Tale of Three Games: Maine Sweeps UMass Lowell in Wild OT Thriller

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LOWELL, MA — For the UMass Lowell River Hawks, Saturday night at the Tsongas Center was a whirlwind of frustration, exhilaration, and eventual heartbreak. After falling behind by three goals and snapping a historic scoreless drought, the River Hawks surged to a two-goal lead only to see the #17 Maine Black Bears roar back for a 6–5 overtime victory.

The win secures a weekend sweep for Maine (14-9-2, 8-7-0 Hockey East) and extends UMass Lowell’s (9-16-0, 5-10-0) home losing streak to six games.

The Drought Ends

Entering the game, the River Hawks were mired in a staggering offensive slump. They had been shutout in four of their last five home games and had not scored a goal at the Tsongas Center in 150 minutes and 48 seconds.

The first period offered little hope. Maine jumped out to a 2–0 lead on goals from Sully Scholle (5:11) and Thomas Pichette (10:00), outshooting the River Hawks 13–2 in the opening frame. When Miguel Marques scored on a breakaway at 7:09 of the second to make it 3–0, another shutout seemed imminent.

The Second Period Blitz

At 10:48 of the second period, the Tsongas Center finally erupted. Chris Delaney beat Maine goaltender Albin Boija under the crossbar to snap the drought. That goal ignited a fuse:

12:45: Sean Kilcullen blasted a shot home to make it 3–2.
13:52: Dominic Payne scored his first of the season to tie the game.

The River Hawks scored three goals in a span of just 3:04, completely erasing the Maine lead before the second intermission.

A Third Period Rollercoaster

UMass Lowell carried the momentum into the third, as Lee Parks gave them their first lead of the weekend just 1:25 into the period. When Dillan Bentley scored his team-leading 11th goal at 9:32 to make it 5–3, the comeback appeared complete.

However, Maine responded with veteran composure. Will Gerrior scored just 20 seconds later to cut the lead to one, and Loic Usereau found the equalizer through traffic at 12:44 to send the game to the extra session.

Overtime Heartbreak

At 3:14 of the overtime period, Max Scott ended the drama. Following a faceoff win by Charlie Russell, Scott fired a one-timer past UML goaltender Samuel Richard (32 saves) to complete the sweep. It was Scott’s fourth goal of the year and his first in 13 games.

Team	1	2	3	OT	F
#17 Maine	2	1	2	1	6
UMass Lowell	0	3	2	0	5

Coach’s Corner

“It was a strange game. We were flat in the first, came alive in the second, but a lack of maturity failed us in the end. Giving up a two-goal lead in the third is troubling.” — Norm Bazin, UML Head Coach.

“I thought we were better than Friday night. We lost some faceoffs that led to their goals in the second, but our resilience to battle back from 5–3 down was huge.” — Ben Barr, Maine Head Coach.

Looking Ahead

The loss leaves UMass Lowell with a dismal 2–8 home record, guaranteeing a third straight season with a sub-.500 record at the Tsongas Center. The River Hawks will look to rebound in a midweek clash against UMass Amherst, while the Black Bears return to Orono to host Providence.