Jan. 29, 2010

Box Score

The #16 River Hawks (14-10-2, 8-7-2 HE) came up one goal short on Friday night, falling 2-1 to Northeastern (11-11-1, 7-10-1 HE) in the Matthews Arena. Maury Edwards (Rocky Rapids, Alb.) provided the lone UMass Lowell score, while Carter Hutton (Thunder Bay, Ont.) stopped 33 shots to keep the River Hawks alive throughout the contest.

The opening period did not yield a goal for either side, but saw Hutton make several difficult saves as he turned away 15 Northeastern shots. The Huskies were able to keep the puck in UMass Lowell's zone for much of the 20 minutes, outshooting the River Hawks 15-4. The UMass Lowell defense did an excellent job of blocking shots and preventing clear looks at the net.

The scoreless streak was broken by the Huskies early in the second on a goal by Drew Daniels (Suffern, NY). Greg Costa (Crownsville, MD) collected the puck in the near corner and attempted a wrap around shot, but Hutton shut the back door for the save. Daniels pursued the shot and knocked in the rebound through Hutton's legs before he could corral the puck to give Northeastern a 1-0 lead at 5:12 into the middle stanza.

The River Hawks finally found an answer with a power play goal from Edwards at 6:15 into the third period. Barry Goers (Ivyland, PA) drifted towards the far bench and found Kory Falite (Billerica, MA) half-way down the boards. Falite unloaded a shot at the net and the rebound kicked out to Edwards closing in from the point. Edwards netted a quick shot into the open net to tie the game at 1-1.

The momentum was short lived after a turnover in the UMass Lowell zone allowed Justin Daniels (Suffern, NY) to score unassisted only three minutes later. The goal eventually became the game-winner as neither team would score during the remaining 10 minutes.

The River Hawks' Hutton stopped 33-of-35 shots on the night as he slide to 8-7-0 on the season. The senior netminder blanked all three Northeastern power plays. The Huskies' Chris Rawlings (North Delta, B.C.) made only 23 saves, but improved to 10-9-1 with the win. UMass Lowell finished the game one-for-four with the man advantage.

The River Hawks have the rest of the weekend off as they prepare for Boston University on Friday, Feb. 5 at 7:30 p.m. Following the Terriers, UMass Lowell will travel to Merrimack on Saturday for a 7 pm. contest.