LOWELL, Mass. - The No. 9 UMass Lowell ice hockey team (12-7-2, 5-5-1 Hockey East) fell short in overtime, 3-2, against Stonehill (10-17-0) Saturday evening at the Tsongas Center in Lowell, Mass.
Sophomore Jak Vaarwerk (Clarence, N.Y.) led the way for the River Hawks with two points on a goal and an assist. Senior Owen Cole (Dunnville, Ontario) also scored, while junior TJ Schweighardt (Manahawkin, N.J.), senior Isac Jonsson (Ängelholm, Sweden) and graduate student Ian Carpentier (Worcester, Mass.) all tallied one assist each. 11 different skaters picked up at least one blocked shot, with graduate student Jack Robilotti (New York, N.Y.) leading the way with three. Graduate student Henry Welsch (Lakeville, Minn.) got the nod between the pipes for the River Hawks, making 27 saves.
The River Hawks kicked off the game with a successful penalty kill just 19 seconds in, before senior Matt Crasa (South Setauket, N.Y.) and junior Scout Truman (Lethbridge, Alberta) had the team's first two scoring opportunities with back-to-back shots on net, but both were saved. Later in the period, at the 11:04 mark, the River Hawks went on the power play for a Stonehill slash, and Dillan Bentley hit the pipe with a wrist shot. Towards the end of the period, Stonehill scored to get on the board first with 1:43 remaining to bring it to the intermission with a 1-0 score.
The River Hawks once again began the period with a penalty kill and Vaarwerk earned himself a shorthanded breakaway opportunity during the kill that was just saved at the 1:11 mark, but he got redemption at 7:02 when he scored the equalizer from the top of the slot after crisp passing from Carpentier and Schweighardt set up the play. Later on, at the 15:40 mark, Cole scored the go-ahead goal, cleaning up a Jonsson rebound in front of the net to make it 2-1 going into the third.
The third was a defensive battle, with just five total shots on goal throughout the first 10 minutes. With 37 seconds left, Stonehill scored after pulling their goaltender to tie it up and send the game to overtime. In the five minute, 3-on-3 overtime period, the Skyhawks scored at 0:31 and the game concluded with a 3-2 score.
The River Hawks will now move on to a home-and-home series with No. 6/4 Providence next weekend on Friday, January 24 and Saturday, January 25. Game one is set for a 7:15 p.m. puck drop at the Tsongas Center, while Saturday's game two at Providence will begin at 4:30 p.m.
