LOWELL, Mass.—Despite a hard-fought 60-minute effort, the No. 14 UMass Lowell men's hockey team (14-6-3, 11-5-1 Hockey East) came up short against in-state rival No. 9 Massachusetts (13-8-2, 10-4-2 HEA), falling 4-3 in front of a crowd of 3,745 at the Tsongas Center Sunday afternoon.
 
Three different River Hawks found the back of the net in the highly contested conference tilt. Junior Andre Lee (Karlstad, Sweden), senior Lucas Condotta (Georgetown, Ontario) and freshman Matt Crasa (South Setauket, N.Y.) all netted goals in the outing, with Lee opening scoring for the home squad just over a minute into the action.
 
Between the pipes, senior Owen Savory (Cambridge, Ontario) made 27 saves in the rivalry matchup.
 
"We're disappointed we couldn't finish it off. We played a good opponent, credit to them. They came in here and took it," remarked Head Coach Norm Bazin. "We couldn't sustain that level of intensity in the third period that we wanted to in order to be successful. That's just how it broke down."
 
UMass Lowell struck quickly in the high-scoring matchup, with Lee stuffing one past Minutemen goaltender Matt Murray just 1:38 into play. Receiving the pass from linemate and countryman Carl Berglund (Hammaro, Sweden), Lee slapped one in as he dove through the opposition to push the River Hawks out to the early advantage.
 
Minutes later, the Minutemen returned the favor with a retaliation goal to lock both squads back up at 1-1. Looking to regain momentum, UMass Lowell returned with aggressive pressure in the zone, edging out the visiting squad 11-9 in goals throughout the frame.
 
Strong backchecking by the River Hawks allowed the squad to reestablish control as they set up their second goal of the afternoon. Settling the puck deep in the defensive zone, sophomore Brehdan Engum (Burnsville, Minn.) sent a pass deep into the Massachusetts zone to Condotta. The captain then dangled the puck around the left pad of Murray to send UMass Lowell into the first intermission with a one-goal advantage.
 
Possession favored the visitors in the second period, with the Minutemen outshooting the River Hawks, 12-6.  Despite strong netminding by Savory, Massachusetts slipped one past to level the score entering the third and final block.
 
A battle for dominance ensued as both squads returned hungry for the lead. The River Hawks earned several opportunities to take the upper hand thanks to four third period penalties against the Minutemen.
 
UMass Lowell's chance finally came in the eleventh minute as the River Hawks headed to the power play. After a rogue puck off a shot from Condotta bounced just out of Murray's reach, Crasa popped the shot over the right pad to give the River Hawks back the lead.
 
Two late strikes by Massachusetts pushed the opposing squad out to a 4-3 lead with minutes left on the clock. The River Hawks battled to level the score and force overtime, pulling Savory in favor of the extra skater. The offensive overload ultimately was not enough to overcome the deficit as UMass Lowell closed out the weekend with the 4-3 loss.
 
Up next, the team travels to Chestnut Hill on Friday, Feb. 4, to visit the Boston College Eagles for the final time this season. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.