River Hawks Fall, 7-3, to #15/16 Northeastern

Saturday, March 4

Boston, MA

7PM

University of Massachusetts Lowell

17-14-3, 11-10-3

Northeastern

17-12-5, 14-7-3

Team	1	2	3	F
UMass Lowell	1	1	1	3
Northeastern	3	2	2	7

Game Notes

River Hawks Fall, 7-3, to #15/16 Northeastern

3/5/2023 12:07:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey

Box Score

BOSTON—The UMass Lowell men's hockey team (17-14-3, 11-10-3 Hockey East) fell, 7-3, to No. 15/16 Northeastern (17-12-5, 14-7-3 HEA) Saturday night at Matthews Arena in the team's regular-season finale. With the loss, the River Hawks locked in a first-round bye and the No. 5 seed in the 2023 Hockey East Tournament.

Sophomore Owen Cole (Dunnville, Ontario), freshman Mitchell Becker (Rogers, Minn.) and senior Brian Chambers (Weymouth, Mass.) made their way into the goal column for the River Hawks. Becker's second-period power play tally marked the first of the defenseman's collegiate career. Additionally, freshmen Owen Fowler (Tewksbury, Mass.) and Scout Truman (Lethbridge, Alberta), sophomores Isac Jonsson (Ängelholm, Sweden) and Matt Crasa (South Setauket, N.Y.), senior Ryan Brushett (Montreal, Quebec) and graduate student Jon McDonald (Livonia, Mich.) all finished the night with an assist.

All three River Hawk netminders saw time between the pipes against the Huskies. Sophomore Edvard Nordlund (Nacka, Sweden) made his collegiate debut in the third period and made four stops. Graduate student Gustavs Davis Grigals (Riga, Latvia) suffered the setback, dropping to an 11-9-2 mark to cap the regular season.

"We've just got to go home and have short-term memory," stated Head Coach Norm Bazin after the loss.

The River Hawks jumped out quickly on offense, sneaking one past Devon Levi just 40 seconds into play with a shot from senior Jake Stella (Karlstad, Sweden). After review, the goal was recalled for offsides, but UMass Lowell stayed determined. Regrouping after an unsuccessful Northeastern shift, graduate student Filip Fornåå Svensson sent a stretch pass up the ice into the neutral zone for Cole's taking. The sophomore glided into the zone and collided with Northeastern's Gunnarwolfe Fontaine and lost the puck. A lucky bounce, however, put the possession right back in the River Hawks' favor as Fowler scooped the loose puck and handed it off to Crasa in the slot. Crasa then dangled around his defender with a nifty display of stick work and ripped a shot in from the nearside faceoff dot. Cole, locked in on the doorstep, threw his stick into the mix for the redirection and tipped the puck past Levi for a 1-0 lead.

Northeastern quickly retaliated with sustained time in the zone to test Grigals and the UMass Lowell blue liners. The River Hawks came through with physical play and aggressive backchecking, but an equalizer from Huskies' forward Matt Demelis set off a scoring streak that left UMass Lowell chasing a 3-1 deficit after 20 minutes.

A string of penalties plagued the River Hawks in the second and gave Northeastern another opportunity to add to their total. With a three-goal gap, UMass Lowell fought to generate offensive momentum and eventually earned their opportunity at 13:56. With time expiring on the penalty, Becker grabbed a pass from Brushett at the blue line and barreled straight down the slot at Levi. Swiftly dodging a pair of oncoming defenders, Becker whipped in his first collegiate goal to cut the lead back down to two. Another strike from Demelis to end the second, however, pushed the River Hawks back once again as the teams headed for the third.

Despite a gritty goal from Chambers in the third period, another two-goal stretch for the Huskies ultimately handed UMass Lowell the 7-2 defeat on the road.

The River Hawks kick off their 2023 Hockey East Tournament run next Saturday, March 11, with a quick trip to Storrs, Conn., to take on UConn. Puck drop for the tilt is to be determined.