FINAL SCORE: No. 14 UMass Lowell 4, No. 18 Vermont 1 | CatamounTV Highlights
LOWELL, Mass. – Mike Santaguida made 27 saves but No. 14 UMass Lowell held off No. 18 Vermont for a 4-1 Hockey East victory on Friday night at Tsongas Center. The Catamounts dropped to 18-12-3 (10-9-2 HEA) with the loss, while the River Hawks improved to 18-10-5 (11-7-3 HEA).
 
UMass Lowell came out strong in the first period and out-shot the Catamounts 15-6.
 
Dylan Zink tipped Evan Campbell's point shot under Santaguida's pads at the 6:34 mark to open the scoring with his 10th goal of the year.
 
Santaguida stopped Adam Chapie on a clean breakaway with seven minutes left in the frame to keep UVM within one. The sophomore also robbed Joe Gambardella with a glove stop on an odd-man rush, as he posted more than half of his 27 saves in the first.
 
UVM failed to score on two straight power plays in the second period, and Gambardella cashed in shorthanded on the latter chance to double the lead. The sophomore took a feed from Chapie in the left circle and beat Santaguida with a well-placed wristed into the upper right corner.
 
Five minutes later, the Catamounts responded through Brendan Bradley as the sophomore fired a shot on Kevin Boyle from the bottom of the right circle. The shot hit Boyle in the chest, deflected high into the air behind the netminder, and trickled over the goal line to cut the deficit to one. Mike Stenerson and Colin Markison assisted on Bradley's third tally.
 
Campbell restored the two-goal cushion at 13:37 of the third, driving the net from the right side in transition. Santaguida attempted a poke check, but the puck tipped past his stick and into the net for a 3-1 UMass Lowell lead.
 
Vermont pulled Santaguida with a minute left in regulation, but C.J. Smith sealed the victory with an empty net goal at 19:45.

UVM will either be the No. 6 or No. 7 seed in the Hockey East Tournament and will host a first round series at Gutterson Fieldhouse next weekend. A Vermont win and Notre Dame loss against Boston College on Saturday would net the Cats the No. 6 seed.
 
The Catamounts and River Hawks close the regular season at Tsongas Center on Saturday at 7 p.m. Pre-game radio coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. on WVMT 620-AM and SportsJuice.com with Alastair Ingram on the call, and pay-per-view video is available via GoRiverHawks.TV.