No. 15 Boston College Gets 3-1 Win Over UMass Lowell

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LOWELL, MA — The No. 15 Boston College Eagles extended their hot streak on Friday night, defeating the UMass Lowell River Hawks 3-1 in front of a sold-out crowd of 6,143 at the Tsongas Center. The victory marked the Eagles’ seventh win in their last eight games, solidifying their second-place position in the Hockey East standings.

The River Hawks (7-8-0) entered the night facing an uphill battle against the Eagles (9-3-1), who now hold a commanding 75-45-12 advantage in the all-time series. For UML, the critical pre-game stat was clear: they were 6-0-0 when scoring three or more goals and 0-6-0 when scoring two or fewer.

Power Play Difference

The difference in the game came down to special teams efficiency. Boston College took a 1-0 lead late in the first period when Dean Letourneau scored his seventh goal of the year on the power play at the 17:00 mark, assisted by a neat pass from Will Vote.

The Eagles extended their lead in the second period as the territorial advantage tilted heavily in their favor. Boston College outshot UML 15-3 in the frame. James Hagens, the No. 7 overall pick in the last NHL draft, scored his 10th goal of the season at 10:58, pushing the score to 2-0.

Letourneau struck again at 4:24 of the third period with his eighth goal, scoring the Eagles’ second power-play goal of the night on a tip-in from a Luka Radivojevic point shot to make it 3-0. Center Jake Sondreal assisted on all three Eagles goals, with BC coach Greg Brown praising him as a “200-foot player.”

UML Finds the Board

The River Hawks finally broke through at 8:13 of the third period. Mirko Buttazzoni scored his fourth goal of the season from just above the goal line, assisted by his brother Diego Buttazzoni and Libor Nemec. Despite a late pull of goaltender Austin Elliott (25 saves on 28 shots) for the extra attacker, the comeback fell short, ending in a 3-1 final.

The River Hawks were held to a season-low 16 shots on goal, compared to Boston College’s 28. Eagles goalie Louka Cloutier turned away 15 of those 16 shots for the win.

After the game, BC coach Brown called it a “hard-fought battle” and attributed the win to the “good balance” his team is showing. UML coach Norm Bazin admitted his team “came up short” but liked the “greater sense of urgency” his team displayed in the third period. Both teams will now travel to Chestnut Hill for the rematch on Saturday night at Conte Forum.