LOWELL, Mass. – Freshman Diego Buttazzoni (Langley, B.C.) scored his first career goal, but the UMass Lowell ice hockey team's comeback bid came up short in a 2-1 loss to No. 2 Western Michigan on Friday night at the Tsongas Center.

Senior TJ Schweighardt (Manahawkin, N.J.) and freshman Dalyn Wakely (Port Hope, Ontario) assisted Buttazzoni's goal, as the trio finished with one point apiece. Defensively, the River Hawk's penalty kill went a perfect 7-for-7 on the night and Schweighardt led the team with four blocked shots. Freshman Austin Elliott (Strathmore, Alberta) got the nod between the pipes for the River Hawks, making 31 saves.

"Not what we were looking for, obviously," said Head Coach Norm Bazin. "Spotting a defending National Champion two goals to start is not a recipe for success and we proved that. I thought we were better in the second and better in the third, but too little too late. We will look to improve tomorrow."

The River Hawks kicked off the game creating a pair of scoring opportunities, both from senior Dillan Bentley (Peoria, Ill.) with crisp passes from sophomore Mirko Buttazzoni (Langley, B.C.), but it was the Broncos that got on the board first, scoring twice at the 2:06 and 6:44 marks. UMass Lowell tacked on more quality opportunities throughout the remainder of the period, including a near-goal from junior Jak Vaarwerk (Clarence, N.Y.) at 14:23, when they had 47 seconds of a man advantage, but they could not find the back of the net. On the other end, Elliott made some crucial stops to keep the Broncos' offensive unit at bay and enter the first intermission with a 2-0 score.

The squad opened up the second with another prime chance to get on the board with a couple shots in front of the net from Bentley and Wakely within the first minute. Not long after, at the 1:13 mark, the River Hawks were called for a penalty but killed off the Western Michigan power play chance. The River Hawks penalty kill continued to find success, killing off a 5-on-3 at 7:37. Immediately following the kill, the River Hawks got back on the offensive and put the pressure on the Broncos' goaltender, Grant Slukynsky and the defensive unit.

Chris Delaney and Dalyn Wakely led the charge, peppering Slukynsky with shots around the crease to give the River Hawks momentum. Elliott continued to impress between the pipes for UMass Lowell in the second period, helping kill four Broncos power play chances and half of the fifth, on his way to 13 saves in the period. The scoreless period brought the game to the third with the same 2-0 score.

To start the third, Elliott once again came up big, helping kill off the remainder of a end-of-period penalty, and the first River Hawk scoring chance came on a 4-on-4, when graduate student Jay Ahearn (Staten Island, N.Y.) found himself on a breakaway, but it was broken up just before he could take his shot. This was immediately followed by a sophomore Dominic Payne (North Vancouver, B.C.) one-timer that was saved.

The River Hawks eventually cashed in on the power play at the 10:13 mark, when Diego Buttazzoni one-timed a Schweighardt pass at the top of the faceoff circle and fired it past Slukynsky to cut the deficit to one. Throughout the final minutes, the team used the momentum to collect some looks in the offensive zone in an attempt to tie the score but came up just short and the clock struck zero at 2-1.

The River Hawks return to the Tsongas Center tomorrow night, October 18, for game two of the home series. Puck drop is set for 6:05 p.m.