted to the stick of Owens, who sent it home for the two-goal lead. Late in the period, Vermont went on the power play and scored their second of the game with 1:10 remaining, and the River Hawks went to the locker room with the 3-2 lead.
In the third, the River Hawks kept the pressure on the Catamounts, eventually cashing in at the 6:30 mark when Buttazzoni made a great play to find Delaney in front of the net, who finished it for his team-leading sixth goal of the year. On the other end, Welsch continued to make crucial saves, and the defensive unit blocked a plethora of Vermont shots to limit the Catamounts' opportunities to mount a comeback, and the River Hawks tallied their seventh win of the year.
The squad will return to Gutterson Fieldhouse tomorrow, Saturday, November 16 for game two, beginning at 6:00 p.m.
