LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell ice hockey team (13-21-0, 9-15-0 Hockey East) earned a hard-fought 4-3 victory against Boston University (16-16-2, 12-12-0 Hockey East) on Saturday evening in the regular season finale at the Tsongas Center.

The River Hawks celebrated their graduating class prior to the win, and two of them finished with two-assist performances in seniors TJ Schweighardt (Manahawkin, N.J.) and Dillan Bentley (Peoria, Ill.). Graduate student Jay Ahearn (Staten Island, N.Y.) recorded his 100th career point with his second-period goal, while freshman Diego Buttazzoni (Langley, B.C.), freshman David Adaszynski (Burnaby, B.C.) and junior Jak Vaarwerk (Clarence, N.Y.) also found the back of the net. Sophomore Libor Nemec (Bratislava, Slovakia) picked up a helper as well to earn his way onto the stat sheet.

Defensively, four different skaters blocked two shots each, while four others blocked one shot apiece. Senior Samuel Richard (Sainte-Catherine, Quebec) got the nod between the pipes for the River Hawks, making 24 saves for the win.
 
"It is nice to get a win at home," said Head Coach Norm Bazin. "Obviously, it's a relief for us to end our regular season at the Tsongas Center with a win and now we move on to the playoffs. It's a new season."

The first period was a battle, with shots on goal nearly even at 8–7 in favor of Boston University. The River Hawks generated several quality chances and peppered the Terriers' goaltender but were unable to break through. Boston University opened the scoring at 4:09, and the 1–0 score held through the first intermission.

UMass Lowell evened the score in the second period, tying the game at 1-1 on Ahearn's 13th goal of the season at 7:11. Schweighardt began the play from behind the River Hawks' net, sending a long outlet pass to Bentley, who made a move around a defender and drove a backhand toward goal. The shot bounced off the Terrier goaltender and onto the stick of Ahearn, who cleaned up the rebound to knot the score. The remainder of the period featured back-and-forth action, with both teams registering 10 shots on goal as the game remained tied heading into the third.

The third period was another evenly played frame in terms of shots on goal, but the River Hawks capitalized with three goals to outscore the Terriers, 3-2, and secure the win. Buttazzoni opened the scoring just 3:42 into the period, taking a pass from Nemec on a 2-on-1 and rifling a shot past the goaltender to give UMass Lowell a 2-1 lead.

Adaszynski extended the advantage just under five minutes later after Schweighardt and Bentley both had shots on goal turned aside. Adaszynski collected the rebound off Bentley's attempt and finished it to push the lead to two.

Boston University responded at the 11:17 mark, but Vaarwerk answered with a long empty-netter to restore the two-goal cushion. The Terriers added another goal just 21 seconds later to cut the deficit to one, but the River Hawks held on for the 4-3 victory.

With the win, the River Hawks secured the ninth seed in the Hockey East Tournament and set their sights on a road matchup at Merrimack next Wednesday, March 11.