March 5, 2011

Box Score

UMass Lowell hockey got goals from Shayne Thompson (Stittsville, Ont.) and Jason DeLuca (East Moriches, N.Y.), but came up short at Vermont in the season finale, 4-2.

The loss finishes the River Hawks record at 5-25-4 overall and 4-21-2 in Hockey East play. The Catamounts secure the seventh-seed in the conference playoffs with a record of 8-18-8 overall and 6-14-7 in Hockey East action.

The River Hawks picked up an early power play tally at 3:43 into the first. Patrick Cey (Saskatoon, Sask.) ripped a 20 foot wrist shot that was saved by Rob Madore (Pittsburgh, Pa.). Josh Holmstrom (Colorado Springs, Colo.) took the first whack at the rebound, followed by Thompson who popped the puck over the top of the outstretched goalie. The tally was Thompson's fourth of the season and granted UMbass Lowell a 1-0 lead it would hold through the remainder of the first.

The second period was nearly a disaster for the River Hawks as Vermont scored three unanswered goals in the first 11 minutes.

Jack Downing (New Canaan, Conn.) started the scoring streak with a power play goal at 1:20 into the second. He was followed by Ben Albertson's (Williston, Vt.) rebound score off of a Matt Marshall (Hingham, Mass.) shot at 7:13. Finally Sebastian Stalberg (Gothenburg, Sweden) scored through Doug Carr's (Hanover, Mass.) five-hole at 10:46.

UMass Lowell got its bearings back a few minutes later however, scoring its second goal of the game at 15:20. Derek Arnold (Foxboro, Mass.) skated in from the near circle and put a shot off of Madore's leg pad. The save pulled the goaltender mostly out of the net and allowed senior DeLuca to rifle in a rebound score from nearly 15 feet away. The goal was DeLuca's third of the season, second in the last three games and cut the Catamounts' lead to 3-2.

Vermont nearly came right back with another goal to close out the second period, but replay upheld that Carr gloved the puck just as it neared crossing the goal line with 1:30 remaining.

The two clubs played fiercely in the third as the River Hawks tried to claw their way to a game tying goal. A series of penalties landed the Catamounts on a 4-on-3 power play late in the third that proved deadly for UMass Lowell. After a series of blocked shots, Chris McCarthy (Collegeville, Pa.) found space and the net with 6:13 remaining in regulation to cement the River Hawks' fate.

Both clubs found success on the power play as UMass Lowell finished 1-for-4 with the man advantage. Vermont totaled two power play goals in four chances. The River Hawks' Carr made 31 stops in the loss, falling to 4-13-3 overall. The Catamounts' Madore turned out just 18 shots, but picked up his eighth win of the season.

UMass Lowell finished the season strong, picking up points in three of its last four games. With the final game in the books, seniors Ryan Blair (Ashburn, Va.), Scott Campbell (Navan, Ont.), Cey, DeLuca and Maury Edwards (Rocky Rapids, Alta.) will graduate after tremendous careers in a River Hawk uniform.