River Hawks Fall in OT to Minutemen, 2-1

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On Friday night it was the battle of the Bay State as the UMass Lowell River Hawks (8-20-4, 4-14-0) faced the #14/12 UMass Minutemen (18-10-3, 11-8-2) before a crowd of 5,268 at Tsongas Center. The River Hawks brought a 2-9-3 home record into this game at home. The Minutemen had a 7-5-0 record on the road. The starting goalies for Friday night’s game were, for the Minutemen, Michael Hrabal (13-8-1, 2.57 GAA, 915%) and for the River Hawks, Henry Welsch (5-10-4, 2.38 GAA, 910%).

For the most part, the first ten minutes were uneventful. However, the Minutemen had one clear chance to get the game’s first goal. Aydar Suniev took a pass just outside the River Hawks zone and broke in all alone on Welsch. He would fire a wrist shot on goal that Welsch stopped with his pad. The River Hawks’ best chance came on a 2-on-1 with Owen Cole coming down the left wing side but Hrabal stopped his shot. There was one penalty in the period. it went to the River Hawks, which they took care of. The first period was scoreless with shots on goal favoring the Minutemen 10-6.

The second period started with both teams playing even strength. The Minutemen were starting to win the puck possession game, especially in the offensive zone. The game was still scoreless as the halfway point of the game was being reached but the ice was starting to tilt in the Minutemen’s favor. They received their second PP of the night at the 10:48 mark of the period. The best chance went to UMass Lowell as Alex Peterson, from the left wing, found Matt Crasa cruising through the middle. His shot on goal was stopped by Hrabal.

The River Hawks’ first power play came at 14:47 as Kenny Connors went off for boarding. He took Peterson hard into the boards with his back to the play. The PP did not do much. The Minutemen took a 1-0 lead on the 3rd goal of the season by Aaron Bohlinger. A shot from the point that found the back of the net at 18:24. Scott Morrow and Lucas Vanroboys picked up assists. Seconds later, the River Hawks tied the game on the 3rd of the season by Jack Collins at 18;47. He tipped a point-blank shot from Isac Jonsson. Ben Meeham grabbed the second assist. The second period ended as a 1-1 tie. Shots in the period were 8-7 in favor of the River Hawks.

The third period started at even strength. As the period moved along, each team had power play chances. The Minutemen had two of them to the River Hawks one. None of these chances resulted in a goal. So with 7:25 left, the game was still there for either team to take. In regulation, at least, no one took control of the game. With that, overtime was needed to settle this one. Shots in the third were 7-3 in favor of the River Hawks. For the game, The Minutemen had a 23-22 advantage.

In the OT, the best early chance went to the Minutemen as Suniev broke down the right-wing side and went in alone and was stopped by the chest of Welsch. At 2:56, the Minutemen got the game-winner as Ryan Ufko went in alone from the left side and beat Welsch for his second game-winning goal and his seventh of the season. The goal was assisted by Cole O’Hara and gave the Minutemen a 2-1 OT win.

After the game, UMass Minutemen head coach Greg Carvel liked the way his team “grind and grind and scored the next goal.” UMass Lowell head coach Norm Bazin thought “We experienced a good hockey game.” He also believes his team keeps “learning hard lessons.” The 3-on-3, which he is not a big fan of, is one of the areas his team needs to learn about. On Saturday night, the two teams meet again. This time in Amherst.