UNIVERSITY PARK, Penn. (November 15, 2013) - UMass Lowell River Hawks' (8-4-0, 2-1-0 Hockey East) fought off fatigue and a pesky Penn State Nittany Lions (3-5-1, 0-0-0 Big 10) team to escape with the 3-2 win tonight at Pegula Arena. Senior goaltender Doug Carr (Hanover, Mass.) picked up the win with 35 saves while UMass Lowell got goals from Joe Gambardella (Staten Island, NY), Stephen Buco (North Providence, RI) and Adam Chapie (1g-1a-2pts; Oxford, Mich.)
"We're exceptionally pleased to get out of here with a win tonight," said UMass Lowell Head Coach Norm Bazin. "I thought we gave it everything we had, and fortunately, it was enough tonight to get it done."
Playing in their third game in four nights, the River Hawks completed their weeklong road trip a perfect 3-0 to up their season road record to 6-1.The team boarded the bus for Lowell immediately following tonight's game to complete the 1,000-mile trip that began in Lowell Monday and travelled through Princeton for a Tuesday night match-up with the Tigers (2-1W) and finally to University Park, Penn. for a two-game set with Penn State Thursday and Friday night (4-0W, 3-2W).
Joe Gambardella scored the ever-important first goal for the River Hawks tonight, beating Penn State freshman netminder Eamon McAdam at 4:26 of the first period. Penn State's Eric Scheid evened the score at 10:25 of the first with a power play tally that beat Carr only to see UMass Lowell battle back as Stephen Buco scored from behind the goal line at 11:18, banking one off the back of McAdam's left pad and into the net. The River Hawks continued to hammer the rookie goaltender throughout the first period until Adam Chapie broke through, picking up a rebound and snapping it past McAdam to give the visitors the 3-1 first period lead.
"Tonight, we were fortunate to score first - I thought that was a big deal," Bazin said. "What I am the most proud of is we didn't sit back," Bazin said. "We left it here, regardless of the outcome, and fortunately, we got the two points."
Both goaltenders were tested throughout, with Carr withstanding a physical second period as Penn State fought to get back into the game. Through two periods, the teams had exchanged 58 shots with neither managing to find the back of the net in the second stanza. The Nittany Lions pulled within one as David Goodwin scored unassisted at 12:17 of the third. Carr (4-1-0) withstood a final flurry in the waning minutes of the game to give the River Hawks the 3-2 win. He finished the game with 35 saves while his Penn State counterpart recorded 41 on 44 Lowell shots.
NEXT HOME SERIES: UMASS LOWELL VS. NOTRE DAME: UMass Lowell will host Notre Dame for the first time in team history on Friday, November 22 at 7 PM and Saturday, November 23 at 4 PM. 2013-14 marks the first season in Hockey East for the Fighting Irish. Tickets for the games are on sale now and can be purchased at the Tsongas Center Box Office Monday-Friday, 9 AM - 5 PM. Fans may also purchase tickets online at TsongasCenter.com or by contacting Andrew Ralph (andrew_ralph@uml.edu; 978-934-5749) or Joe Fellini (joseph_fellini@uml.edu; 978-934-5751).