Tage Thompson sneaks the game-winning goal past the right pad of Tyler Wall during the second period. (Matt Dwyer/Connector)
Kathryn Leeber
Connector Staff
The UMass Lowell men’s hockey team kicked off the first of two games Friday night against the University of Connecticut Huskies, losing 3-2 in the effort.
With the loss, the River Hawks fell to a 8-5-2 overall record. After their seventh Hockey East game, the River Hawks are 4-3-2 in conference play.
The game was slow to warm up, but UConn was quick to score. The first goal of the night was scored by UConn junior Spencer Naas, assisted by Justin Howell. With quick passes and speedy players, the Huskies were eager to score.
The River Hawks were able to follow with a goal from freshman forward Colin O’Neill, his first of the season.
He would go on to score the team’s second goal to tie the game at 2-2.
“It definitely feels good [to score], but it would have been better if we would’ve won the game,” said O’Neill.
Another freshman, goaltender Tyler Wall, received the start for the River Hawks and was able to stop 8 out of 10 shots on goal by UConn in the first period. All in all, Wall had 18 saves in the game.
The first period was very much a back and forth game, with neither team holding more possession than the other.
“We got caught chasing the game, but we responded to their two goals by coming back twice,” said head coach Norm Bazin.
Despite tying it up at some points, UMass Lowell’s passing was rather weak and UConn was able to steal the puck many times. Nonetheless, the first period was very calm and without penalties.
The second period was a whole different story, with each team receiving three penalties. Most of the penalties were for holding or interference, and one from having too many players on the ice.
Even though it was a more aggressive period, the Huskies were the only team able to score. Tage Thompson scored the Huskies’ 3rd goal off a power play to take the lead, 3-2.
With 11:30 left to go in the period, Wall made a huge save to keep the score stagnant. The team would continue to play forcefully and won a majority of the face-offs. In the first two periods, the River Hawks won 23 out of 42 face-offs.
Even with the possession in their favor, UMass Lowell was not able to score again. In the third period, the team had many opportunities, but UConn goaltender Adam Huska continually blocked the shots.
His defenders were similarly skilled in forcing the River Hawks to skate away from the goal and force long-range shots.
At one point, a UMass Lowell player shot so powerfully from a distance that he broke his stick. This clearly showed the effort put into the game from the River Hawks, but ultimately it did not end in their favor.
UMass Lowell would continue to push their tempo until the very end, even pulling the goaltender out so they could grab an extra skater. This was to no avail, as UConn kept blocking their shots.
Despite the unfavorable outcome, the River Hawks look to take a win as they finish their series against the UConn Huskies tomorrow night in Hartford.
