LOWELL, Mass.—Despite two-point nights from Jon McDonald (Livonia, Mich.), Filip Fornåå Svensson (Linköping, Sweden) and Jake Stella (Karlstad, Sweden), the No. 16/15 UMass Lowell men's hockey team (15-10-2, 9-6-2 Hockey East) came up short to fall, 5-4, to the New Hampshire Wildcats (9-18-1, 4-13-1 HEA) Saturday night at the Tsongas Center.

"It's tough to beat anyone in Hockey East three times. It's really tough, especially when we saw them just a couple of weeks ago. You always think it's going to be a little easier than it is. That's a well-coached hockey team," said Head Coach Norm Bazin following the game. "However, no excuses. You win as a team. You lose as a team. Tonight, I was proud of our efforts. 44 shots and you only give up 17? Most nights you win. But, you can't give up two goals in a minute against anybody."
 
McDonald and Fornåå Svensson ended the night with a goal and assist each in the tilt while Stella's pair of points came off second period helpders. With his two points against UNH, Fornåå Svensson capped his weekend point total at three after scoring in Friday night's win against Boston College. The graduate student also finished with a team-high +3 rating alongside freshman defenseman Mitchell Becker (Rogers, Minn.), who also picked up an assist against UNH. Senior Carl Berglund (Hammaro, Sweden) and freshman Scout Truman (Lethbridge, Alberta) rounded out the scoring for the River Hawks with a goal each. In goal, graduate student Gustavs Davis Grigals (Riga, Latvia) made 12 stops. 

"Again, it's tough to sweep any team in Hockey East," commented Bazin. "This is Hockey East. There is no weak opponent from top to bottom. We'll take our lumps today and look to get better next week."
 
UMass Lowell controlled the first five minutes of action as they peppered Tyler Muszelik with shot after shot. Freshman Dillan Bentley (Peoria, Ill.), sophomore Stefan Owens (Midlothian, Va.) and Berglund all came close in the first minute but could not skip one past to get on the board. Junior Nik Armstrong-Kingkade (Mannheim, Germany) nearly outsmarted Muszelik with a nifty deke just off the crease but was kicked away by the New Hampshire netminder to keep the game scoreless.
 
The Wildcats took a 1-0 lead at the 8:08 mark after a shot from UNH's Cy LeClerc slipped through a gap under Grigals' glove. UMass Lowell responded with some smart defending as they worked to fend off another Wildcat break into the zone. Junior Brehdan Engum (Burnsville, Minn.) stifled a potential UNH scoring opportunity after an initial shot deflection from Grigals. The Wildcats came within inches of converting on the follow-up, but Engum quickly cut in with a poke check to send momentum back up ice for UMass Lowell.
 
Despite the shift in momentum for the River Hawks, UNH struck again just four minutes later at 12:04. After Grigals nudged the puck away from the goal line, a scrum of navy and white jerseys ensued as they battled for possession. The Wildcats ultimately came out successful, however, sneaking the puck away for the 2-0 advantage heading into the first intermission.
 
A scoreless first brought the River Hawks out with a fire behind them as they chased down the UNH lead at the start of the second. UMass Lowell's opportunity came just 2:02 into play when a hooking call against Wildcats defenseman Alex Gagne sent him to the box for two minutes. With just 32 seconds remaining on the man advantage for UMass Lowell, Berglund sparked the second-period scoring flurry. Kaiser scooped the loose puck and sent it back to Meehan on the blueline after Berglund's stick tangled with UNH's Harrison Blaisdell on the faceoff. Meehan and McDonald held the puck as the forward line set up high in the offensive zone. With his defenders pulled away, Meehan connected with Berglund at the nearside faceoff circle. Berglund then fired in a shot from the point to cut UNH's lead down to just one with 16:29 left in the middle frame.
 
A fast and forceful zone entry from Stella put the River Hawks in prime scoring position later in the period. Skating up the nearside, UMass Lowell settled the puck and worked around the Wildcat defense with crisp, concise passing. Stella briefly lost control of the puck after a pass intended for Truman just missed the forward and bounced off the boards. Becker came in quick on the recovery and held off his defenders before sending possession back out to Truman. Truman dropped the puck to Stella who hit a quick tap back to Truman just as he shook his defender. The freshman wasted no time flicking a quick wrister over the glove of Muszelik for the 2-2 tally heading into the second intermission.
 
Just 1:29 into the final 20 minutes of regulation, Fornåå Svensson stole the lead for the River Hawks for the first time in the clash. From back in the defensive zone, Engum dumped the puck into the neutral zone for Stella, who hastily advanced up the right side. The senior nearly lost his footing but held steady under pressure and dangled the puck out of his defender's reach before tapping it back to Fornåå Svensson for a powerful one-timer in the slot.
 
New Hampshire surged back with a vengeance as time clicked on, scoring three unanswered across five minutes to charge out to a 5-3 lead with 6:41 left on the clock. McDonald was able to chop the Wildcats' lead down to one with just 4:18 on the board off a gritty goal on the doorstep after an initial shot from Fornåå Svensson was knocked wide. The comeback efforts came up short, however, as the Wildcats ended UMass Lowell's four-game win streak with the 5-4 decision.
 
The River Hawks cap their four-game homestand next Sunday, Feb. 12, against the Maine Black Bears. Puck drop for the matinee game is set for 2 p.m.