(Photo courtesy of the Lowell Sun) “River Hawks forward Brian Chambers celebrares his goal while UMass Lowell fans cheer.”
Andrew Wilcox
Connector Editor
This homecoming, UMass Lowell took their first victory of the new hockey season against the St. Lawrence Saints with the final score being 4-0.
River Hawks goaltender Gustavs Davis Grigals completed the shutout this Saturday with 27 saves in his first start for UMass Lowell.
Roughly two minutes into the game, UMass Lowell forward Zach Kaiser received a penalty for tripping. The River Hawks special teams prepared for the St. Lawrence power play early in the matchup as a result.
UMass Lowell would stop the Saints and quickly turn the tides, bringing offensive pressure down to the other end of the ice. However, St. Lawrence goaltender Emil Zetterquist would hold the River Hawks back from scoring. Soon after, a power play opportunity would come to UMass Lowell when Saints defenseman Tim Makowski would be penalized for a high stick and the River Hawks would earn the power play chance.
Despite being unable to capitalize on the extra-man advantage, the River Hawks would bounce back with a great opportunity just two minutes later. Defenseman Ben Meehan, off a centered pass from defenseman Isac Jonsson, would deflect the puck away from the Saints defense and set up a shot for forward Brian Chambers, who would put it right past Zetterquist and give UMass Lowell a 1-0 lead.
The game would not slow down for the River Hawks soon after the first goal, however. Forward Ryan Brushett would lay a pass off the boards for forward Carl Berglund, who would weave past Saints defenders before taking a shot and putting the River Hawks up 2-0.
At 13:29, the Saints would be caught on a penalty as defenseman Drake Burgin was called for hooking. With the extra man opportunity, defenseman Marek Korencik would set up a shot for forward Zach Kaiser, who would hit a quick shot into the net and give UMass Lowell their third goal of the game.
With the game coming to a close, and the Saints still scoreless, St. Lawrence would pull Zetterquist from the net and give themselves an extra skater on the ice. However, after a fight for the puck Kaiser would knock it loose from the Saints offense and pass it onto the stick of Jonsson, who would send the shot towards the empty St. Lawrence net, giving UMass Lowell their fourth goal and closing the books on a strong first showing for the UMass Lowell hockey team.
The River Hawks posted 22 shots this game against the Saints. In the win, Jonsson posted three shots on top of a goal and an assist and ended with a +2 in the +/- stat. Berglund and Chambers both took two shots each and scored one each. Kaiser’s one and only shot of the game was also a goal.
The River Hawks’ next game is Friday, October 7th in one of two games they will play against Miami University (Ohio) at the Tsongas Center. With two more home games up ahead before they fly out to Michigan State for two away games and then another away game at Northeastern, the River Hawks will look to continue the momentum and come away with some victories before their away-game stretch.
