Trevor Cullen
Connector Editor

River Hawks sneak by Minutemen in final second.

Last Friday saw hockey rival UMass Amherst visit the Tsongas Center for the final regular season match-up between the Minutemen and the River Hawks. The game did not disappoint, with momentum swinging towards opposite ends of the ice on several different occasions.

River Hawk fans went home happy though, thanks to an unlikely hero – UMass Lowell’s Joe Houk. In a tie game that looked guaranteed to be headed for overtime, one last push by the River Hawks in the final 10 seconds resulted in a scramble in front of the Amherst net.

Houk found the puck as it emerged from the scrum and managed to punch it in literally an instant before the period ended. Houk’s goal with 0.2 seconds left put the River Hawks ahead for good, with a final score of 3-2.
“It certainly was a nail-biter tonight,” UMass Lowell Coach Norm Bazin said. “We were pleased to end it in regulation.”

UMass Lowell’s Evan Campbell got his team on the board in the first period, and added to the lead himself in the second, scoring his second goal of the night to put the River Hawks up 2-0 heading into the third.
The Minutemen came surging back behind a potent power play and poor special teams defense by the River Hawks, and with just under 10 minutes left to play, UMass Amherst tied the game at two with their second power play goal of the night.

“I thought we did a lot of things well,” Bazin said. “But special teams was not one of those things.”
Luckily for the River Hawks and their fans, Houk’s late game heroics erased a tense tie game, and earned the team two vital points in Hockey East.

Boston College has already clinched the regular season title, but the River Hawks have already completed their third consecutive season with at least 20 wins, and should be a force to contend with come playoff time.