BOSTON—Leaded by a three-point achievement from Junior André Lee (Karlstad, Sweden) the UMass Lowell men’s ice hockey team (3-1-1, 1-0-0 Hockey East) defeated Boston University (3-4-0, 2-3-0 HEA) with a 3-0 margin in the Agganis Arena Friday evening to open the conference.
Lee’s two goals spearheaded the River Hawks’ offensive dominance over the Terriers in street fighting. The Swedish striker ended his multi-point game with an assist for UMass Lowell’s third goal of the evening, scored by seniors Reid Stefanson (Winnipeg, Manitoba). In addition to his second half-time record, the substitute captain made a template for Lee’s second goal of the evening.
Between the pipes, senior Owen savory (Cambridge, Ontario) returned the River Hawks to victory, saving 29 shots to secure his first shutout of the season and the second in a row for the River Hawks.
“I definitely thought we were a very good ice hockey team. We started a little slowly, things got better in the second period. I thought the third period was our best third,” said Head Coach Norm Bazin after the lock.
Despite an even fight through the top 20, the River Hawks lit the lamp first in the conference slope. After the Terriers grabbed a chance that ricocheted off Savory’s pad, Lee was quick to draw, chasing the puck and hitting his defender. In a one-on-one with BU Drew Commesso, Lee fought his way to the doorstep before slamming the puck over the goalkeeper’s shoulder to give the River Hawks a 1-0 lead.
UMass Lowell also controlled both sides of the puck in the second frame. On the defensive, Savory remained steadfast as he blocked a spate of BU shots to make ten saves in the period.
A quick movement from the faceoff gave way to UMass Lowell’s second of the evening. Stefanson won the faceoff and pushed the puck to his classmate Jon McDonald (Livonia, Michigan) waiting outside. McDonald then sent the pass over the archway to a well-placed and waiting Lee, who surprised Commesso with a blow at close range and gave the River Hawks a 2-0 lead in the second game.
To make up for the River Hawks’ race, the terriers stormed the ice with just over two minutes left. Loss of ball in the neutral zone, junior Carl Berglund (Hammaro, Sweden) brought the puck back to the terrier zone. Berglund then faced a rapidly advancing Stefanson, who pushed the shot through the five-hole to push UMass Lowell into the second break with a 3-0 lead.
Desperate to end their scoring drought, the Terriers pepper Savory with multiple shots during the third, to no avail. The seasoned netminder held up solidly and sent the River Hawks back to Lowell with their first Conference win of the year.
UMass Lowell wants to secure the victory over BU tomorrow evening in front of a home crowd at the Tsongas Center. The puck drop for Saturday’s showdown is scheduled for 6:05 p.m.
