LOWELL, Mass. – Junior Chase Blackmun (Hudson, Wis.) logged his first career hat trick to lead 11 different point scorers for the UMass Lowell hockey team (3-1-0. 3-1-0 HEA) in a 9-5 victory against Maine on Monday.
 
With the victory, the River Hawks swept the two-game, Hockey East series against the Black Bears, in addition to picking up the program's 200th Tsongas Center win. The performance also marked the first nine-goal game for UMass Lowell since 1999.
 
Blackmun's hat trick was the first by a River Hawk defenseman since 2016. He was one of nine goal scorers on the night for the River Hawks. Junior Lucas Condotta (Georgetown, Ontario) added one of his own, in addition to three assists, for a game-high four points. Sophomore Matt Brown (Wood Ridge, N.J.) chipped in with one goal and two assists, as well.
 
The River Hawks opened the scoring at 7:47 in the first, as Brown centered a pass for Blackmun's slap shot to put the squad on the board. The Black Bears tallied the next two goals to take their first lead of the contest late in the first, but sophomore Zach Kaiser (Orangeville, Ontario) responded for the short-handed home team just 20 seconds later to knot the score at 2-2. Both teams then added one more goal apiece, including Blackmun's second of the day, to head into the first intermission even at 3-3.
 
Blackmun completed his hatty just over two minutes into the second period when he fired a bullet on target from the blue line. Four minutes later, the teams were tied for the final time at 4-4 before sophomore Carl Berglund (Hammaro, Sweden) converted on a power play opportunity and classmate Brian Chambers followed with his first goal of the season to tilt the board in favor of UMass Lowell, 6-4, through two complete.
 
The Black Bears cut the difference to just one early in the third, but the River Hawks put the game out of reach with the final three goals, including the first career tally for freshman Nik Armstrong-Kingkade (Alexandria, Va.), who finished a one-timer from fellow rookie Matt Allen (Minco, Okla.) to help lift the team to the 9-5 outcome.
 
The River Hawks are back in action this weekend, January 9-10, when they will square off against Merrimack in a home-and-home series.