UMASS LOWELL SHUTS OUT MAINE, 6-0, TO WIN FLORIDA COLLEGE CLASSIC
Sophomore Carter Hutton posts 31 saves for River Hawks

Carter Hutton posted the shutout with 31 saves

ESTERO, FL (Dec. 29, 2007) - Sophomore Jonathan Maniff (Revere, MA) scored two goals and assisted on another and sophomore goaltender Carter Hutton (Thunder Bay, ONT) stopped 31 shots as UMass Lowell defeated the University of Maine, 6-0, for the Florida College Classic Championship Saturday night at the Germain Arena.

The victory was the fifth straight and seventh in the last eight games for the River Hawks, who improved to 9-4-4. UML enjoys a 13-day hiatus before visiting Providence College on Jan. 11 (7:00), then returns home for 11 of their next 13 games.

Maine slipped to 6-8-2.

Hutton led three River Hawks named to the All-Tournament Team. Also cited were sophomores Nick Schaus (Orchard Park, NY) and Chris Auger (Belleville, ONT).

Freshman F Scott Campbell (Navan, ONT) also scored two goals while Auger added one goal and one assist. Freshman Patrick Cey (Saskatoon, SASK) also chipped in a goal.

The Black Bears outshot UML, 31-25, but Hutton was at his best in the third period as he turned away all 18 of Maine's shots. Ben Bishop stopped 14 shots for Maine before being replaced by Dave Wilson (five saves) in the third period.

"I'm so happy for the guys to be able to experience a championship," said UML Head Coach Blaise MacDonald. "It is well documented that we have a young team that continues to grow. We are exploring our limits at a very high level right now. We did a nice job of finishing tonight."

UML struck early both in the first and second periods as Maniff opened the scoring just 2:04 into the game with an assist from Auger. Campbell gave UML a 2-0 lead 1:08 into the second period off a pass from junior Mark Roebothan (St. John's, NF), and Cey tripled the lead at 11:46 with help from sophomores Kory Falite (Billerica, MA) and Ben Holmstrom (Colorado Springs, CO).

Despite being outshot 18-8 in the third period, it was UML that capitalized. Maniff scored his second goal 3:30 into the period off a feed from freshman Jason DeLuca (East Moriches, NY) to give the River Hawks a 4-0 cushion. Campbell followed at 13:00 with an unassisted goal and Auger capped the scoring just over a minute later with assists from DeLuca and Maniff.

"Maine has a great goaltender in Ben Bishop, but when we had opportunities to finish we were bearing down," MacDonald added. "That was big for us. We have great leadership, guys that work very hard. We are very fortunate to coach such great young men."

All Tournament Team

Carter Hutton (UMass Lowell), Goaltender

Nick Schaus (UMass Lowell), Defense

Simon Denis-Pepin (Maine), Defense

Chris Auger (UMass Lowell), Forward

Billy Ryan (Maine), Forward

Michael Kennedy (Cornell), Forward