ORONO, Maine – The UMass Lowell ice hockey team (7-14-2, 3-8-1 Hockey East) scored the game's first goal, but were ultimately outpaced by #8 Maine (16-4-2, 8-3-1 Hockey East), 7-2, on Saturday evening at Alfond Arena.
 
Junior Owen Cole (Dunnville, Ontario) made it five consecutive games with a goal for the River Hawks, scoring in the second period off assists from sophomore TJ Schweighardt (Manahawkin, N.J.) and senior Ben Meehan (Walpole, Mass.). Nick Rhéaume scored his team-leading ninth goal of the season for the game's first, with crisp helpers from both graduate student Alex Peterson (Collegeville, Pa.) and junior Matt Crasa (South Setauket, N.Y.).
 
Defensively, senior Brehdan Engum (Burnsville, Minn.) led the squad with six blocked shots, while junior Isac Johnson (Ängelholm, Sweden), freshman Jak Vaarwerk (Clarence, N.Y.) and Meehan each collected two apiece. Four different River Hawk skaters finished with one block each, as well. Junior goaltender Luke Pavicich got the start in net, totaling 20 saves, before junior Edvard Nordlund (Nacka, Sweden) entered the game with just over six minutes remaining, making five saves.

"We were clearly off tonight," said Head Coach Norm Bazin. "We started off well, but things tailed off from there. We'll need to get back to basics so we can get back to competing like we can."   
For the second night in a row, the River Hawks won the race to the scoreboard, potting one just 1:48 into the game. After an interception near center ice, Peterson brought the puck into the offensive zone and dumped a short pass to Crasa, who found a wide open Rhéaume near the right faceoff circle, giving him room to fire a wrister past Maine goalie Albin Boija and give the squad the early lead. After the River Hawks picked up a power play opportunity at 15:34, Ben Poisson scored a short-handed goal for the Black Bears a minute later to tie it up. The River Hawks were able to fire three more shots on goal in the remaining minutes, but both teams went to the locker room with the game knotted up at one.
 
Pavicich made a pivotal pad save on a Maine breakaway to begin the second period at 3:38. The Black Bears eventually managed to score at 5:46, but Cole and the River Hawks retaliated at 8:17 to tie it back up. It started with Schweighardt possessing the puck near the blue line and firing a shot that ricocheted off the goaltender. A scrum was created in front of the net, and Meehan was able to get a stick on the loose puck before Cole found it through a sea of skaters and finished it for the equalizer.
 
The period would conclude with a 5-2 score however, as Maine scored back-to-back goals at 13:12 and 13:35, followed by another at 15:19 to take back the lead heading into the second intermission.
 
The River Hawks kicked off the third period aggressively, firing the first three shots on goal within the first two minutes. They received a five-minute man advantage after a major and game misconduct call against Maine but could not find the back of the net throughout the power play. Maine added goals at the 11:03 and 13:39 marks, and the teams battled back-and-forth for the remainder of the game, as it closed with a 7-2 score.
 
Next up, the River Hawks will return home to the Tsongas Center on Friday, January 26 at 7:15 p.m. for the first of a home and home series against Providence. Game two will be the next night at 6:00 p.m. at Schneider Arena in Providence.
 
To purchase season tickets, single game tickets or mini plans, visit www.GoRiverHawks.com/Tickets. To access deep discounts with a group of 10 or more, contact Matt Spolidoro (Matthew_Spolidoro@uml.edu) or Ted Gosselin (Ted_Gosselin@uml.edu) or call (978) 934-5738.