Trevor Cullen
Connector Editor
The River Hawks split a home-home series with the Providence Friars last weekend, with each team winning on their home ice. The River Hawks dropped the first game of the series 5-4 behind a disastrous third period in which they led 4-2, before giving up three goals in the final ten minutes thanks to a furious Providence comeback.
UMass Lowell had a chance to redeem itself at home the following night and they did in a big way, throttling the Friars 6-1.
Senior Doug Carr got the start at home on the pink ice, dyed in support of Hockey East’s Skating Strides for Breast Cancer awareness initiative. He made 27 saves in the win, 11 of which he made in the third period.
Providence standout goaltender Jon Gillies was pulled for the first time in his Friars career, giving up five goals on 14 shots.
For the River Hawks, both Joseph Pendenza and Christian Folin had huge games. Folin scored two goals and added an assist, while Pendenza added his 99th and 100th career points in the victory.
“It feels pretty good, but as much as it’s an individual accomplishment, it’s also a team accomplishment,” said Pendenza to goriverhwaks.com. “I have played with some great players over my four years here, from Scott Campbell to Riley Wetmore to Matt Ferreira, those guys really helped me a lot building me into the player I am now.”
It was Pendenza who opened the scoring with a tricky move from the right side. It appeared he was going to coast around the Friars net, but at the last second drove hard to the front of the net, beating both his defender and Gillies for the first goal of the game.
From there, it was almost all River Hawks, with Folin netting his first of two with 2:47 left in the first period. Evan Campbell made it 3-0 in the second period with a goal from right in front of the net after a great pass from Michael Fallon.
Things got a bit chippy at the end of the second between the two teams, resulting in a five minute major and a game misconduct assessed to River Hawks defenseman Joe Houk.
While Providence’s Ross Mauermann made it a two score game early in the third with a goal on the extended power play, Pendenza picked the perfect time to score his 100th point as a River Hawk, beating Gillies shorthanded and extending UMass Lowell’s lead to 4-1.
After a second goal from Folin, freshman Joe Gambardella capped off the scoring with a goal from right in front of the Friar net after a pretty move beat the defense.
The River Hawks continue perhaps the toughest stretch of their schedule with another home and home series against Merrimack College. The last nine games of UMass Lowell’s regular season schedule are all against Hockey East opponents.
