LOWELL, Mass. - UMass-Lowell tallied the first three goals of the game and held on to capture a 3-2 win over sixth-ranked University of New Hampshire men's hockey team on Saturday night against Hockey East foe University of Massachusetts-Lowell at the Tsongas Arena.
UMass-Lowell improves to 5-4-4 overall, 3-4-4 in Hockey East. The Wildcats fall to 8-3-1, 5-3-1. It was UNH's first loss to the River Hawks since Nov. 19, 2005 (six meetings).
In a game that was a tale of two halves, it was all UMass-Lowell early. The River Hawks got on the board first as Jason DeLuca tallied an unassisted goal just 3:14 in. UMass-Lowell took that lead into the first intermission as it outshot the Wildcats 15-2.
Mass-Lowell extended its lead just 43 seconds into the second as Kory Falite potted an even-strength goal to make it 2-0 and struck again at 4:21 when Marc Roebothan off a rebound of a Mike Potacco shot.
The Wildcats cut into the lead as James vanRiemsdyk (Middletown, N.J.) made a nice catch to received a pass at the blue line from Brad Flaishans (Glendale, Ariz.), skated past one defender and riffled a shot that found the back of the net for the four-on-four goal. UNH closed the gap to 3-2 heading into the second intermission as Bobby Butler (Marlboro, Mass.) potted a power play goal that was assisted by Peter LeBlanc (Hamilton, Ontario) and Jerry Pollastrone (Revere, Mass.).
In a scoreless third period, the Wildcats had several chances to tie the game. Overall, UNH outshot UML 14-8 in the third but could not capitalize on two River Hawk penalties and an empty-net extra skater during the final 1:26.
UNH goaltender Kevin Regan (South Boston, Mass.) finished with 24 saves including 14 in the opening stanza, while Hamilton stopped 30 shots in net for UML, including 14 in the second and third frames.
New Hampshire returns to action on Saturday, Dec. 8 (7 p.m.) when it plays Hockey East foe Massachusetts at Mullins Center. The Wildcats' next home game is Dec. 16 (4 p.m.) against the University of Maine.