Musa’s Hat Trick Fuels Minutemen’s Seventh Straight Win, 6-4 Over UMass Lowell

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The eyes of the college hockey world were on the Tsongas Center this past Sunday afternoon for the only Division I game on the national schedule. Before a vocal crowd of 5,703, the UMass Amherst Minutemen extended their winning streak to seven games—their longest since the 2021 National Championship season—with a gritty 6–4 victory over the UMass Lowell River Hawks.

The win continues a dominant run for Amherst (16–10–0), while the River Hawks (9–17–0) continue to search for answers at home, where they have now dropped four straight.

First Period: Early Spark and a “Tic-Tac-Toe” Response

Lowell got off to the start they needed at the 3:44 mark when Josh Mori picked up a puck in the defensive zone and went coast-to-coast, beating Amherst’s Michael Hrabal (27 saves) to the glove side for his second goal of the year.

The Minutemen responded at 14:17 with a goal of the year candidate. Jack Musa carried the puck over the blue line and found Jack Galanek on the right wing; Galanek immediately zipped a cross-crease pass to Lukas Klecka, who buried the “tic-tac-toe” play into an open net. Less than three minutes later, Musa gave Amherst their first lead, finishing a give-and-go with Coleson Hanrahan to make it 2–1.

Second Period: Musa Takes Over

Amherst extended its lead to 3–1 early in the second as Justin Kerr batted a loose puck out of the air and past Lowell netminder Austin Elliott (19 saves). The River Hawks clawed back on the power play at 14:59 when Diego Buttazzoni ripped a one-timer from the right circle to cut the deficit to 3–2.

However, Musa would not let the momentum shift. With just two minutes left in the frame, he streaked down the slot and fired a wrist shot past Elliott for his second of the night, sending the Minutemen to the locker room with a 4–2 cushion.

Third Period: 50 Seconds of Chaos

The River Hawks refused to go away quietly. In a stunning 50-second span early in the third, Lowell erased the lead entirely:

3:24: Josh Mori netted his second of the game on a high-slot wrister.
4:14: TJ Schweighardt drove a shot from the right circle past Hrabal to knot the score at 4–4.

With the game tied and momentum squarely with the home team, the Minutemen showed the poise of a veteran squad. At 17:06, sophomore Cam Dunn finally broke the deadlock, finding a screen and tucking a wrist shot through traffic for the 5–4 lead. Musa capped his spectacular four-point afternoon by beating a Lowell defender to a loose puck for an empty-net goal at 18:06, sealing his second career hat trick.

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Final
UMass Amherst	2	2	2	6
UMass Lowell	1	1	2	4

Coaches’ Corner

Despite the entertaining pace, River Hawks head coach Norm Bazin was left searching for consistency. “I thought we gave momentum back to them on a number of occasions tonight and they capitalized,” Bazin said. “We didn’t get it done at home, so we have to be better next week.”

The two teams won’t have to wait long for a rematch. They meet again this Friday night, February 6, at the Tsongas Center for game two of this three-game series.