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River Hawks fall to UConn, 2-1

Photo courtesy of UMass Lowell Athletics

Hannah Manning
Connector Staff

The UMass Lowell ice hockey team fell to the UConn Huskies 2-1 at Tsongas Center Sunday afternoon.

With the loss, the River Hawks fall to 10-3-4 (6-2-3 Hockey East), while the Huskies improve to 5-10-0 (3-7-0 Hockey East).

Head Coach Norm Bazin described the campaign as “not having the result that we were looking for.”

Things started out in a promising fashion, as the River Hawks had a dominant first period. They controlled puck possession consistently throughout, and whenever action leaked into the defensive zone, the defense was extremely capable in blocking shots and getting pucks out into the neutral zone.

The offense was pushier than usual, which was made clear when center Joe Gambardella skated around the UConn net and fired off a pass to defenseman Dylan Zink, who let loose a powerful shot that UConn goaltender Rob Nichols cradled to his chest.

Gambardella was a force for the River Hawks, which UConn coach Mike Cavanaugh noted in the post-game press conference.

“Gambardella was a one-man wrecking crew on those penalty kills,” Cavanaugh said.

UMass Lowell took advantage of any rebounds that Nichols gave them, and it was frustrating for the River Hawks to head into the second with the score tied at zero. They outshot UConn by a significant margin, and were outplaying them offensively.

There were plenty of opportunities for the River Hawks to test their penalty kill throughout the entire game, as five consecutive penalties were called on them in the first and second periods. The most notable trait of UMass Lowell’s penalty kill was its knack for clearing the puck out of the defensive zone before it could reach goaltender Kevin Boyle.

There were even a bundle of shorthanded scoring chances for the River Hawks. But unfortunately, all of these penalties limited UMass Lowell’s scoring chances and allowed UConn to wreak offensive havoc that was thankfully stopped by Boyle each time. Bazin said that the incessant penalty killing “drained the gas tank a little, and in the end, that was the difference.”

Luck prevailed, however, and UMass Lowell got three cracks at the power play in the second period, the third of which resulted in a goal scored by Adam Chapie in the waning seconds of the period.

The Huskies came out in full force during the third, and the River Hawks allowed them to score twice, with the game-winner a powerplay goal scored by Tage Thompson. There was a wealth of scoring opportunities throughout the game for the River Hawks, but they were unable to capitalize on these, which hurt their chances for a win.

“We were good on special teams for a good portion of the game, but one power play’s a difference,” said Bazin, “Missed opportunities are the big statement for the weekend.”

The River Hawks will face Clarkson on Dec. 28 and the winner of Penn State vs. Robert Morris on Dec. 29 in the Three Rivers Classic at Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pa.

Hannah Manning

Hannah Manning is the Editor in Chief of the UMass Lowell Connector. A native of Haverhill, Mass., she is a senior working towards her bachelor's in English with a concentration in journalism and professional writing. She likes hockey, music and her fellow staff members at the Connector.

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