FINAL SCORE: No. 4 UMass Lowell 5, Vermont 3BURLINGTON, Vt. – Michael Fallon scored just 63 seconds after a Catamount goal in the third period and it stood for the game-winner as fourth-ranked UMass Lowell skated past Vermont 5-3 in Hockey East action on Friday night at Gutterson Fieldhouse. The Catamounts dropped to 2-5-1 (1-1-1 HEA), while the River Hawks improved to 5-1-2 (1-0-2 HEA).
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Box Score Mike Lee registered his first collegiate goal in the loss, while
Alexx Privitera and
Mario Puskarich also lit the lamp for Vermont.
Jake Kearley registered his first career point with a third period assist.
"It's frustrating for the kids in the locker room. Obviously they're down. I think they put forth probably their best effort of the year," said head coach
Kevin Sneddon. "We've got to pull positives from this game. I thought we played with much better passion, much better energy, and made plays. We had an awful lot of opportunities to put up more than three goals."
Dylan Zink opened the scoring for UMass Lowell less than five minute in, snapping a shot high short side from the right faceoff dot on the power play. 12 seconds into the second period, the River Hawks doubled the lead as Michael Colantone's shot deflected off a UVM body and trickled through
Mike Santaguida's pads.
Lee got the Catamounts on the board at the 4:07 mark of the second period. The rookie took a pass from
Brady Shaw at the left point, and fired a slap shot through traffic into the right side of the net past Kevin Boyle's glove.
Jarrid Privitera collected the second assist on the play.
The River Hawks restored their two-goal cushion with under five to play in the middle frame. Ryan McGrath finished a centering feed from Fallon with a lofted backhander at the edge of the crease, and the senior was hit after the whistle for a five-minute major penalty.
UVM killed off the extended power play and
Travis Blanleil nearly scored shorthanded, but the forward's breakaway attempt was robbed by Boyle's blocker and right pad.
Privitera stepped into a one-time drive on the power play halfway through the third to cut UMass Lowell's lead to 3-2.
Rob Hamilton set up Privitera above the left faceoff circle, and the senior whistled a shot high blocker side on Boyle through traffic.
1:03 after the tally, McGrath skated around the Catamount net and tried a wraparound bid at the right post. The puck came out to Fallon in the right slot and he quickly finished into the left corner of the net to put UMass Lowell up 4-2.
A.J. White added an unassisted goal off a faceoff at 14:24 of the third to seal the victory. Puskarich grabbed a late goal for UVM, roofing a backhand off a centering pass from Kearley with 1:53 left on the clock.
Santaguida closed the night with 30 saves, while Boyle stopped 27 shots for his fifth win. Both teams went 1-for-3 on the power play.
Vermont and UMass Lowell close the weekend series on Saturday (Nov. 7) at 7:05 p.m. The game will be streamed for free in high definition at CatamounTV.com. Pre-game radio coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. on WVMT 620-AM and SportsJuice.com with
Alastair Ingram and
Joe Gervais on the call.
Saturday is Poster Day presented by the UPS Store Downtown and the team will sign autographs in the main lobby after the game. Reserved tickets are still available and can be purchased online at
UVMathletics.com/Tickets. The Gutterson Ticket Office opens at 6 p.m. prior to the game.
