LOWELL, Mass. – Despite two third-period goals, the No. 8 UMass Lowell Hockey Team (17-6-5, 10-4-4 HEA) fell, 3-2, to New Hampshire (10-14-4, 4-8-4 HEA) in Hockey East action on Saturday night at the Tsongas Center in front of 5,321 fans.
 
"I thought it was a good hockey game, and we certainly ran out of time," said Head Coach Norm Bazin. "We were chasing the game for the majority of time, and that is a tough way to play in Hockey East. There are a lot of good teams and we allowed a 20-goal man to score first and that is not a recipe for success. We need to have a better start next game, and we saw this weekend how many good teams there are in the conference."
 
The Wildcats struck fast and early, notching the first goal of the night, just 30 seconds into the game. Sophomore forward Andrew Poturalski gave New Hampshire the early, 1-0, lead after putting back a loose rebound and converting on the team's second shot of the contest.
 
Though the River Hawks held a heavy, 14-7, shot advantage, the squad could not piece together enough to find the back of the net as they trailed, 1-0, going into the first intermission.
 
New Hampshire continued to attack UMass Lowell's zone, later extending their lead, 2-0, at 10:10 in the second period. Sophomore forward Shane Eiserman snuck a goal past senior goalkeeper Kevin Boyle (Manalapan, N.J.) after burying a pass from across the crease and into the back of the net.
 
The Wildcats tacked on their third tally of the night, after freshman forward Ara Nazarian knocked in an unassisted goal at 9:45 in the third, giving New Hampshire a 3-0 advantage.
 
The River Hawks quickly countered 22 second later with a goal of their own, thanks to sophomore forward Jake Kamrass (Atlanta, Ga.) who tallied this fourth goal of the season, while breaking up the Wildcats potential shutout. Senior forward Adam Chapie (Oxford, Mich.) tallied the assist as UMass Lowell cut the lead,3-1.
 
The home team closed in on the the lead once more, with nearly one minute to play, as freshman Nick Master (Broomall, Pa.) notched a goal to keep the River Hawks hopes alive. UMass Lowell continued to attack through the final minutes of play but could not find the answer as New Hampshire prevailed 3-2.
 
UMass Lowell held a strong 45-16 shot advantage against its opponent, but a strong 43 save performance by New Hampshire goaltender Danny Tirone spoiled the squad's chance for victory.
 
Boyle recorded 13 saves on the night, while Kamrass and junior defenseman Dylan Zink (Madison, Wis.) tallied a team-high five shots in the outing.
 
Saturday's contest marked the 114th meeting between the River Hawks and the Wildcats, as New Hampshire extended their lead to 59-38-15 in the all-time series. UMass Lowell is back in action on Friday, February 12, as the squad visits Boston University for a 7 p.m. tilt, in game one of a home-and-home series.