PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The No. 13 UMass Lowell ice hockey team (15-12-3, 8-10-2 Hockey East) fell short, 4-2, Saturday night against No.8/9 Providence (18-8-5, 8-7-5 Hockey East) at Schneider Arena in Providence.

Junior Scout Truman (Lethbridge, Alberta) and graduate student Pierson Brandon (Irvington, N.Y.) scored the goals for the River Hawks, while senior Owen Cole (Dunnville, Ontario) and sophomore Jak Vaarwerk (Clarence, N.Y.) picked up one assist each. Eight different players picked up at least one blocked shot, with graduate student Jack Robilotti (New York, N.Y.) leading the way with three, while three different players added two and four players had one. Graduate student Henry Welsch (Lakeville, Minn.) got the nod in net for UMass Lowell, making 25 saves.

"Tonight, the hockey gods were not ruling in our favor," said Head Coach Norm Bazin. "We lose the challenge for goalie interference on the tying goal against us. Then, the winning goal against hits our defenseman's stick and takes the opposite bounce into our net. We knew they would start hard initially. We played too cautious in the first. I liked our push back in the second. We all know how tough Hockey East is and winning one period usually doesn't get it done. There were several positives from individuals tonight, but we'll need a more collective effort to win this league in the playoffs. We'll learn from tonight and move on."
 
The River Hawks battled throughout the first period, killing off a Providence power play at the 8:11 mark. The River Hawks picked up two power play opportunities of their own in the first, but could not find the back of the net, as Welsch made crucial saves at the other end to keep the Providence offense quiet. Late in the period, with 5:15 remaining, the Friars scored to make it 1-0 entering the first intermission. The River Hawks picked up scoring chances from both junior Connor Eddy (Victoria, B.C.) and freshman Mirko Buttazzoni (Langley, B.C.) in the first 20 minutes as well.
 
The River Hawks had a successful second period, scoring twice while keeping the Friars scoreless. The squad came out firing, putting pressure on the Providence goaltender and defensive unit. Senior Matt Crasa (South Setauket, N.Y.) had an early backhanded chance at 3:34 in front of the net, but it was just saved. Not long after, Providence was called for hooking on a Truman breakaway, giving him a penalty shot at the 4:53 mark. Truman skated down the left side and made a move on the goaltender before backhanding it through the five hole for the equalizer and his team-leading ninth goal of the year. Welsch continued to keep the River Hawks in the game with pivotal saves, before Brandon made it a 2-1 game by roofing one over the goaltender's shoulder. The play started when Vaarwerk sent one down the boards and it found the stick of Cole, who found Brandon on a breakaway down the left side. The remainder of the period saw one shot on goal that was saved by Welsch, and the game went to the third period with a one-goal River Hawks lead.

Despite UMass Lowell outshooting the Friars in the third period, 7-5, Providence scored three times in the third period at the 6:58 and 17:07 marks, as well as an empty netter at 18:38, giving them the 4-2 victory.

The River Hawks will now take on Massachusetts next week, beginning Thursday, February 27 at 7:00 p.m. Game two will take place on Saturday, March 1 at the Tsongas Center at 6:05 p.m.