PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The No. 8 ranked UMass Lowell men's hockey team was defeated at No. 7 Providence College, 5-4, on Friday night in front of a sold out crowd of 2,978 fans at Schneider Arena.  
   
    The River Hawks fall to 15-7-2 (5-4-1 HEA) with the loss, while Providence College improves to 15-5-5 overall and 7-4-1 in Hockey East play.
   
    Providence overcame a two-goal deficit midway through the third period to score three answered goals in the final 7:32 of the final period on goals by Trevor Mingoia, Mark Jankowski, to go along with Ross Mauermann's game-winning goal with 3:46 left in the game.  

    The River Hawks managed a four-goal second period, but it was not enough for the victory. The last time UMass Lowell recorded four goals in a period was March 1, 2013 vs. Merrimack at the Tsongas Center in the third frame of a 4-0 shutout.  Sophomore forward A.J. White (Dearborn, Mich.) evened the score at 1-1 at 13:58 of the second period on a toe drag to beat Friars' netminder Jon Gillies blocker side. White has two points (1g,1a) in the losing effort for the River Hawks. The goal was assisted by Michael Kapla. Michael Colantone's (Cave Creek, Ariz.) sixth career goal gave the River Hawks a 2-1 lead at 12:24 and Joseph Pendenza (Wilmington, Mass.) notched his team-leading 10th goal of the season, extending the lead to 3-1 with 9:40 to play in the second period off a rebound. Providence's Nick Saracino scored the Friars' second goal of the game at 8:49 to make it a one-goal contest. Michael Fallon (Glenview, Ill.) had a great chance in the slot with 6:39 left in the first period, as Gillies was sprawling in front of the net, but his shot just caught the pad of the Providence netminder. Fallon's second goal of the season gave UMass Lowell a 4-2 advantage with 1:39 to play to cap off the second period scoring.

    Kapla's two points on the night were a career-high, both of which came on assists.
   
    Sophomore goalie Connor Hellebuyck (Commerce, Mich.) finished the evening with 36 saves for the River Hawks in the loss. Gillies made 25 stops in the winning effort in the Friars' net.
   
    Providence got on the board with 5:07 left in the first period as John Gilmour beat Connor Hellebuyck high blocker side on a breakaway wrist shot for his fourth goal of the season.

    The No. 8 ranked UMass Lowell hockey team returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 25^th at home in the series finale with the Friars for "Star Wars Night" and don't miss out on pink ice sheet as the River Hawks support Hockey East's Skating Strides for Breast Cancer awareness initiative. Game time at the Tsongas Center is 7pm.