Box Score
Post Game Press Conference: Coach MacDonald
Post Game Press Conference: UMass Lowell Players
Audio Recap
It was a scene wonderfully familiar for UMass Lowell, nightmarish for opponents.
And impeccably rehearsed.
Sophomore Scott Campbell (Navan, Ont.) knotted the score, 2-2, just 20 seconds from time and junior Chris Auger (Belleville, Ont.) scored the game-winner three minutes into overtime as No. 5 UMass Lowell defeated No. 2 Northeastern, 3-2, Friday night in the Hockey East Tournament semifinal at the TD Banknorth Garden.
The victory sealed UMass Lowell's return to the final, its second-ever appearance and first since 1994.
The River Hawks (20-15-2) meet No. 1 Boston University (30-6-4) Saturday night at 7:00. The Terriers scored three goals in a 44-second span in the third period to turn back No. 6 Boston College, 3-2.
The victory was also the fifth straight for the River Hawks, who are 12-4-2 in their last 18 games.
Northeastern (25-11-4) awaits NCAA Tournament pairings to be announced Sunday at 11:30 on ESPN2.
The match saw superb goaltending from UMass Lowell's Carter Hutton (Thunder Bay, Ont.), who had 25 saves, and Hockey East Player of the Year Brad Thiessen, who was sterling with 41 saves.
With 1:05 remaining in regulation and Hutton out of net, UMass Lowell's chances looked grim as its first two attempts were blocked, characteristic of the Husky defense on the night.
However, sophomore Maury Edwards (Rocky Rapids, Alta.) blasted from the left side off the pads of Thiessen, to the stick of Campbell, who instinctively flicked into an open right side of the cage for the equalizer.
It was a sequence the River Hawks have nearly perfected.
"We've scored five goals with the goalie pulled this year, so we've become good at it," said UML Head Coach Blaise MacDonald. "Unfortunately, we've played a lot of tight games.
"I think the biggest thing is that our guys play with a lot of poise in those situations," MacDonald added. "They don't get jumpy. Scott Campbell really had good puck poise and stick presence there and got it by Thiessen."
Last Friday, junior Nick Schaus (Buffalo, N.Y.) scored the tying goal with 30 seconds left in regulation (goalie pulled) and Edwards netted the game-winner with two seconds left in overtime for the 4-3 win.
On Feb. 20, freshman Michael Scheu (Buffalo, N.Y.) salvaged a 3-3 tie at Vermont 26 seconds from time.
In a 4-3 win at Boston College on Jan. 16, Campbell equalized with 45 seconds left in regulation with the extra skater and Schaus scored the game-winner on a power play with 34 seconds left in overtime.
UMass Lowell is 3-0-2 in overtime this season.
"Since (the Jan. 16 win at Boston College), we've played wonderful hockey and we have gotten better and better," MacDonald noted. "Our believability in each other in ourselves and our systems has certainly been amplified."
The clash marked the ninth time in Hockey East's 25-year history a semifinal went into overtime.
The Huskies opened the scoring with two goals 25 seconds apart midway through the second period. With four seconds left in their second power play of the night, junior Kyle Kraemer broke out of the UML zone down the right side and beat Hutton inside the near post.
Off the ensuing faceoff, Northeastern drove into the UML zone and capitalized again, just 25 seconds later. Senior Rob Rassey picked up his own rebound out of a scramble and tucked it past Hutton. Senior Dennis McCauley and sophomore Tyler McNeely were credited with assists.
"Early in the game they were winning a lot of loose puck battles," said MacDonald. "Thiessen, who is the player of the year, looked almost invincible.
"But I really liked how we responded when they went up 2-0," he added. "In the past we had lost that structure, so I thought we really maintained the way we wanted to play. We just kept chipping away."
The River Hawks, as industrious as their counterparts, cut the lead in half with 1:16 left in the second period. Playing 4 on 4, Campbell sent a pass from the right side through the crease which sophomore Ryan Blair (Ashburn, Va.) clinically one-timed to Thiessen's right before he could react.
"The big goal was when Ryan Blair scored to make it 2-1," MacDonald said. "That was like having Godzilla off your back. It was a beautiful goal."
Junior Paul Worthington (Langhorne, Pa.) also assisted on the play. UMass Lowell outshot the Huskies on the night, 44-27, including 16-7 in the third period, coming up empty until Campbell's goal.
"In the third period I thought we did a great job of winning faceoffs and keeping the puck down low and really wearing out their defensemen," MacDonald noted. "That was a big part of the game for us."
