LOWELL, Mass. – Sophomore Andre Lee (Karlstad, Sweden) scored with just over a minute remaining in the single overtime period to propel the UMass Lowell hockey team (4-5-0) to a 3-2 victory against No. 20 UCONN (8-7-2) on Tuesday.
 
After the Huskies tied it up at 2-2 just over halfway through the third period, neither side was able to break the stalemate during the remainder of regulation. The teams then skated 3-on-3 for almost four minutes in the extra period before junior Reid Stefanson (Winnipeg, Manitoba) took the pass from classmate Jon McDonald (Livonia, Mich.) around the net and fed it out to Lee in the slot for the wrister to the bottom corner.
 
"We're excited to win the points and get the poison out of the system a little bit," said Head Coach Norm Bazin. "We didn't feel too great about ourselves after the last game even though there were some positives. Tonight I thought we played a more Lowell-like game, and fortunately for us, we were able to come out with the win."
 
Stefanson finished the night with a game-high three points to help the squad snap the four-game skid. Six other River Hawks tallied one point in the outing, while freshman goaltender Henry Welsch (Lakeville, Minn.) matched a season high with 31 saves, as well.
 
The River Hawks outshot the Huskies, 17-9, in the opening 10 minutes, and threatened to break the game open at 7:22 when sophomore Carl Berglund (Hammaro, Sweden) and freshman Ben Meehan (Walpole, Mass.) crashed the net and launched consecutive shots on target.  
 
The home team then earned its first power play inside of the final four minutes of the first period and took advantage of that man-up opportunity, as sophomore Brian Chambers (Weymouth, Mass.) was able to redirect a hard shot by Stefanson on goal.
 
UMass Lowell started the second with two more, early power play chances, but UConn was able to kill them off and even the board, 1-1, at 14:58 when Kale Howarth finished a rebound. However, the River Hawks were quick to respond with a score from Stefanson that put his team ahead, 2-1, at the second intermission.
 
Early in the third, Welsch came up with a big stop to help kill off a River Hawk penalty and keep his team in front, but Ryan Tverberg did eventually force the 2-2 tie to send the game into overtime.
 
The River Hawks are back in action this weekend with a home-and-home series against Boston College beginning on the road Friday, February 12.