HARTFORD, Conn.—Despite goals from freshman Scout Truman (Lethbridge, Ontario) and senior Zach Kaiser (Orangeville, Ontario), the UMass Lowell men's hockey team (8-5-0, 5-3-0 Hockey East) dropped a 4-2 decision to No. 7/8 Connecticut (10-2-3, 7-2-2) on the road Saturday afternoon at the XL Center.
 
Kaiser and Truman were the lone River Hawk goal scorers in Hartford. Truman's second period scoop-and-score was credited as an unassisted tally, while graduate student Jon McDonald (Livonia, Mich.) and sophomore Owen Cole (Dunnville, Ontario) earned helpers on Kaiser's third period snipe.
 
 On defense, sophomore Brehdan Engum (Burnsville, Minn.) led the team with a season-high four blocks. Junior Henry Welsch (Lakeville, Minn.) suffered the loss after making 22 saves in net. Despite the loss, UMass Lowell's penalty kill unit remained flawless across the two days with the Huskies, shutting down all six UConn power plays this weekend.
 
The River Hawks controlled the flow of the game in the opening minutes. Freshmen Owen Fowler (Tewksbury, Mass.) and Scout Truman (Lethbridge, Ontario) earned a pair of grade-A chances in the first 1:33 of the top-15 matchup. UConn slipped past the UMass Lowell defense for a pair of breakaway attempts, but Welsch and McDonald worked to keep both opportunities fruitless for the Huskies.
 
Fowler and sophomore Matt Crasa (South Setauket, N.Y.) kept pressure up high for the River Hawks, testing UConn's Arsenii Sergeev with firm shots just off target. Once again the Huskies returned the favor with two back-to-back pops at Welsch. After an initial stuff attempt from Chase Bradley was denied by Welsch, Nick Capone went for the second touch only to be gloved down once against by the Minnesota-born netminder.
 
Though strong forechecking kept UMass Lowell high in the offensive zone, UConn struck first with two unanswered. After the Huskies failed to capitalize on an offensive zone possession, the River Hawks tried to reset play and send the puck back down ice. A miscue from the defense gave UConn's Ryan Tverberg an opportunity for a wraparound that missed. Hudson Schandor followed up with a second tap that was pushed away by Welsch as he sprawled out for the puck, but Jake Percival snuck a stick under the pad of Welsch to steal the 1-0 lead. The Huskies added to their total 59 seconds later off a wrist shot in the slot from Justin Pearson to send the River Hawks into the locker room chasing down a 2-0 deficit.
 
A penalty call after the conclusion of the first against senior Marek Korencik (Zilina, Slovakia) sent UMass Lowell on the kill for the first two minutes of the second. Although down a man, the River Hawks held the pucks down in the Huskies' defensive zone for just over 1:30 of the two-minute penalty kill period. Senior Jake Stella (Karlstad, Sweden), sophomore Owen Cole (Dunnville, Ontario) and Fowler all registered contact on Sergeev while the Huskies only registered one on Welsch during their man-up window. Welsch closed out the impressive shift on the penalty kill with a glove save in the final second to keep the Huskies' power play scoreless.
 
Truman broke the UMass Lowell scoring drought with his first of the weekend 3:37 into the frame. Staying on his man, Truman kept the pressure on UConn's Roman Kinal as he tried to start the Huskies press. Kinal, unable to keep the puck, tapped it just out of his reach for Truman to capitalize. The freshman scooped up the loose puck and made a quick move to the net, taking one touch before wristing it past Sergeev to hack the score down to 2-1. The Huskies quickly responded, however, to keep it a two-goal margin as the teams skated off for the final break.
 
Opening the third on the extra-man, UConn's Schandor and Spetz were quick on the attack with back-to-back shots placed on target. Welsch stayed steady between the pipes, shutting down both with quick reactions on the follow-ups.
 
Kaiser breathed life into the UMass Lowell offense just 7:25 into the final 20. Receiving a pass from McDonald from clean across the neutral zone, Kaiser took up space in the right channel and zipped up to the right faceoff circle. Ripping a quick wrister from the point, Kaiser slid one past Sergeev glove side to bring the River Hawks within striking distance.
 
UMass Lowell upped the energy as time ticked off the game clock. Pulling Welsch in favor of a sixth attacker, the River Hawks kept trying to break through the UConn backline in hopes of forcing another overtime period. An unlucky break came as Huskies' forward Ryan Tverberg took a rogue deflection and walked the puck into the net to hand UMass Lowell the 4-2 loss.
 
The River Hawks head overseas for their next round of games as they return to Belfast, Northern Ireland, for the 2022 Friendship Four at SSE Arena. The team opens the two-day tournament against in-state rival Massachusetts on Friday, Nov. 25. They then return on Saturday, Nov. 26, to face off against either Quinnipiac or Dartmouth on the final day of action.