Photo courtesy of UMass Lowell Athletics
It took Adam Chapie’s empty-net goal with four seconds remaining in the game to finally take the fight out of a Notre Dame team that refused to go away all weekend.
The River Hawks defeated a talented Fighting Irish squad 3-1 to improve its season record to 9-1-3.
“Tonight was a playoff style game,” said UMass Lowell head coach Norm Bazin. “We challenged our guys, and fortunately for us we were able to score two in the third period.”
Nick Master got what would be the game-winning goal six minutes into the third period on a powerplay. Chapie got the puck off a face-off, and made a nice pass back to Master who beat Notre Dame goaltender Cal Peterson top-shelf. The goal was Master’s third on the season, and it put the home team up 2-1.
“It all started with hard work by our team to get the powerplay in general,” said Master. “Adam Chapie made a great pass in the middle, and it hit off my skate.”
Kevin Boyle was fantastic yet again for the River Hawks. The senior entered the game with a .955 save percentage, which ranked second best in Hockey East.
On the powerplay, Notre Dame coach Jeff Jackson decided to give his team a six-on-four advantage, and he pulled Peterson with 2:30 left in the game. The move allowed for Notre Dame to fire more shots on net, but Boyle was able to turn aside every one.
“I wanted to catch them off guard,” said Jackson. “I wanted to make sure we got the puck entered into the offensive zone first. The quick whistle after the fact took away any advantage we had as far as [Lowell] being prepared for it.”
On the night, Boyle recorded 35 saves. Early in the third period, Notre Dame’s Dylan Malmquist had a breakaway opportunity, but Boyle was too quick with his pad. Where Boyle excelled was smothering the puck, and not allowing many rebound opportunities.
“The team in front of me are awesome,” said Boyle. “My job is to stop the first one, and if there’s a rebound they’re doing a great job of clearing it out.”
The scoreboard looked the same after one period as it did when the puck first dropped at 7 pm. Both teams came out flying up and down the ice, but it was Notre Dame who led the shot category 8-6 when the squads headed to the locker room for first intermission.
Evan Campbell started the scoring with his second goal of the season coming on the man advantage. The River Hawks displayed great puck movement within their own zone during the powerplay. Campbell took control of the puck at the blue line, and put it past Peterson with a beautiful backhand shot.
The lead was short lived, however, as the Fighting Irish answered with a goal just a minute later. Thomas Dipauli poked the puck past Boyle in a scrum in front of the net for his fifth goal of the season.
The goal did not get to Boyle, as the goalie stopped all 14 shots he faced in a third period that was full of good scoring chances.
“Every inch had to be earned, and we did that,” said Bazin. “It turned into a little bit more then tight defense. There were several chances in the third that opened up a bit.”
The Fighting Irish scored both of their goals in Friday night’s match up on the powerplay, going an impressive 2-5. They got their first opportunity midway through the first period when Evan Campbell went to the box for slashing. The River Hawks had no problem killing off the penalty, however, as Notre Dame failed to register a shot on goal during the man advantage.
On the night, UMass Lowell went 2-3 on the powerplay, while Notre Dame went 0-5.
The River Hawks will travel to Belfast, Northern Ireland for the Friendship Four Tournament next weekend.
