BURLINGTON, Vt. – Behind 10 different point-getters, the UMass Lowell ice hockey team (11-18-0, 7-12-0 Hockey East) earned a 4-2 victory at Vermont (12-16-0, 7-11-0 Hockey East) Friday evening at Gutterson Fieldhouse in Burlington, Vt.

Sophomore Dominick Rivelli (Highland Park, Ill.) scored his first collegiate goal in the win, as graduate student Jay Ahearn (Staten Island, N.Y.), freshman Diego Buttazzoni (Langley, B.C.) and senior Dillan Bentley (Peoria, Ill.) joined him as goal scorers. Six different skaters tallied an assist: freshman Dalyn Wakely (Port Hope, Ontario), sophomore Lee Parks (Ottawa, Ontario), sophomore Mirko Buttazzoni (Langley, B.C.), freshman Josh Mori (Richmond, B.C.), freshman David Adaszynski (Burnaby, B.C.) and junior Jak Vaarwerk (Clarence, N.Y.).

Defensively, junior Sean Kilcullen (Kensington, Md.) led the team with five blocked shots, while four different players added three each and five others had one apiece. Senior Samuel Richard (Sainte-Catherine, Quebec) got the nod between the pipes for UMass Lowell, making 33 saves in the victory.

"We're pleased we could come out of Gutterson with a win tonight," said Head Coach Norm Bazin. "At times, we bent but didn't break and we experienced some timely scoring from several veteran players. We had contributions from guys across the whole lineup. 10 different players registered a point, and I was very happy with the commitment from everyone when it came time to close out the game. That's a good step for our team. Tonight, I felt our goaltending was there when we did bend and the guys seem to rally around that. Our league is so strong, so we realize it can be even harder the second night. We'll get some rest and make adjustments for Saturday."
 
Despite a Vermont goal at 6:42, the River Hawks responded with crisp passing in the offensive zone by Ahearn, Wakely and Delaney just over two minutes later, leading to Ahearn's 10^th goal of the year and the equalizer. The remainder of the period was a back-and-forth battle, and Richard kept it knotted up with key saves to conclude the first period with a 1-1 score.  
 
The River Hawks brought offensive pressure to start the second, collecting chances immediately from Bentley and Ahearn, while Richard continued to make crucial stops on the other end. The squad then killed off a penalty at the 14:11 mark with stout defensive play and timely saves. They continued to add scoring opportunities towards the end of the period, but to no avail, and the second period ended scoreless.
 
Vermont was called for cross checking at 7:09 of the third, giving the River Hawks a man advantage, where they capitalized with a Diego Buttazzoni goal to take the lead. Parks collected the puck in the high slot and found Buttazzoni in the faceoff circle for the one-timer. Just 38 seconds later, Bentley made it a two-goal lead on a breakaway, scoring on the second effort for his team-leading 13^th goal of the season. Just over one minute later, Rivelli deflected an Adaszynski puck on net for the first of his career, making it 4-1 in favor of the River Hawks. Vermont got one back at 12:03, but UMass Lowell held on for the remainder of the game and blanked the Catamounts while shorthanded to secure the 4-2 victory.
 
The River Hawks will return to Gutterson Fieldhouse tomorrow, Saturday, February 14 for game two of the series at 6:00 p.m.