LATE CAMPBELL GOAL LIFTS UMASS LOWELL INTO 4-4 TIE WITH RIT
Senior captain Scott Campbell ties game at 19:59 of the third period

Senior captain Scott Campbell tied the game at 19:59 of the third period

UMass Lowell hockey earned its second tie of the weekend trip, 4-4, against RIT on Saturday night. Captain Scott Campbell (Navan, Ont.) scored the game-tying goal with 1.3 seconds remaining in regulation.

The tie improves the River Hawks' record to 0-1-2 on the season while RIT moves to 0-2-1 on its campaign.

The River Hawks wore Craig Charron ULowell Chiefs' jerseys in warm-ups that were later auctioned off with proceeds benefiting his battle against cancer. Charron's children were presented with a plaque marking his impending induction in the Legends of Lowell during a pregame ceremony.

The game started with a bang as junior Matt Ferreira (Brampton, Ont.) hit a streaking Riley Wetmore (Swanton, Vt.) in the neutral zone. Wetmore carried into the Tigers' zone with a defender draped on his left shoulder. As he charged towards the net, Wetmore caught the goaltender cheating early to prevent a wrap-around attempt. Spotting daylight, Wetmore forced a back-handed shot through the short-side for a crowd silencing goal at 4:00.

RIT evened the game back up at 12:58 in the first as UMass Lowell allowed its fourth power play goal in three games. Adam Hartley (West Vancouver, B.C.) ripped a shot from the slot that Marc Boulanger (Olds, Alta.) got a piece of, but the puck trickled through his legs and into the net.

The River Hawks resumed their lead in the second period at 13:31. Colin Wright (Burlington, Ont.) set up Chad Ruhwedel (San Diego, Calif.) at the near point for a hard shot. Shane Madolora (Salinas, Calif.) made the save, but David Vallorani (Hamilton, Ont.) was there for the put-back score. The goal was Vallorani's first of the season and put UMass Lowell on top, 2-1.

The lead was short lived as RIT respond only 60 seconds later. Michael Colavecchia (Maple, Ont.) knocked in a rebound goal off of Tyler Brenner's (Linwood, Ont.) shot to level the score at 2-2.

The Tigers took their first lead of the game early in the third on a power play goal from Brenner at 10:01. The game then underwent a 15 minute delay as fans shattered the glass behind the River Hawks' bench.

Michael Scheu (Buffalo, N.Y) brought the game even once again at 12:22. Patrick Cey (Saskatoon, Sask.) slide a pass from behind the net to Scheu streaking in from the slot. Scheu put his shot top shelf as he was hooked by the defense for his second tally of the season.

In a see-saw contest, RIT proved resilient, taking the lead on another Brenner goal at 14:52 to give the Tigers a 4-3 advantage.

UMass Lowell's chances looked grim with the time winding down, but the team pulled out a miracle to knot the score one last time. With 1.3 seconds left on the clock, Wetmore centered a pass from behind the net for Campbell. The stunning game-tying goal was Campbell's second of the season.

The two clubs skated through a scoreless overtime in which the Tigers outshot the River Hawks, 4-2.

Freshman goaltender Boulanger earned a tie in his first collegiate start, making 30 saves. RIT's Madolora stopped 24-of-28 in his first start of the season. UMass Lowell was 0-for-7 on the power play while the Tigers went 2-for-6 with the man advantage.

After earning a pair of ties on the weekend trip, UMass Lowell returns to the Tsongas Center to prepare for its home opener against Providence College on Oct. 22 at 7 p.m.