BOSTON, Mass. – Freshman Nate Misskey (Melfort, SK) scored the game-winning goal in overtime, as the UMass Lowell ice hockey team (9-13-0, 5-7-0 Hockey East) fought to a 4-3 victory at Boston University (11-10-1, 7-7-0 Hockey East) on Friday night.

Joining Misskey in the goal-scoring department was junior Sean Kilcullen (Kensington, Md.), senior Connor Eddy (Victoria, B.C.) and junior Jak Vaarwerk (Clarence, N.Y.), while six different skaters collected assists in Vaarwerk, senior TJ Schweighardt (Manahawkin, N.J.), graduate student Jay Ahearn (Staten Island, N.Y.), sophomore Libor Nemec (Bratislava, Slovakia), sophomore Lee Parks (Ottawa, Ontario), and freshman Cole Lonsdale (Mississauga, Ontario) whose helper marked his first career point.

Defensively, 13 different players blocked at least one shot, and it was Schweighardt and Misskey that led the way with two each, while 11 others had one apiece. Senior Samuel Richard (Sainte-Catherine, Quebec) got the nod between the pipes for the River Hawks, making 31 saves in the win.

"We are pleased to come on the road and get some points," said Head Coach Norm Bazin. "It's a tough league and we proved it tonight again. We did not have the start we were looking for but I thought we got a little bit better as the game wore on."

Despite a Boston University goal late in the first period, the River Hawks created chances for themselves throughout the first 20 minutes. Sophomore Dominic Payne (North Vancouver, B.C.) charged to the net at the 1:18 mark and had a chance in front that was saved, while Vaarwerk also tallied a couple great looks, but to no avail and the River Hawks went into the locker room with a one-goal deficit.

It was an eventful second period, as the River Hawks found their stride and battled back to take a 3-2 lead. After a Terriers power play goal at 6:42, the squad went to work, first with Kilcullen's second of the season while shorthanded at 14:01. Parks fed Kilcullen in the neutral zone, and he skated past the blue line and fired a slapshot past the goaltender to cut the deficit to one. Later on, with less than two minutes remaining, Eddy cashed in on a breakaway to tie the game at two. It all started with a Lonsdale blocked shot that found the stick of Nemec, who was able to get it to Eddy before he zoomed past a defender and beat the goaltender for the equalizer. Vaarwerk then beat the buzzer and gave the River Hawks the lead with just four seconds left in the period while on the power play. After a faceoff win in the offensive zone, Schweighardt fired one on net that ricocheted off the goaltender to the stick of Ahearn and then to Vaarwerk in the slot who finished it to send the game to the third period with a 3-2 score.

Not long into the third, the game was knotted up once again after a Boston University goal at the 6:47 mark. The River Hawks continued to fight, especially on the penalty kill, as they kept the Terriers scoreless on two power plays in the period to help maintain the tie score. Richard made crucial saves throughout the third as well, including a game-saving, sprawling stop with the glove while the River Hawks were shorthanded with under three minutes to go, and the game went to a five-minute, 3-on-3 overtime period.

In overtime, each team was called for a penalty nine seconds apart, and over a minute later, Misskey broke up a Terriers scoring chance on the defensive end and received a feed from Vaarwerk entering the offensive zone. He then quickly made a move on the goaltender and wrapped around the net for the goal, sending the River Hawks back to Lowell with a ranked victory for the third straight weekend.

The River Hawks will now host the Terriers for game two tomorrow, Saturday, January 17 at 6:05 p.m. at the Tsongas Center.