LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell ice hockey team (15-14-4, 8-12-3 Hockey East) dropped a 4-1 decision against New Hampshire (12-15-6, 4-14-5 Hockey East) Friday evening on Senior Night at the Tsongas Center.

Freshman Libor Nemec (Bratislava, Slovakia) scored the River Hawks goal, with assists from fellow freshmen Lee Parks (Ottawa, Ontario) and Chris Delaney (Hopkinton, Mass.). Graduate student Henry Welsch (Lakeville, Minn.) got the nod in net for the River Hawks, making 31 saves.

"Unfortunately, we were outplayed, outbattled, outshot, and the faceoffs and special teams were not good enough either, so nothing we could do today was on," said Head Coach Norm Bazin. "It just was not going our way and we didn't help the cause."

Throughout the first period, the River Hawks responded to an early New Hampshire goal with two scoring opportunities from senior Owen Cole (Dunnville, Ontario) in front of the net that were just saved. Welsch and the UMass Lowell defensive unit were able to kill off a New Hampshire power play opportunity and hold the Wildcats to one goal in the first, and both teams went to the locker room with a 1-0 score.

The River Hawks were able to continue the penalty kill success in the second period, killing off three New Hampshire power play opportunities throughout the period. Halasz made 12 saves, but two Wildcats goals made it 3-0 entering the third period.

In the third, the River Hawks found the back of the net, making it 3-1 when Nemec potted his sixth of the year. Delaney started the sequence, and it was Parks the found Nemec before he rifled a wrist shot past the goaltender. The River Hawks continued to pressure with two power plays in the third, but to no avail, and a late New Hampshire goal with 16 seconds left ended it with a 4-1 score.

The River Hawks will now travel to New Hampshire tomorrow for a 7:00 p.m. puck drop for the regular season finale.