PALM SPRINGS, Calif. – The UMass Lowell ice hockey team's (7-12-0, 3-6-0 Hockey East) comeback fell just short, 3-2, against St. Cloud State (10-10-0, 3-7-0 NCHC) on Saturday night in the 2026 Cactus Cup Championship Game at Acrisure Arena in Palm Springs, California.

Freshman Josh Mori (Richmond, B.C.) collected his first career goal in the third period and senior Dillan Bentley (Peoria, Ill.) scored his third goal of the weekend in the effort, as freshman Luke Shipley (Powell River, B.C), freshman David Adaszynski (Burnaby, B.C.), junior Sean Kilcullen (Kensington, Md.) and sophomore Dominic Payne (North Vancouver, B.C.) all tallied assists. Senior Samuel Richard (Sainte-Catherine, Quebec) got the nod between the pipes for the River Hawks, making 14 saves.

The River Hawks got started early with offensive pressure and a solid scoring chance from sophomore Libor Nemec (Bratislava, Slovakia). It was a battle of a first period, as both teams fought for possession of the puck and the River Hawks concluded the period with a 7-6 shots on goal lead. With 1.2 seconds left, St. Cloud State picked up a power play goal to take the lead. They followed up the goal with a penalty, giving the River Hawks a power play of their own to start the second.

Despite a Huskies shorthanded goal at the beginning of the period, the River Hawks continued to create chances, including one from sophomore Lee Parks (Ottawa, Ontario) at 3:58 that just caught the pad of the goaltender, and concluded the period with a 15-10 shots on goal advantage. St. Cloud State then added one at the 11:04 mark and both teams went back-and-forth for the remainder of the period to take the game to the third period with the score at 3-0.

The River Hawks clawed back into the game in the third, as Mori kicked it off with a goal at the 14:05 mark to cut the deficit to two. Adaszynski found Kilcullen to get the play started, and he dished a cross-ice pass to Mori. He made a move on a defender and fired one from a distance through a sea of bodies and into the back of the net. Just a few minutes later, Bentley lit the lamp with three seconds left after Richard was pulled, with helpers from Payne and Shipley to make it 3-2. There just was not enough time on the clock for the River Hawks to tie up, and the game concluded with a 3-2 score.

Next, the River Hawks will return back to the east coast and take on UConn in a home-and-home series on Friday and Saturday, January 9 and 10. Game one will be at UConn at PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford at 7:00 p.m., while Saturday's game two will be at home at the Tsongas Center at 7:05 p.m. on NESN.