Nov. 20, 2010

Box Score

UMass Lowell hockey battled back from a three-goal deficit, but fell just short on Saturday night at Merrimack College, 3-2. The River Hawks received a pair of second period goals from Joe Caveney (Fitchburg, Mass.) and David Vallorani (Hamilton, Ont.) in the narrow defeat.

The loss pushes UMass Lowell's record to 2-8-2 overall this season and 2-8-0 in Hockey East action. Merrimack gets a boost from the four-point weekend, improving to 4-2-4 overall and 3-2-3 in conference play.

The Warriors jumped on the board first, scoring 8:04 after the puck drop. With chaos in front of the net, Rhett Bly (Regina, Sask.) slid a puck slowly through traffic and past Doug Carr (Hanover, Mass.) who never saw it. The goal was Bly's second of the season and landed UMass Lowell in an early 0-1 deficit.

Merrimack kept up the pressure, scoring a short-handed goal just over two minutes later. Elliott Sheen (Lethbridge, Alta.) striped the River Hawks in neutral ice and beat Carr, 1-on-1, high with a back handed shot.

With the floodgates open, the Warriors scored another short-hander before the first period was over. Despite a two-man advantage, UMass Lowell turned the puck over at Merrimack's blue line and Chris Barton (Calgary, Alta.) streaked up ice for a breakaway. The Warriors' senior captain tucked the puck under Carr's pads to give his team a 3-0 advantage.

The River Hawks dug their heels into the ground in the second period, cutting the Merrimack lead to 3-1 with a score at 8:35 into the middle frame. Chris Ickert (Abbotsford, B.C.) fired a shot from the right point and Caveney deflected the puck by Joe Cannata (Wakefield, Mass.) for the goal. The score was Caveney's second of the season and came in his return from a two-game injury stint.

UMass Lowell continued to crawl back, picking up another goal with 15 seconds remaining in the second period. On the power play, Derek Arnold (Foxboro, Mass.) flipped a pass to Riley Wetmore (Swanton, Vt.) on the left post. Wetmore drew Cannata over, then dished the puck to Vallorani camped on the weak-side for an easy score. The goal cut the Warriors' lead to 3-2 and marked Vallorani's third of the season.

The momentum ended with the second period buzzer as the River Hawks were unable to generate any offense in a stalemate third frame. UMass Lowell registered just one shot on goal over the final 20 minutes.

The River Hawks' Carr had a difficult night in net, making 11 saves in the three-goal first period. He was replaced by Marc Boulanger (Olds, Alta.) at the start of the second, who stopped all 23 shots he faced to keep UMass Lowell in the game. Merrimack's Cannata made just 10 saves in the win, improving to 4-2-4 on the season.

For the night, the River Hawks were outshot 12-37, but were 1-for-3 on the power play. UMass Lowell held the Warriors scoreless in four power play chances.

With the loss in the books, the River Hawks will take a break from HE play next weekend, hosting Minnesota State-Mankato for a pair of games in the Tsongas Center.