CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell ice hockey team (4-3-0, 1-2-0 Hockey East) fell just short, 3-2, to No. 1 Boston College (6-1-0, 1-0-0 Hockey East) Friday night at Conte Forum.
 
Graduate student Filip Fornää Svensson (Linköping, Sweden) picked up his first goal of the season in the first, while sophomore Scout Truman (Lethbridge, Alberta) also lit the lamp against the Eagles, potting the second-period equalizer for his second of the year.
 
Sophomores Dillan Bentley (Peoria, Ill.) and Nick Rhéaume (Trois-Rivieres, Quebec) had the helpers on Fornää Svensson's goal, while juniors Owen Cole (Dunnville, Ontario) and Matt Crasa (South Setauket, N.Y.) rounded out the stat sheet with assists of their own on Truman's goal. Sophomore TJ Schweighardt (Manahawkin, N.J.) led the defense with four blocks and senior goalie Henry Welsch (Lakeville, Minn.) once again earned the nod between the pipes, saving 24 shots.
 
"I thought it was a well-played hockey game. I think both teams were energetic and both teams had their chances. We started off doing a little bit too much watching in the first 10 minutes, but we woke up and we started playing," said Head Coach Norm Bazin. "I have to give BC the first period. They were the better team in the first, but we were the better team in the second. And in the third, it was back-and-forth. I didn't mind our effort, I thought we got our chances and couldn't capitalize, and they did."       
 
Despite the Eagles getting out to an early 2-0 lead in the first, the River Hawks played aggressive offensively to finish off the period, creating chances to set them up for their comeback. Graduate student Nick Granowicz (Macomb, Mich.) had the first great scoring chance on a wraparound at 5:16, but just couldn't sneak it inside the far side post.
 
Fornää Svensson got the River Hawks on the board at the 10:30 mark of the first. Rhéaume got it started, picking up the puck in the River Hawks' defensive zone and bringing it up, before feeding a give-and-go to Bentley. Bentley dished a crisp pass back to Rhéaume, who carried it in front of the goal and just as he attempted a backhand shot, the puck became loose and Fornää Svensson swooped in to send it to the back of the net, making it a 2-1 game. Both teams battled back-and-forth for the remainder of the period and the score remained the same heading into the first intermission.
 
The River Hawks continued the momentum into the second and put together a successful period, winning the shots battle, 20-17, and winning 15 faceoffs compared to the Eagles' seven. The trio of Truman, Cole and Crasa worked together to tie the game just over one minute into the period. Crasa sent a shot to the goalie's glove side, and the puck bounced out of his glove, before Cole collected it and quickly fed it to Truman in front of the net, who finished the one-timer for the River Hawks' second goal of the game and Truman's second of the year.
 
Welsch had an outstanding second period, making eight crucial saves to quiet the Eagles, including one at the 4:28 mark on a BC breakaway from Ryan Leonard and a pair of great stops on an Eagle power play just before the halfway point of the period. Neither squad could find the back of the net for the remainder of the period, and the game went to the third with the score knotted up at two.
 
The third period was even, as both teams had one power play opportunity and the shots were 9-6 in favor of the River Hawks, but the UMass Lowell comeback efforts came up short, as a BC goal by Aram Minnetian at 1:19 of the third period proved to be the difference, and the game concluded with a 3-2 score.
 
The River Hawks quickly turn around for game two of the home-and-home series, and will host the Eagles at the Tsongas Center on Saturday, November 4 at 6:05 p.m.