River Hawks Drop 4-2 Decision to Holy Cross

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WORCESTER, Mass. – The UMass Lowell ice hockey team (6-10-2, 3-6-1 Hockey East) fell short, 4-2, against Holy Cross (9-7-3, 4-7-2 AHA) on Saturday night at Hart Center Rink in Worcester, Mass.

Freshman Jak Vaarwerk (Clarence, N.Y.) potted his first career goal in the first period, with assists from graduate student Jake Stella (Karlstad, Sweden) and freshman Sean Kilcullen (Kensington, Md.), giving them both two helpers each on the weekend. Sophomore Nick Rhéaume (Trois-Rivieres, Quebec) collected his sixth goal of the year for the River Hawks as well, tying him for the team lead. Freshman Jonathan Horn’s (Southbury, Conn.) first collegiate assist came on Rhéaume’s goal, with junior Isac Jonsson (Ängelholm, Sweden) joining in for his fifth of the season.

Senior Henry Welsch (Lakeville, Minn.) got the starting nod in net, making 13 saves. Junior Luke Pavicich (Clarence Center, N.Y.) entered the game in the second period, adding six saves with zero goals allowed.

“The break comes at a good time for us this year,” said Head Coach Norm Bazin. “We need to allow some guys to heal and others to start their conditioning back.
Unlike last night, the early deficit tonight was too much to overcome. The guys made a push in the third and got one but couldn’t sneak in the next one despite some goalmouth scrambles opportunities. We have to turn the page on this one and concentrate on finals week.”

The River Hawks got things going quickly off the opening faceoff, finding the back of the net just 49 seconds in with Vaarwerk’s first. Kilcullen gathered a loose puck near the blue line and pushed a pass to Stella in the middle of the zone, who found Vaarwerk on the left side before he beat Holy Cross goaltender Thomas Gale. UMass Lowell threatened with 17 shot attempts in the first period and won 14 of 17 faceoffs, but Holy Cross responded with two consecutive goals at 11:32 and 12:46, making it 2-1 heading into the first intermission.

The second period saw a similar start for the River Hawks, tallying six shots on goal within the first six minutes and keeping the Crusaders’ defense on their toes. However, Holy Cross picked up a Jack Ricketts goal at 7:26. UMass Lowell continued to battle back, picking up a great scoring chance on a Mitchell Becker shot from the blue line that ricocheted off the post at 11:48, in addition to two power play opportunities. The squad was unable to find the back of the net during the man advantages before a Liam McLinskey goal for Holy Cross made it 4-1.

The River Hawks began to battle back in the third, as Rhéaume made an impressive move to beat Gale on a backhand, taking a cross-ice pass from Horn just over four minutes in. Jonsson made the initial pass to Horn to facilitate the play and pick up the secondary assist.

They continued to stack up scoring chances and shots on goal for the remainder of the period while limiting the Crusaders’ opportunities on the other end, as the River Hawks had eight shots on goal compared to Holy Cross’ one at the 13:00 mark. Rhéaume had a near goal at 13:48, fighting his way by three defenders and getting a shot off that just caught a piece of the goalie and narrowly missed the net, followed by a Jake Stella chance at 16:24 in front of the net that was just saved. The River Hawks then drew a penalty for a power play at 16:50, but to no avail, and the game concluded with a 4-2 score.

The River Hawks will now have three weeks to prepare for a home matchup with AIC on Saturday, December 30 at 4:05 p.m. at the Tsongas Center.