STORRS, Conn. – The UMass Lowell ice hockey team (5-9-1, 2-6-1 Hockey East) dropped a hard-fought matchup against Connecticut (7-8-1, 4-5-0 Hockey East), 2-0, Friday evening at Toscano Family Ice Forum in Storrs, Connecticut.
 
Though the River Hawks were held scoreless, 13 different skaters collected shots on goal, with sophomore Mitchell Becker (Rogers, Minn.) leading the way with four. Sophomore Dillan Bentley (Peoria, Ill.) tallied three, while graduate student Alex Peterson (Collegeville, Pa.), freshman Sean Kilcullen (Kensington, Md.), senior Stefan Owens (Midlothian, Va.) and freshman Ben Brunette (North Bay, Ontario) combined for eight shots on goal with two each.
 
Defensively, Kilcullen finished with a team-high three blocked shots, while sophomore TJ Schweighardt (Manahawkin, N.J.) and senior Brehdan Engum (Burnsville, Minn.) had one apiece. Senior goaltender Henry Welsch (Lakeville, Minn.) got the nod in net, making 15 saves.    
 
"That was a good hockey game tonight," said Head Coach Norm Bazin. "We took a step from last weekend. Our work defensively was better, and I felt we gave ourselves a chance with our second period push. The disallowed goal was the difference between coming out on top and coming up short. We need to continue to make small steps to win in Hockey East. We'll regroup and take Saturday to travel to Burlington, Vermont for our next challenge."
 
Both teams went back-and-forth for the first ten minutes, as there were just 6 total shots on goal, before the River Hawks managed to kill off a UConn power play at the 12:58 mark to give them momentum. The first great scoring chances came at the 18:40 mark when UMass Lowell threatened with four consecutive shots from freshman Shawn O'Donnell (Crescent, Pa.), Becker, Brunette, and Peterson, but all were saved, as the game went to its first intermission at 0-0.
 
The River Hawks came out aggressive in the second, pressuring the Huskies' defense and eventually picking up a power play opportunity 55 seconds in. The team could not find the back of net and at the hallway mark of the period, UConn collected a loose puck and got on the board with a Tristan Fraser goal. UMass Lowell responded with more pressure and continued to push the issue with eight shots on goal throughout the remainder, including what seemed to be a sophomore Scout Truman (Lethbridge, Alberta) goal at 17:47, but it was called no goal. Truman went on to hit the post immediately following the next faceoff at 17:51, before UConn was called for another penalty at 18:59. The River Hawks could not capitalize, as time expired with a minute remaining on the power play and the score at 1-0.
 
Welsch and the defense shined to start the third period, as the netminder made a crucial glove save to halt an early UConn scoring opportunity at 1:49, while Kilcullen blocked three shots within the first nine minutes. The River Hawks fought to tie it up throughout the final half of the period, but to no avail, as the Huskies hit an empty-netter and the game concluded with a 2-0 score.
 
The River Hawks will now head north for another Hockey East matchup against Vermont on Sunday, December 3 at 3:00 p.m. at Gutterson Fieldhouse in Burlington.