Nov. 6, 2009

Box Score

The River Hawk Report - Hockey: UMass Lowell 3 Vermont 3 - November 7, 2009

The #8 UMass Lowell River Hawks skated to a 3-3 tie with the #15 Vermont Catamounts on Friday night at the Gutterson Fieldhouse. Captain Ben Holmstrom (Colorado Springs, CO) collected two assists to pace the UMass Lowell offense, just one shy of reaching the 50 career assist plateau.

The tie moves the River Hawks to 4-2-1 overall and 2-1-1 in Hockey East. The Catamounts become 2-3-1 on the season and 1-2-1 in conference play.

The Catamounts got onto the board early with a frenzy of shots and an up-tempo offense. Jack Downing (New Canaan, CN) took a shot following a pass from Brayden Irwin (Toronto, Ont.) that was stopped by goaltender Nevin Hamilton (Ashland, MA). The rebound kicked to Wahsontiio Stacey (Kahnawake, Que.) on the weak-side who knocked in the puck to secure a 1-0 Vermont lead.

The River Hawks were able to slowdown the initial rush and take advantage of a Catamount penalty for contract to the head. On the ensuing face-off, Ryan Blair (Ashburn, VA) received the puck while floating back towards the blue line, quickly feeding Nick Schaus (Buffalo, NY) to his left for a one-timer. Schaus' shot careened towards the Vermont net and was redirected with the help of a Catamount defender into the mesh to tie the game at one goal apiece.

Paul Worthington (Langhorne, PA) put UMass Lowell into the driver's seat with a power play goal 5:49 into the second period. Maury Edwards (Rocky Rapids, Alta) passed the puck to Holmstrom for a quick shot to the left of the net. Vermont goalie Rob Madore (Pittsburgh, PA) stonewalled the shot, but the rebound landed at the feet of Worthington for the put-back score to give the River Hawks a 2-1 lead.

UMass Lowell got even more help at the 7:56 mark into the second. Jonathan Maniff (Revere, MA) collected the puck after an excellent fore check and sent it up the ice to Holmstrom. The senior captain took a shot from the right side shortly after entering the Catamount zone. Madore positioned for the save, but Chris Auger (Belleville, Ont.) stepped in front of the net and redirected the shot to the top left-hand corner. The score was Auger's second of the season and extended the River Hawk lead to 3-1.

Vermont drew the game back within one just under three minutes later. Following a pair of penalties to nullify a UMass Lowell power play, the Catamounts scored on a four-on-three man advantage. Irwin collected a rebound and skated towards the center of the River Hawk zone that caused a slight opening in the three-man defense. Irwin's shot surprised everyone including Hamilton; sneaking through on the stick-side.

The Catamounts evened the score up for good at 8:55 into the third period. Following a blocked shot by Brian Roloff (West Seneca, NY) about 10 feet from the UMass Lowell net, Justin Milo (Edina, MN) corralled the puck to Hamilton's left. The puck never settled after the block, so the resulting shot wobbled unpredictably through the air and found its way into the River Hawk net.

UMass Lowell was able to hold onto the tie after a fantastic stand, holding off the Catamounts during a four-on-three Vermont power play late in the third. The momentum shift allowed the River Hawks to stave off a loss and preserve a tie after a relatively quiet five-minute overtime.

Hamilton moved to 2-0-1 with the tie, despite stopping a season-high 34-of-37 shots. Vermont's Madore made just 19 saves on 22 UMass Lowell shots and is now 2-3-1 on the season.

The River Hawks will look to salvage a three-point weekend as they host New Hampshire on Sunday, live on ESPNU at 5:05 p.m.