River Hawks Fight to 2-2 Tie Against Holy Cross; Secure Shootout Victory

Read Time:4 Minute, 21 Second

LOWELL, Mass. – After a weekend split on the road at UConn and Vermont, the UMass Lowell River Hawks (6-9-2) returned to Tsongas Center to meet the Holy Cross Crusaders (8-7-3). It has been 13 years since the two teams have played. The River Hawks have a 21-4-0 overall record vs the Crusaders. This is the last home game for UMass Lowell before their holiday break.

Jason Grande (6-3-1, 2.09 GAA) started in goal for Holy Cross. His goals against ranks him 13th in the nation, while his save percentage of .925 is 12 in the national rankings. For the River Hawks, Luke Pavicich got the start. He has a record of 2-4-0 and, a .901 save percentage. In the opening five minutes, both teams had great chances in the other team zone. First off, a bad giveaway deep in the River Hawks zone Crusader center Matt Guerra went forehand-backhand on Pavicich but was denied by the right pad. Holy Cross returned the favor giving the puck away in their zone. The puck landed on the stick of Owen Cole who ripped one that was stopped by Grande.

The Crusaders grabbed the game’s first goal off a deflection. Matt Guerra scored his seventh of the year at 6:19 of the first. Assists went to Charlie Spence and Brody Gagno. The River Hawks answered at 14:48 when Scout Truman scored on a partial breakaway on the left wing side. Mark Cooper who made the pass to Truman and Pavicich picked up assists. The game was tied at 1-1. With under a minute to go, the Crusaders took the lead back on a goal by Liam McLinskey his fifth of the year. The goal was unassisted and signaled the end of the night for Pavicich who stopped three of the five shots he faced. Senior, Henry Welsch, finished the period in net for the River Hawks. Holy Cross took the lead to the locker room at 2-1. Shots in the period favored UMass Lowell 9-5.

The River Hawks are 1-3 when trailing after one period. With Welsch now in the net, the River Hawks looked to even the score. Owen Cole had a good chance early in the second that was stopped by Grande. The Cross had two great point-blank shots on Welsch. First, Guerra’s shot from the slot was stopped by Welsch’s glove. Then, Jack Ricketts was stopped by the pads of Welsch. UMass Lowell went on the power play at 9:41 of the period when Jake Higgins went off for hooking. The Crusaders penalty killing unit had not given up a power-play goal in their last 31 kills. It now stands at 32 after taking care of the River Hawks PP. The Cross went on the power play at the end of the period. Nothing came of it and the power play carried over to the third period. Shots were 14-6 UMass Lowell. The two-period total was 23-11

UMass Lowell has not come back and won a game when trailing after two periods (0-6-0) and on the first night of back-to-backs, they were 1-6-0. The River Hawks tried to use the hitting game to turn things around. Adam Cardona had a big hit along the right-wing boards on HC defenseman Jake Robilotti. Holy Cross was 1-5 in one-goal games. On Friday night, that record did not get any better. That’s because of Filip Fornaa Svensson’s second goal of the year at 9;43 tied the game at 2-2. Assists on the tying goal went to Jake Stella and Sean Kilcullen his first assist and point of the season. The play started in the neutral zone with a dump-in. Svensson picked up the puck along the left wing boards and came across the net from left to right. The fan on the first shot got the puck back and roofed one past Grande. While it can be said that the ice was tilted toward the Crusaders’ end, the River Hawks could not break the tie. Free hockey was next. Shots in the third was 9-7 Holy Cross for the game 30-21.

Holy Cross had not won a game that went into overtime (0-2-2) and UMass Lowell was 1-2-1. Both teams had puck possession in the other team’s zone. Nothing came of it and a shootout was required to end the night. The River Hawks got the first shot. Alex Peterson, who a year ago was playing for Holy Cross, scored on the glove side. Head coach Norm Bazin called Peterson snake-bitten to this point. After Welsch stopped the Holy Cross attempt. Svensson put the game away with the second goal in the shootout. The River Hawks won the game with a 2-0 shootout win.

A happy head coach Norm Bazin was “proud of his guys clawing their way back into the game to get a point.” He also believes the holiday break on the way is a “welcome break.” The two teams will meet in Worcester on Saturday night.