UMass Lowell forward Joe Gambardella works his way around UMD defenseman Neal Pionk with Bulldog goalie Nick Deery at the ready. (George DeLuca/Connector)

Hannah Manning
Connector Editor

After Friday night’s controversial result, in which the game ended in a tie after C.J. Smith’s would be game-winning goal was called off in overtime, the River Hawks came out of opening weekend with two points. The River Hawks were forced to a tie against the Bulldogs once again, 1-1.

Freshman goaltender Tyler Wall electrified fans with his play. In his first performance in a River Hawks jersey, he saved 40 of 41 shots. While the University of Minnesota Duluth turned up offensive pressure in the second period, Wall had a standup period wherein he stopped shots without letting up room for rebounds. On a particular play, he made a snappy glove save that had the student section audibly impressed.

Later in the night, Wall showed an incredible amount of hustle as he sprawled to his left to save a shot. The net was left open for the Bulldogs, but a flurry of sticks, including Wall’s own, saved the play as the River Hawks’ bench erupted in excitement.

Wall ended the night with the game’s second star.

Wall saw the game as a good introduction to college hockey, saying that he would have rather faced 40 shots than 20. “I saw a lot of rubber, but my defense did a good job of letting me see,” Wall said.

Sophomore forward Connor Wilson opened up the scoring with his first collegiate goal, a power play goal coming in at 3:30 in the first period. A straight shot that flew past Bulldogs goaltender Nick Deery, Wilson’s goal was assisted by senior defenseman Dylan Zink and junior defenseman Tommy Panico.

“It was definitely a memorable moment. It was a great power play by a five-man unit,” said Wilson in regards to his goal, the lone one for the River Hawks on Saturday night. Wilson has found himself on both the power play and penalty kill unit for both games this season. He was awarded the first star of the game for his efforts.

Wilson’s early goal was the only one on the board until there was 3:56 remaining in regulation, when the University of Minnesota Duluth netted their first and only of the night.

As the game progressed, momentum shifted from UMass Lowell possessing the puck and dominating shots on net to the Bulldogs nearly running away with the game in terms of shots. The River Hawks had 12 shots at the end of the first period while the Bulldogs were able to manage 6. By the end of the ninety minutes, the Bulldogs had 41 shots on net to the River Hawks’ 25.

UMass Lowell had several breakaway chances that either dissolved just after crossing the blue line or were turned away by the University of Minnesota Duluth’s Nick Deery.

The River Hawks did especially well on the penalty kill, not allowing a single power play goal for the Bulldogs on six attempts. They were also 1 for 3 on the power play, and had 5 power play shots in total.

Despite the fact that the River Hawks allowed 40 shots on net both games, Head Coach Norm Bazin was pleased with the direction that his team was going in.

“We got several things to tighten up. I thought our neutral zone wasn’t what it should be. I thought today, though, there was a little more offensive zone time,” said Coach Bazin.

Coach Bazin acknowledged that Minnesota Duluth had two games, both wins, under their belts before travelling to the Tsongas Center. “You are playing some very good hockey teams, and that’s something to remember. We purposely loaded our schedule up for the first month to see some really good teams. And that’s what we got tonight.”

With the opening weekend officially in the books, the River Hawks will look for their first win of the season next weekend as they travel to Colorado College. They will return to the Tsongas Center for Homecoming Weekend. The first game of the weekend, against St. Lawrence, will be on Friday Oct. 21 at 7:15 p.m. To cap off the festivities, the River Hawks will play Clarkson University on Saturday night at 7 p.m.