Seawolves Sweep Weekend With 3-2 Win Over #13 Riverhawks

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After a stunning loss on Friday night when the UMass Lowell River Hawks (10-8-1) peppered 54 shots on the Alaska Anchorage net, the River Hawks looked to split the weekend with a Saturday afternoon New Year’s Eve matchup with the Seawolves (4-12-0). Both teams changed netminders for the afternoon game. For the River Hawks, it was Gustavs Davis Grigals, and for Alaska Anchorage, Nolan Kent was between the pipes. It did not take long for these goalies to be tested as both teams scored in the first 3:14 seconds of the game. Lowell jumped out first as defenseman Isac Jonsson scored his 2nd of the year unassisted at 2:44 to put Lowell up 1-0. The Seawolves answered almost a minute later as Matt Allen scored his 4th of the season with an assist going to Brett Bamber and the game was tied at 1-1. As was the case for the entire Friday night game, UMass Lowell had a volume of shots on goal, but finding the back of the net was still a problem. They had one power play in the period that produced nothing and they finished the first with a 12-5 shot advantage and a tie game at 1-1.

As the second period reached the five-minute mark, one thing was becoming clear. The River Hawks were having a hard time imposing their will on Alaska Anchorage. Yes, time spent in the Seawolves’ zone was in their favor as were the shots on goal. But they could not establish themselves as the better team. If this game was being scripted, this would be the way the Seawolves would write it up. Play safe, and do not give the River Hawks any reasons to believe the tide was heading their way. Lowell gained a 2- on-1 chance, but the cross-ice pass by Brian Chambers from right to left missed its mark. Meanwhile, Alaska Anchorage was taking advantage of the few chances they were getting. At 12:27 of the second period, they took the lead when Ben Almquist set up William Gilson for a point-blank shot that was stopped by Grigals. However, he left a rebound on the left side of the net that was poked home by Brandon LaJoie for his second of the year, 2-1 visitors. Owen Fowler went off for a penalty soon after the lead goal was scored. The Seawolves got one shot on goal as the River Hawks killed it off. The Seawolves added to their lead with under a minute to go on a 2-on-1. Connor Marritti brought the puck over the River Hawks’ blue line on the left side and his shot was stopped by Grigals but he left another rebound that was knocked home by Caleb Hite on the right side of the net for his fourth of the year. The goal was at the 19:25 mark of the period. Alaska Anchorage went to the locker room with a 3-1 lead. For the first time in a period this weekend, the Seawolves outshot the River Hawks by an 11-6 margin. Lowell would need to regroup in a hurry.

The Seawolves are 2-3-0 when leading after two periods this season. The River Hawks looked to change that with their best twenty minutes of the weekend. Through the first 3:25 of the third, the Seawolves were doing a good job in their own zone holding UMass Lowell to two harmless shots. The River Hawks brought some life back into Tsongas Center as Carl Berglund came across the Seawolves’ blue line, skated across the zone from left to right, and on the backhand beat Kent to cut the deficit to 3-2. Assists on the goal went to Chambers and to Matt Crasa and the time of the goal was 6:18. For Berglund it was his 8th of the year. Alaska Anchorage went on the PP when TJ Schweighardt was sent off for tripping at 9:11. Lowell would kill off the penalty and get back to trying to tie the game. With four minutes left, River Hawks defenseman Gabe Blanchard got off a low shot that Kent was forced to stop, and the rebound was cleared away. Lowell pulled their goalie with just over two minutes left. With 37 seconds left, the River Hawks caught a break as Seawolves forward Jamie Collins was sent off for boarding and it set up a 6-4 advantage. Isac Jonsson had the best chance but his shot from the high right slot rang off the post to Kent’s right. Alaska Anchorage survived and swept the weekend winning on Saturday by a 3-2 score.

After the game, coach Bazin was very unhappy with his team’s weekend play citing “condition” as one area where his team needs to get better. He said, “the practice season leading into this weekend was good.” The results clearly were not. He also is not a fan of having 16 days off between games, but that is something he has no control over since the final exam for the first semester is part of the reason why. The River Hawks have things to do to get better on the ice. Their next game is next Saturday in Springfield vs AIC

On a brighter note, the UMass Lowell Men’s basketball team started America East conference play with a 67-64 win over NJIT on the road. The #21 ranked team in the Collegeinsider Top-25 poll was down nine with 3:40 left. Then went on a 12-0 run to end the game and win by three. Three River Hawk players finished in double-figures Max Brooks with 10 points and six boards, Mikey Watkins with 15 points off the bench (6-7, 3-of-4 from deep), and Ayinde Hikim with 12 points, five coming in the final run. UMass Lowell is now 13-2, 1-0 in league play. They open up the home conference schedule on Thursday night at Costello vs Maine.