LOWELL, Mass. - The UMass Lowell ice hockey team (15-11-3, 8-9-2 Hockey East) came back from a 1-0 deficit to edge out Northeastern (10-15-3, 5-10-3 Hockey East), 3-1, on Saturday night at the Tsongas Center.
Graduate student Pierson Brandon (Irvington, N.Y.) scored the game-winning goal in the third period, while freshman Lee Parks (Ottawa, Ontario) and sophomore Jak Vaarwerk (Clarence, N.Y.) each added goals as well. Junior Mitchell Becker (Rogers, Minn.), freshman Mirko Buttazzoni (Langley, B.C.), freshman Libor Nemec (Bratislava, Slovakia) and senior Matt Crasa (South Setauket, N.Y.) all collected assists in the victory.
Nine different players tallied at least one blocked shot, as freshman Dominick Rivelli (Highland Park, Ill.), Nemec and senior Stefan Owens (Midlothian, Va.) led with two each, while six other skaters all had one apiece. Graduate student Henry Welsch (Lakeville, Minn.) got the nod in net for the River Hawks, making 23 saves for the win.
"Overall, we are pleased with the result tonight," said Head Coach Norm Bazin. "Getting points in the Hockey East is tough at this time of year. After last night, we are more pleased with the effort and the compete. Last night was discombobulated and tonight was a little more connected."
The River Hawks came out of the gate firing and taking the first five shots on goal of the game, including a great scoring chance from junior Connor Eddy (Victoria, B.C.) on 2-on-1 with senior Owen Cole (Dunnville, Ontario). With Welsch making saves on the other end to keep the Huskies off the board, UMass Lowell continued to apply the pressure offensively. Late in the period, the River Hawks killed off two penalties to bring the game to the first intermission at 0-0.
The second period was eventful for UMass Lowell, scoring at the 16:24 mark on the power play. After Nemec fed Buttazzoni at the blue line, Parks collected a Buttazzoni rebound before finding his own rebound for the goal. Before the goal, Northeastern was called for a five minute major at 3:33 and a minor penalty just 1:50 later, giving the River Hawks offensive momentum, eventually cashing in on Parks' late power play goal. Welsch and the defensive unit stayed stout, making it 1-1 heading into the third period.
The success continued in the third period for the River Hawks, as they scored twice to seal the victory, outshot the Huskies 9-8 and won 13 faceoffs compared to Northeastern's four. The game-winner came off the stick of Brandon just over three minutes into the period. The defenseman stole the pick from a Northeastern player at the center line, zoomed into the offensive zone and fired a rocket of a slapshot past the Huskies' goaltender and into the back of the net for the 2-1 lead.
With just over six minutes remaining, Northeastern scored what they thought was the game-tying goal, but after a UMass Lowell successful challenge, the goal was called back for a hand pass in the crease, and play continued with a 2-1 score. With 1:42 left in the game, Becker got the puck to Crasa, who found Vaarwerk as they entered the offensive zone, and Vaarwerk buried an empty net goal to end it at 3-1.
Next, the River Hawks travel to Providence on Saturday, February 22 for a 6:00 p.m. game at Schneider Arena.
