Blanked at the Tsongas: Maine Shuts Out UMass Lowell

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LOWELL, MA — The offensive drought continued for the UMass Lowell River Hawks on Friday night as they dropped the series opener to the #17 Maine Black Bears, 2–0. Before a crowd of 5,402 at the Tsongas Center, the River Hawks struggled to find the back of the net, marking their third consecutive home loss.

The story for Lowell has become a concerning trend: they have now gone scoreless over their last six periods at home and have managed just one goal in their last nine periods played at the Tsongas Center.

Goaltending Duel

Both netminders were sharp, but Maine’s Albin Boija proved unbeatable.

Albin Boija (Maine): 25-save shutout, his 10th career shutout. (Season: 9–6–2, 2.58 GAA, .899 SV%)
Austin Elliott (UML): 27 saves on 29 shots. (Season: 6–9–0, 2.74 GAA, .896 SV%)

Game Summary: Bears Strike Early

Maine didn’t wait long to quiet the Lowell crowd. Just 7:39 into the first period, Brock James scored his first career goal to put the Black Bears up 1–0. The play developed after a turnover at the Maine blueline; Nick Peluso broke in on Elliott and, after being stopped, fed the trailing James, who backhanded it home.

The River Hawks had a golden opportunity to tie it late in the first on the power play, including a shot by Jay Ahearn that rang off the post, but went into the intermission trailing.

Second Period Surge

The Black Bears extended their lead at 9:14 of the second period. Charlie Russell notched his sixth goal of the season, a clinical backhander into the top shelf from the slot. Assists went to Frank Djurasevic and Sully Scholle.

Late in the period, Maine was handed a massive opportunity to blow the game open when UML’s Libor Nemec was assessed a 5-minute major and a game misconduct for hitting from behind. However, the River Hawks’ penalty kill—which has been a bright spot at 88.5% since Christmas—successfully killed off the major.

Power Play Woes

UMass Lowell had every opportunity to climb back into the game in the third period, earning four separate power plays, including a 5-on-3 for nearly a minute. Despite hitting the post twice on the man advantage, the River Hawks finished the night 0-for-6 on the power play.

Head coach Norm Bazin pulled Austin Elliott for an extra attacker during a late power play with under four minutes remaining, but Boija and the Maine defense held firm for the 2–0 victory.

Post-Game Quotes

Ben Barr (Maine HC): “We had some good looks that led to those goals, but I didn’t like our power play, especially on the five-minute major. It looked like guys didn’t want the puck on their stick. We’re a day-to-day team right now.”

Norm Bazin (UML HC): “I want to see more of our team imposing their will. I’m not worried about line combinations; I want to see better net-front presence.”

Up Next

The River Hawks (9–15–0, 5–9–0 HE) have a very short turnaround to find their scoring touch. Following Saturday’s series finale against Maine, they board a plane for Maryland to face UMBC on Saturday afternoon.