Riley Wetmore's (Swanton, Vt.) pair of goals, one short handed, wasn't enough to overcome an unfortunate third period bounce that doomed the River Hawks to a 3-2 loss to Minnesota State on Saturday night.
UMass Lowell hockey falls to 2-10-2 overall after their fifth consecutive loss, while the Mavericks improve to 4-6-4 with the weekend sweep.
For the second consecutive night, the River Hawks scored first, netting a goal at 18:15 into the opening period. A Minnesota State defenseman looked the clear the puck from the red line, but put the puck directly on Wetmore's stick. Undaunted by the stroke of good fortune, the sophomore forward fired the puck by Phil Cook (Wheaton, Ill.) without hesitation. The score was Wetmore's fifth of the season.
The lead would survive the period, but the Mavericks erased it early in the second. Off of a face-off in the Minnesota State zone, Chase Grant (Oklahoma City, Okla.) nabbed the puck and carried it through the neutral zone. With UMass Lowell on its heels, Grant set up Zach Lehrke (Park Rapids, Minn.) for a goal at 1:42 into the second period.
Minnesota State would then take its first lead of the night at the start of the third period. A River Hawk shot was saved and created a rush the other way for Kurt Davis' (Plymouth, Minn.) third goal of the season at 55 seconds into play.
UMass Lowell shocked the Mavericks a few minutes later, scoring its third short handed goal of the season at 2:28. Tim Corcoran (Milton, Mass.) grabbed an errant shot in front of the net and sent it up ice for Wetmore who blew by a diving defender. Wetmore skated in on Cook and squeezed the puck through an opening on the goalie's short-side. Wetmore's second goal of the game gave him a team-high six for the season.
Despite the good momentum, the River Hawks couldn't hold on as an unfortunate bounce at 5:48 into the third proved to be the game-winner for Minnesota State. Looking to clear the puck, Joe Caveney's (Fitchburg, Mass.) pass hit Grant in the knee and bounced into the UMass Lowell net.
UMass Lowell goaltender Doug Carr (Hanover, Mass.) was strong in net, making 33 saves as he slide to 2-6-1 on the season. His counterpart, Cook, stopped 26-of-28 shots to improve to 3-6-2 overall. Each team was 0-for-2 on the power play.
Looking to snap their losing skid, the River Hawks will host New Hampshire on Thursday, Dec. 2, at 7 p.m. in the Tsongas Center.