River Hawks Close Out Opening Weekend with 4-2 Victory Over St. Lawrence

Saturday, October 10

Lowell, Mass.

4:05pm

University of Massachusetts Lowell

1-1-0

St. Lawrence

0-3-0

Team	1	2	3	F
St. Lawrence	0	0	2	2
UMass Lowell	2	1	1	4

River Hawks Close Out Opening Weekend with 4-2 Victory Over St. Lawrence

10/10/2026 8:21:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey

Box Score Highlights Postgame Press Conference

LOWELL, Mass. – Four River Hawks scored a goal, including two first-career goals, as the UMass Lowell Hockey team (1-1-0) took down the St. Lawrence Saints (0-3-0), 4-2, to cap off opening weekend.

"It's nice to get a home victory here to start the weekend," said John F. Kennedy Hockey Coach Norm Bazin. "Obviously we weren't too satisfied with the result yesterday. I thought there was better pressure on the puck today, we were a little bit better in transition, and I thought we kept their transition at bay. Overall, a decent effort."

Senior Thomas Stewart (Toronto, Ontario) and sophomore Cole Lonsdale (Mississauga, Ontario) each scored the first goals of their career, while senior Jak Vaarwerk (Clarence, N.Y.) added his first goal of the year and junior Jacob MacDonald (Fort Worth, Texas) scored his second goal in as many games. Sophomore Dalyn Wakely (Port Hope, Ontario) and freshman Kuzma Voronin (Yaroslavl, Russia) each contributed a pair of assists, with seniors Anthony Dowd (Point Pleasant Beach, N.J.), Sean Kilcullen (Kensington, Md.) and freshman Kolin Sisson (Lincoln, R.I.) rounding out the point scorers with an assist each. On the defensive end, Vaarwerk, sophomore Nate Misskey (Melfort, SK) and freshman Félix Plamondon (Saint-Raymond, Quebec) each registered a blocked shot. In between the pipes, sophomore goaltender Austin Elliott (Strathmore, Alberta) made 15 saves.

The River Hawks came out firing, tallying five shots in just over three minutes to put pressure on the St. Lawrence defense. The pressure paid off, as moments later, after a penalty by the Saints put UMass Lowell on the power play, Dowd dished a pass to Vaarwerk, who ripped a shot from just beyond the faceoff dot and buried the first goal of the night just under four minutes in. Looking for an equalizer, the visitors fired off their first two shots over the next two minutes, but a pair of saves by Elliot kept UMass Lowell in front.

With momentum on their side, the hosts' strong showing in the first period continued, with MacDonald and Wakely firing off a pair of shots at 7:35 and 8:02. Less than two minutes later, after St. Lawrence attempted to clear the puck, Kilcullen intercepted the loose puck before passing it off the boards to Lonsdale. Racing to the net with defenders approaching, the sophomore quickly fired, sneaking his shot over the opposing goalie to double his team's lead. Although a penalty put the visitors on the power play late in the first, UMass Lowell's defense didn't budge, allowing only one shot on goal for the remainder of the period, which Elliott was quick to save, to keep a 2-0 lead after one.

In the opening minutes of the second period, Elliot made two key saves to help preserve the two-goal advantage. Trying to extend the lead, the River Hawks took over, outshooting the Saints, 6-2, through the midpoint of the period. At 13:38, after each side drew a penalty to set up a 4-on-4, the hosts capitalized again. After Voronin stole the puck and passed it to Wakely behind the opponent's net, the sophomore rotated to the other side and dished a pass to Stewart right in front of the net, who wasted no time sending it into the back of the net to make it 3-0. Three minutes later, St. Lawrence nearly scored their first goal of the afternoon on a breakaway, but Elliot made an incredible save to maintain the three-goal lead heading into the final 20 minutes of action.

Although the visitors capitalized on a power play 6:33 into the third to pull within two, UMass Lowell continued to control possession as they looked to close out the game strong. With just over five minutes to play, the River Hawks added one more, as Wakely cleared the puck from the hosts' zone, setting up Voronin, who raced past his defender, collected the puck off the board, and immediately turned and sent the puck to MacDonald, who ripped a shot from just outside the crease into the back of the net to make it a 4-1 game.

In the final minutes, St. Lawrence added a second goal, but the River Hawks didn't allow another scoring chance, sealing the 4-2 win.

Next up, the River Hawks will host Arizona State for two games next weekend on Friday, October 16, and Saturday, October 17. Puck drop for game one is scheduled for 7:14 p.m.