PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Graduate student Pierson Brandon (Irvington, N.Y.) scored the game-winning goal with just seconds left and junior Beni Halasz (Budapest, Hungary) collected his third shutout of the season, as the No. 12/13 UMass Lowell ice hockey team clipped No. 7/6 Providence, 1-0, Saturday evening at Schneider Arena in Providence, R.I. to complete an unbeaten home-and-home series with the Friars.
Brandon scored the lone goal of the game and his second of the weekend, with assists from senior Owen Cole (Dunnville, Ontario) and graduate student Nick Anderson (Orono, Minn.). Six different players picked up at least one blocked shot, with freshman Daniel Buchbinder (Clarence Center, N.Y.) leading the way with two, while the five others had one apiece. Halasz got the nod in net for the second consecutive game, making 24 saves in the shutout.
"Tonight felt like a playoff game," said Head Coach Norm Bazin. "We improved on our start from yesterday. Despite not being rewarded in the first, I felt the guys had quality chances. We weathered their push in the second and the third went both ways. They carried the first six minutes, but I felt we responded really well the next 14. The penalty kill seemed to wake us up out of our doldrum. After that we hit the post and ultimately got the winner late. The team showed resiliency and intensity this weekend. We now focus our attention on next weekend with two different Hockey opponents."
The River Hawks came out firing, controlling the puck in the offensive zone throughout the first few minutes, before going on the power play at the 5:24 mark. They were unable to find the back of the net, but they rode the momentum after the power play ended, keeping the pressure on. After another scoreless power play, the River Hawks found success on the penalty kill as well, allowing zero shots on a Providence power play with less than three minutes left. The battle continued for the remainder of the period and the game went to the first intermission at 0-0 and the River Hawks held an 11-2 shots on goal lead.
UMass Lowell was buzzing to begin the second, once again using a power play to gain momentum and tally scoring opportunities, including shots in front by freshmen Lee Parks (Ottawa, Ontario) and Chris Delaney (Hopkinton, Mass.). Halasz kept the Friars off the board once again on the other end with 13 saves through two periods and both teams headed to their locker rooms with the score knotted up at zero.
The even matchup rolled into the third, as both teams traded off scoring opportunities throughout the period. Two of the great scoring chances for the River Hawks both came from junior Dillan Bentley (Peoria, Ill.), with the first being a wrist shot that hit the left pipe at the 13:34 mark, and the second coming on a breakaway opportunity that was poked away by the goaltender, Zachary Borgiel. The game continued with a 0-0 score and seemed to be heading to overtime for the second consecutive night, until Brandon took a pass from Cole in the left faceoff circle with just 10 seconds remaining and sent a shot on net that hit the glove of Borgiel and rolled into the back of the net, cinching the shutout victory for the River Hawks.
After the unbeaten weekend, the River Hawks will now shift their focus to next weekend, when they travel to No. 1 Boston College on Friday, January 31 at 7:00 p.m., and host Merrimack the next night on Saturday, February 1 at 6:05 p.m.
