LOWELL, Mass. - Freshman Mirko Buttazzoni (Langley, B.C.) scored two goals, as the No. 14/13 UMass Lowell ice hockey team (10-3-2, 5-2-1 Hockey East) played to a 3-3 tie against No. 3 Boston College (11-3-1, 5-2-1 Hockey East) Friday night at the Tsongas Center, eventually earning a 2-1 shootout victory with the winner coming from senior Owen Cole (Dunnville, Ontario).
Joining Buttazzoni in the goal department was sophomore Girts Silkalns (Talsi, Latvia), who scored his first collegiate goal in the first period. Junior Connor Eddy (Victoria, B.C.) picked up two points on two assists, while junior TJ Schweighardt, Cole and graduate student Ian Carpentier (Worcester, Mass.) added one helper apiece. Defensively, graduate student Ben Meehan (Walpole, Mass.) led the squad with four blocked shots, with graduate student Jack Robilotti right behind him with two and 10 different skaters with one each. Junior Beni Halasz (Budapest, Hungary) got the nod in net for the River Hawks, making 32 saves, as well as two big ones in the shootout.
"I am glad we were able to get a win when we have a full crowd," said Head Coach Norm Bazin. "Obviously, it's a tie with a shootout, but it felt more like a win and we'll take any Hockey East we can."
The first period was eventful, with three total goals. The River Hawks picked up the first just over five minutes into the game when Buttazzoni took a feed from Cole and sniped one to the back of the net from the top of the faceoff circle. The Eagles responded quickly, just about two minutes later, but the River Hawks got the last laugh of the period, as Silkalns powered a wrister past the Boston College goaltender, Jacob Fowler, for the lead off a nifty backhand pass from Carpentier. The River Hawks had another opportunity when the Eagles were called for a five-minute major towards the end of the period, but could not capitalize throughout the end of the first and beginning of the second.
Buttazzoni did not waste too much time following the major power play, scoring his second goal a little under three minutes after it ended. After Schweighardt put the puck on net, Buttazzoni managed to get a stick on it and tip it in to extend the lead to 3-1. The Eagles responded with two goals in the final four minutes to bring the game to the third period with a tie game at 3-3.
The third period went scoreless, but it was not without opportunity, as the River Hawks edged Boston College in shots on goal, 10-9. Eddy had a great chance on a breakaway at the 8:21 mark, zooming towards the net, but it was just saved. On the other end, Halasz and the defensive unit got in the way of all Boston College shots to keep it knotted up at three and bring the game to an overtime period.
Boston College was immediately called for a penalty in overtime, giving the River Hawks a 4-on-3 advantage for a chunk of the five-minute period. UMass Lowell managed to fire off three shots during the advantage, but all were saved, and Halasz's one overtime save capped off another scoreless period to send it to a three-man shootout.
Boston College scored on their first shootout attempt, which was immediately followed up by an excellent goal from UMass Lowell junior Dillan Bentley (Peoria, Ill.). After both teams missed their second attempts, Halasz made a fantastic save in the third round, bringing out Cole for the chance to end it. He slowly serpentined towards the goal, before firing a wrist shot past the blocker side of Fowler for the shootout winner, giving the River Hawks an extra point in the Hockey East standings.
The River Hawks will now have two days off, before hitting the road to take on the Eagles again on Monday night. The game is set for 7:00 p.m. and will be broadcast on NESN as well as ESPN+.
