Four power play goals and a short handed tally put UMass Lowell hockey over Bentley University, 8-5, on Tuesday night in the Tsongas Center. Matt Ferreira (Brampton, Ont.), voted the First Star of the Game, had two power play goals in the non conference victory.
The River Hawks scored eight goals for the first time since Nov. 14, 2008, picking up their second win in the last three games and improving their record to 4-19-2 overall. The loss drops the Falcons to 6-13-4 on the season.
As with the River Hawks three previous wins, the opponent scored first in the contest. Bentley stunned the crowd with an early goal by Aaron Stonacek (Basehor, Kan.) from Brett Hartung (Tallahassee, Fla.) at 6:55 into the game.
UMass Lowell seemed unphased, responding with three unanswered goals to close out the first period, starting just 29 seconds after the Falcons' tally.
Jason DeLuca (East Moriches, N.Y.) kicked off the trio, following through with a short side tally after persistence from Josh Holmstrom (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Derek McCoy (Newburyport, Mass.) put the puck deep in Bentley's territory.
Just a few minutes later, David Vallorani (Hamilton, Ont.) scored a power play goal from Colin Wright (Burlington, Ont.). Vallorani initially fed Wright the puck at the point, but Wright sent it back for the quick shot that beat Joe Calvi (New Lenox, Ill.).
Michael Budd (Burlington, Ont.) then netted a short handed score after Joseph Pendenza (Wilmington, Mass.) picked off a pass in Bentley's zone. All three tallies came in a 3:02 span during the middle of the first period.
The second frame provided a frenzy of excitement with the teams combining for seven goals. The Falcons started off with two scores just 26 seconds apart from Jared Rickord (Spokie, Ill.) at 3:05 and Brett Gensler (St. Charles, Mo.) at 3:31, knotting the game at 3-3.
The scoreboard then played ping pong as the two teams alternated goals with Ferreira and Patrick Cey (Saskatoon, Sask.) scoring for UMass Lowell and Gensler and Erik Peterson (Shorewood, Mass.) filling the net for Bentley.
The River Hawks finally closed out the period with a power play tally by Wetmore. Maury Edwards (Rocky Rapids, Alta.) fired a shot from the point and Wetmore tipped the puck over the goalie's leg pad for his team-leading 11th goal of the season.
Entering the third period with a slight edge on the scoreboard, 6-5, UMass Lowell quickly and quietly silenced any thoughts of a comeback. Ferreira slammed home a centering pass from Edwards at 1:48 into the third, followed by an empty net tally from Cey with 26 seconds remaining.
For the game, goaltender T.J. Massie (Lexington, Mass.) turned away 28-of-33 shots to pick up his first win in just his second start. Massie held the Falcons to one power play goal in four chances. Bentley's Calvi made 30 saves, but allowed seven goals as he fell to 5-7-2 overall.
The River Hawks finished the night 4-for-7 on the power play and outshot the Falcons, 38-33.
With the win in the books, UMass Lowell will prepare for #3 Boston College on Saturday. The River Hawks host the Eagles in the Tsongas Center in the season series finale, currently led by Boston College 2-0. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.