LOWELL, Mass.—Despite a crucial game-tying goal from freshman Owen Cole (Dunnville, Ontario), the No. 13 UMass Lowell men's hockey team (16-7-3, 12-6-1 Hockey East) dropped a 4-2 heartbreaker to No. 15 Northeastern (19-8-1, 10-6-1 HEA) on Friday night at the Tsongas Center in front of a packed crowd of 4,344.
 
Senior defenseman Jon McDonald (Livonia, Mich.) became the sixth River Hawk blueliner to register a goal this season with his second period power play tally. Senior Lucas Condotta (Georgetown, Ontario) and juniors Andre Lee (Karlstad, Sweden) and Ryan Brushett (Montreal, Quebec) also made their way into the points column, rounding out UMass Lowell's scoresheet with an assist each.
 
In net, senior Owen Savory (Cambridge, Ontario) made 14 saves.
 
"It certainly wasn't the type of game we were looking for here today. I didn't think we started the game well enough to have success tonight. However, we crawled back in it late," commented Head Coach Norm Bazin. "I give full credit to our opponent. Northeastern was a better hockey team than us today. They deserve the points. When you crawl back in and you come across a self-inflicted error for the goal against, the game-winning goal, that's on you. We'll take this, we'll grow, we'll watch some film and we'll get better."
 
The visiting Huskies controlled momentum in the opening frame, knocking in a pair of late goals and taking a 6-4 edge in shots heading into the first break.
 
UMass Lowell came back to the ice for the second period energized as they looked to level the score. Despite the Huskies keeping a slight edge on offense, a chance power play opportunity for the home squad sparked the comeback efforts.
 
Just over a minute into the 5-on-4, the River Hawks pushed their way deep into the Huskies' zone. Settling the play on the exterior, Lee popped the puck to Condotta on the goal line. The captain then made a quick move to box out his defender and slide the pass in front of Northeastern goaltender TJ Semptimphelter. Pinching in, McDonald tapped in his first of the year with a quick flick to cut the Huskies' lead in half entering the final 20 minutes of action.
 
Sticking to their high-energy offensive strategy, UMass Lowell wasted no time closing in on the Northeastern lead. Just over three minutes into the third, Brushett took a chance from long range which popped out of Semptimphelter's glove and back into play. After an initial chance was waved off, Cole controlled the loose puck out of the scrum as it redirected off the skate of a Northeastern defender. With Semptimphelter pulled out of the crease in the scramble, the freshman forward capitalized on the opening and fired in the puck to lock things up.
 
Two Northeastern goals in the back half of the third stifled the River Hawks' invigorating late-game presence, ultimately cementing the 4-2 loss for the home squad.

UMass Lowell returns to action on Sunday, Feb. 13, as they travel north to visit New Hampshire for their first clash of the season. Puck drop is slated for 2 p.m.
_

To purchase single game tickets, learn about group ticketing opportunities or unlock deep discounts with season tickets, visit www.GoRiverHawks.com/tickets or contact Tyler Kenney at Tyler_Kenney@uml.edu / (978) 934-5739