BOSTON—Despite a second period goal from sophomore Matt Crasa (South Setauket, N.Y.), the No. 18 UMass Lowell men's hockey team (5-3-0, 2-1-0 Hockey East) were tripped up in extra minutes by the No. 9 Boston University Terriers (4-2-0, 2-2-0 HEA) on the road at Agganis Arena Saturday night. With the overtime loss, UMass Lowell rescued a conference point and earned the split.
 
Senior Brian Chambers (Weymouth, Mass.) and sophomore Owen Cole (Dunnville, Ontario) were credited with assists on Crasa's lone goal of the outing. Graduate student Jon McDonald (Livonia, Mich.) and junior Ben Meehan (Walpole, Mass.) led the defense in the conference clash with four and three blocks, respectively. Graduate student Gustavs Davis Grigals (Riga, Latvia) registered a season-best 30 saves between the pipes.
 
The Terriers claimed possession early, testing Grigals between the pipes with four solid shots on goal in the opening four minutes of play. The graduate student proved to be indelible under pressure, knocking down several close chances from the doorstep. Sophomore Isac Jonsson (Ängelholm, Sweden) combined with Grigals on a critical stop at the goal line. Terriers' center Ryan Greene sent a last minute pass across the crease intended for Quinn Hutson, but Jonsson dove through to deflect the pass and keep the Terriers out of the net.
 
UMass Lowell took its turn on offense, taking residence in the zone to keep BU's defense on alert. After being outshot by the Terriers off the jump, the River Hawks ramped up the energy and turned shots in their favor, ending the period with 16 shots to BU's eight. The offneisve production remained stagnant, however, with both teams heading into the intermission locked at zero.
 
BU came out for the second with the hot hand, winning possession off the opening faceoff and immediately turning to the zone. Defenseman Domenick Fensore nearly tipped the scales in favor of the Terriers, but a deflection off the pipe and subsequent net-minding from Grigals curtailed their press.
 
Much like the opening third, the highly defensive matchup kept both teams battling through the neutral zone. Countering a strong push off the opening faceoff, the River Hawks turned to a physical and aggressive forecheck that limited the offensively minded Terriers to just five shots in the second. UMass Lowell used the steady defense to their advantage and kept the forward up high through the majority of the period.
 
The heavy offensive production paid off for the River Hawks in the waning minutes of the second. After a defensive stand, Cole and Crasa charged out of the zone and brought possession back up ice. With Crasa set up in the corner, Cole traveled along the boards behind Commesso and pitched the puck out to Chambers. Traveling through the faceoff circle, Chambers took a chance on Commesso, which deflected wide and out of the BU goaltender's reach. Taking a quick one timer, an unmanned Crasa knocked in his first of the year with just 28 seconds left to send UMass Lowell into the final intermission up 1-0.
 
The River Hawks held onto the slight one-goal edge over BU as the Terriers fought to clinch the equalizer. Grigals held steady as UMass Lowell's final line of defense, batting down several BU touches as the minutes ticked away.
 
With 2:09 left to play, a delayed penalty against UMass Lowell brought Commesso off the ice for the Terriers to crowd the zone. BU's Lane Hutson cut through traffic and snuck one through to level the score. An untimely call against the River Hawks in the final two minutes sent out the team's penalty kill once more to shut down their final of the night. Just as time expired, however, BU seemingly called the game with just 5.8 off an unlucky bounce, but the potential game-winner was waved off due to goalie interference, forcing extra time.
 
Senior Zach Kaiser (Orangeville, Ontario) sparked the attack in the bonus frame with a one-on-one chance with Commesso. Looking to make the move around the pad, Kaiser handled the puck with ease as he approach and went for the flick but was knocked away by Commesso's right pad.
 
Although McDonald and Grigals combined from some impressive late-game defensive stands in the overtime period, the Terriers earned the final say with a goal at the 2:29 mark to end the action.
 
UMass Lowell plays host to Vermont next weekend, Nov. 4-5, for a pair of games at the Tsongas Center. Puck drop for Friday is set for 7:15 p.m., while Saturday's tilt is slated for 6:05 p.m.