March 4, 2011

Box Score

Sophomore Chris Ickert (Abbotsford, B.C.) scored twice in the third period as part of UMass Lowell's four goal outburst to tie Vermont, 4-4, on Friday night in the Gutterson Fieldhouse.

The River Hawks are undefeated in their last six games in Vermont (3-0-3) as the team moves to 5-24-4 overall and 4-20-2 in Hockey East play. The Catamounts hold their lead on the final playoff spot with the tie, improving to 7-18-8 overall and 5-14-7 in conference action.

The clubs skated through a scoreless first period that made up for the lack of goals with a series of penalties and near misses. Early in the first, UMass Lowell had a scoring opportunity reviewed after Joseph Pendenza (Wilmington, Mass.) put a shot by Rob Madore (Pittsburgh, Pa.), but the puck trickled through the crease and was kept out by the Catamount defensemen.

The River Hawks played the second half of the opening frame largely on the defensive after three team penalties and a game misconduct for Pendenza put the short handed unit to work. Despite the troubles, UMass Lowell was able to keep the net clean with some great glove work by Doug Carr (Hanover, Mass.) who made 10 stops.

The River Hawks cut down on the penalties in the second period, committing just one, but the Catamounts broke the scoreless streak in a big way with a pair of tallies.

The first came off of the stick of Anthony DeCenzo (Hibbing, Minn.), the freshman center's fifth goal of the season, at 7:28. The Catamounts scored again at 19:25, capitalizing on a neutral zone turnover that allowed Connor Brickley (Everett, Mass.) to get by his defender and convert the pass from H.T. Lenz (Vienna, Va.). Brickley's tally was his fourth of the season.

UMass Lowell came out with a different attitude in the third period, playing aggressive and forcing Vermont into mistakes. After an Arthur Griem (Grosse Point Shores, Mich.) penalty, the River Hawks were cycling near the top with Maury Edwards (Rocky Rapids, Alta.) feeding David Vallorani (Hamilton, Ont.) on the far boards. Vallorani completed a cross ice pass to Chris Ickert (Abbotsford, B.C.) who waited for Madore to adjust, and then fired a shot over the goaltender's shoulder at 6:10, slashing the score to 2-1.

The celebration proved short lived as the Catamounts responded with a tally less than a minute later from Matt Marshall (Hingham, Mass.).

Undeterred, the River Hawks came right back with a score from Michael Budd (Burlington, Ont.) only nine seconds later. Vallorani skated with space on the near side and put a shot on the far post that was tipped by Budd past an outstretched Madore for the score.

UMass Lowell kept up the momentum with Ickert's second power play goal of the game at 14:31. After Vallorani and Budd both had shots saved by Madore, Ickert collected the rebound and roofed the puck in strikingly similar fashion to his first score. The tally tied the game at 3-3 and marked the first multi-goal game of Ickert's career.

The River Hawks weren't done, scoring an electric goal to take the lead with just 2:15 remaining in regulation. Vallorani was skating down the far boards and found Riley Wetmore (Swanton, Vt.) with space in the middle of the Catamount zone. The local Vermont product reeled off a 40-foot wrist shot that scorched by Madore for his 14th goal of the season, granting UMass Lowell a 4-3 lead.

Desperate to reverse the fortune, the Catamounts pulled their goaltender and unleashed a barrage of shots at the net in the final moments. With 46 seconds remaining, Carr stopped multiple shots as he lay sprawled across the crease, but Drew MacKenzie (New Canaan, Conn.) buried the rebound opportunity for the game-tying goal.

The clubs skated through a hard fought overtime, but neither team could break through--even as Vermont held an 8-2 advantage in shots.

For the night, Carr turned out 35-of-39 shots and held the Catamounts scoreless in five power play chances as he moved to 4-12-3 on the season. It marked the third time in his last four starts he's totaled 35 or more saves. Vermont's Madore tallied 22 saves and allowed four goals, two on the power play, in his eighth tie this season.

The clubs will lace up the skates once more on Saturday night in UMass Lowell season finale in the Gutterson Fieldhouse at 7:05 p.m.