LOWELL, Mass. - Freshman forward Michael Louria (Wexford, Pa.) scored the game-winning goal with 1:03 remaining in overtime as the No. 7 UMass Lowell hockey team defeated the Maine Black Bears, 3-2, on Saturday night at the Tsongas Center in front 4,497 fans.

The freshman gathered a loose puck off a side shot from Campbell and stick-handled to get the puck in front of the net to beat Sean Romeo glove side.

The River Hawks improved to 9-3-3 overall and stayed unbeaten (7-0-2) in Hockey East play. Maine's losing streak was extended to eight games as the Black Bears fell to 3-12-3 and 2-6-0.

"It was certainly an entertaining hockey game and another very difficult Hockey East opponent," said UMass Lowell Head Coach Norm Bazin. "I thought it was a hard fought game and they made it difficult to transition and move the puck through the neutral zone. They're a good hockey club, so we're thrilled to get two points tonight."

With time winding down in the second period Black Bears took the 1-0 lead on a power play goal from Blaine Bryon with less than a minute on the clock. Ben Hutton let a shot from the point go, and while Kevin Boyle (Manalapan, N.J.) made the original save, but the puck managed to sneak through his pads and Bryon put it into the net.

The River Hawks came out of the locker room for the third period applying the early pressure, but Sean Romeo denied Michael Kapla (Eau Claire, Wis.) and Joe Gambardella (Staten Island, N.Y.) before Brian Morgan blocked a Jake Suter (Lac du Flambeau, Wis.) shot to end the threat.

Morgan took the puck and went in on a breakaway but Boyle made the pad save sliding across the crease with 18:56 on the clock.

With more than 15 minutes remaining in regulation Kapla sent a shot just wide, and Zack Kamrass (Atlanta, Ga.) along with Evan Campbell (Port Coquitlam, British Columbia), tried to jam the puck in the net but Romeo stood his ground.

The River Hawks broke through when A.J. White (Dearborn, Mich.) fired home a loose puck from in between the circles over the glove of Romeo at 7:44 of the final period. Kamrass and Tyler Mueller (Regina, Saskatchewan) were credited with the assists on the junior's fifth goal of the season.

The Black Bears retook the lead with 8:07 on the clock when Nolan Vesey received a cross-ice pass from Liam Pecararo and added a move to get Boyle out of position for the goal. Mueller tied up the game 32 seconds later when he got a piece of Campbell's shot from the bottom of the right circle.

Boyle made 32 saves for his seventh win of the season, and Sean Romeo made 36 in the loss. Mueller, Kamrass, and Robert Francis (San Diego, Calif.) led the River Hawks with five shots apiece. Hutton had a game-high six shots for the visitors. UMass Lowell went scoreless on the power play going 0-for-2, and the Black Bears went 1-for-4.

The River Hawks return to action on Saturday, December 27^th vs. Sacred Heart (3 p.m.) at the Frozen Holiday Classic at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Conn.