PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The UMass Lowell ice hockey team (3-4-0, 1-2-0 Hockey East) dropped a 5-2 decision against No. 16/15 Providence (3-2-1, 1-0-0 Hockey East) Friday night at Schneider Arena in Providence, R.I.

Junior Sean Kilcullen (Kensington, Md.) scored his first career goal, while junior Jak Vaarwerk (Clarence, N.Y.) potted his first of the year in the effort. Sophomores Lee Parks (Ottawa, Ontario) and Dominic Payne (North Vancouver, B.C.), as well as Vaarwerk picked up the helpers. Defensively, three different players had two blocks each, while five more had one apiece. Senior Samuel Richard (Sainte-Catherine, Quebec) got the starting nod between the pipes for the River Hawks, making five saves, while freshman Austin Elliott (Strathmore, Alberta) made 16 saves in relief.

"Tonight's game was a Hockey East battle," said Head Coach Norm Bazin. "I felt we gave our opponent free transition. As a result, we played from behind which isn't a recipe for success most nights. Overall, we were good in several stretches of the game but that's never enough in our league. We will aim to improve in a few areas for a quick turnaround game at 5 p.m."

Providence opening up the scoring at the 2:46 mark, but the River Hawks responded in a big way, as Kilcullen netted the game-tying goal at 6:47. It started with Payne feeding Vaarwerk in the defensive zone, before Vaarwerk found Kilcullen surging through the neutral zone and towards the net. Kilcullen then fired a wrist shot past Providence goaltender Philip Svedebäck and into the top left corner to knot it up at one. The River Hawks followed up the goal with some quality chances on a power play, starting at the 11:43 mark, but to no avail. Providence went on to score two throughout the remainder of the period at the 14:44 and 17:52 marks and the game went to the first intermission with a 3-1 score with UMass Lowell holding a 10-8 shots-on-goal lead.

Elliott took over the goaltending duties in the second for the River Hawks and the squad was buzzing to start the period, putting pressure on Svedebäck and the Friars' defensive unit. They eventually cashed in at the 5:39 mark, when Parks won a puck battle in the offensive zone and found Vaarwerk charging in before launching one to the back of the net from the slot to cut the deficit to one. For the remainder of the period, the River Hawks held off the Friars while continuing to apply pressure and bring the game to the third with a 3-2 score.

In the third, the River Hawks immediately went on the power play, gaining momentum and controlling the game throughout the first chunk of the period, despite not finding the back of the net. Providence then went on the power play at 7:42 and scored on the man advantage at 9:09, before adding one at 11:40 to make it 5-2. The River Hawks fought back throughout the final half of the period, but it was not enough, and the clocks struck zeroes with the 5-2 score.

The team returns to Lowell for game two against the Friars tomorrow, November 1 at the Tsongas Center. Puck drop is set for 5:00 p.m. on NESN.