BURLINGTON, Vt. – The No. 7 ranked UMass Lowell hockey team fell to No. 17 Vermont in the Hockey East regular-season finale, 3-2, on Saturday night at Gutterson Fieldhouse.
The River Hawks end the regular-season with a 21-9-4 overall record and a 11-6-3 record in league play, as the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Hockey East tournament. Vermont heads into the Hockey East tournament as the No. 7 seed with an 18-12-3 overall mark and a 10-10-0 record in league play.
Senior forward
Derek Arnold (Foxboro, Mass.) got UMass Lowell on the scoreboard at 3:43 of the second with a slapshot on the power play from the left faceoff dot for his 10th goal of the season and the 95th point of his collegiate career. Sophomore forward
A.J. White (Dearborn, Mich.) tied the game at 2-2 with his fifth goal of the season at the seven minute mark on the second period as he beat Brody Hoffman over his right shoulder. The River Hawks opened the period with a 7-2 shot advantage in the first eight minutes of the middle frame.
UMass Lowell went a perfect 5-for-5 on the penalty kill in the losing effort. The River Hawks outshot UVM, 29-28, for the game, including a 14-6 shot advantage in the third period. River Hawks' sophomore goalie
Connor Hellebuyck (Commerce, Mich.) totaled 25 stops for the second consecutive game. Vermont's Brody Hoffman finished the night with 27 saves in his eighth victory of the season.
Junior forward
Scott Wilson (Oakville, Ont.) recorded a team-high five shots on goal for the River Hawks.
Vermont rookie forward Mario Puskarich gave the Catamounts their final advantage at 3-2 with his 18th goal of the season at 8:13 of the second frame.
Vermont took a 2-0 lead into the locker room at the end of the first period on goals by Connor Brickley and Michael Paliotta just five seconds apart at 8:56 and 9:01.
The River Hawks return to the ice on Friday, March 14th for Game 1 of the Hockey East quarterfinals. Game time from the Tsongas Center is 7:15pm. Tickets are onsale now for the series at the Tsongas Center box office or via the web at www.goriverhawks.com.