BURLINGTON, Vt. - Graduate student goaltender Henry Welsch (Lakeville, Minn.) earned a 20-save shutout, as the No 15 UMass Lowell ice hockey team (8-2-0, 4-1-0 Hockey East) picked up a 3-0 victory against Vermont (2-6-3, 2-4-2 Hockey East) Saturday night at Gutterson Fieldhouse in Burlington, Vt., completing the series sweep.
With the victory, the River Hawks now move to a perfect 5-0-0 on the road so fare this season. Three different skaters potted goals in the win, with junior Dillan Bentley (Peoria, Ill.), senior Matt Crasa (South Setauket, N.Y.) and junior Scout Truman (Lethbridge, Alberta) all lighting the lamp. Bentley and Crasa also added assists to finish with two points each, as junior TJ Schweighardt (Manahawkin, N.J.), freshman Libor Nemec (Bratislava, Slovakia) and sophomore Jak Vaarwerk (Clarence, N.Y.) joined them with one helper apiece.
Defensively, graduate student Nick Anderson (Orono, Minn.), graduate student Ben Meehan (Walpole, Mass.) and Bentley all tallied two blocks, while six different players had one. With the win between the pipes, Welsch moves to 8-1-0 on the year and grabbed his first shutout of the season.
"I am very pleased with our effort tonight," said Head Coach Norm Bazin. "We played a strong opponent and the guys stuck with our game. Getting any sweeps in Hockey East is really difficult. Henry stood tall in key moments and the young guys are learning how to play in tight games. We'll get home and try to get some rest."
The River Hawks put pressure on the Catamounts to begin the game, controlling the puck in the offensive zone for the majority of the period. Crasa eventually cashed in on the opportunity, scoring with just under five minutes remaining in the first. Nemec began the play, taking the puck behind the net before it popped loose in front. Bentley got a stick on it and a scrum formed in the crease, before Crasa found the loose puck and backhanded it over the goal line for the game's first goal. After matching holding penalties with 24 seconds left, each team went scoreless for the remainder and the River Hawks took the lead to the locker room.
The squad wasted no time in the second, scoring on the 4-on-4 just 40 seconds into the period, starting with a save from Welsch. Schweighardt picked up the rebound and fed Vaarwerk near the boards, who found Truman to set up a 2-on-1 alongside Meehan. Truman opted for the shot, sniping one to the top corner for the 2-0 lead and his fifth of the season. Throughout the remainder of the period, Welsch and the defensive unit kept the Catamounts scoreless and the River Hawks held the 2-0 lead at the intermission.
The teams went back-and-forth to begin the third and the River Hawks successfully killed off a penalty at the 5:21 mark to keep Vermont off the board. Bentley went on to extend the lead at 11:26 with a wrister from the top of the faceoff circle. Crasa collected the puck near center ice after a Vermont miscue and fed Bentley, who entered the offensive zone and fired it to the back of the net past Vermont goaltender, Keenan Rancier. The squad held off the Catamounts' desperation push and the River Hawks picked up the shutout victory and the series sweep.
Next, the River Hawks return home for a two-game series against Connecticut on Friday, November 22 and Saturday, November 23 at the Tsongas Center. Game one is set for 7:15 p.m., while Saturday's game two will have a 6:05 p.m. puck drop.
