LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell ice hockey team (12-6-2, 5-5-1 Hockey East) dropped a 2-1 decision Saturday evening against No. 7 Maine (15-4-2, 7-2-2 Hockey East) at the Tsongas Center in Lowell, Mass.

Freshman Jacob MacDonald (Fort Worth, Texas) scored the lone goal for the River Hawks in the matchup, giving him his second collegiate goal. Fellow freshman Chris Delaney (Hopkinton, Mass.) and senior Owen Cole (Dunnville, Ontario) picked up the assists on the goal. 10 total skaters picked up a blocked shot for the River Hawks, with four leading the way with two each and six with one apiece. Junior Beni Halasz (Budapest, Hungary) got the nod between the pipes for the River Hawks, making a season-high 34 saves.

"Not the position we'd like to be in here tonight, but we are," said Head Coach Norm Bazin. "It was a close hockey game. I thought it started off with some tough plays for us. We got scored on early and when you have to kill a five-minute major and seven minutes total in the first period, it's challenging. I thought we got better as the game went along and our guys battled and competed, and I was very proud of them. I thought they were a shot away from tying it and I thought if we could tie it, we could get the winner, but it didn't happen and that's the way it goes."

The River Hawks kicked off the game with the first two shot attempts, including a solid wraparound chance from senior Isac Jonsson (Ängelholm, Sweden) at 1:45. Maine then got to the scoreboard first, scoring at the 1:54 mark and again on the power play at 9:07. Halasz and the River Hawks defensive unit kept the Black Bears at bay for the remainder of the period with pivotal saves and blocked shots, bringing both teams to the locker room with a 2-0 score.

The second period saw a River Hawk resurgence. The squads were even in shots on goal, but it was UMass Lowell that won the period, scoring at the 13:57 mark. Cole got it started, getting the puck towards the net from the goal line, before Delaney collected it behind the net and found MacDonald in the left faceoff circle, who sniped one past Maine goaltender Albin, Boija to the top right corner. This gave the team some momentum and it was a battle for the remainder of the period, and the 2-1 score held at the end of two.

The River Hawks came out tough in the third, racking up 15 shots on goal, compared to Maine's eight. Halasz continued to shine, keeping the River Hawks in the game. The best River Hawk chances came at the end of the period, when they threatened on a power play with four quality shots on goal with just under six minutes remaining. After the power play was complete, Halasz was pulled with just under two minutes left to make it 6 on 5 for the River Hawks. They controlled the puck in the offensive zone, firing seven shots with three on net, but to no avail, and the game concluded with a 2-1 score.

The River Hawks will now shift their focus to Stonehill next Saturday, January 18 at the Tsongas Center. Puck drop is set for 6:05 p.m.