FINAL SCORE: No. 18 Vermont 2, No. 14 UMass Lowell 2 | CatamounTV Highlights
LOWELL, Mass. – Mike Paliotta fired a one-timer past Kevin Boyle with 2:45 remaining in regulation to earn a point for the 18th-ranked Catamounts as they skated to a 2-2 tie with No. 14 UMass Lowell in the regular season finale on Saturday night at Tsongas Center.
 
UVM closed with a record of 18-12-4 (10-9-3) for seventh place in the league standings and will host No. 10 seed Maine next weekend in the best-of-three Hockey East Opening Round at Gutterson Fieldhouse.

UMass Lowell finished at 18-10-6 (11-7-4 HEA) to earn the No. 4 seed and a bye to the quarterfinal round.
 
The Catamounts held the River Hawks to just 15 shots on goal in 65 minutes for a season-best effort and limited Lowell to a pair of shots in the third period.
 
"We were night and day in our compete level from where we were Friday," said head coach Kevin Sneddon. "We actually played a terrific game. To hold that team to no more than five shots in any period is outstanding. Our seniors had a rough night on Friday and I challenged them to step up tonight. They certainly did that."
 
Vermont struck in the opening minute as Alexx Privitera deflected a rebound over Boyle's shoulder for a 1-0 UVM lead. Anthony Petruzzelli and Privtera's younger brother Jarrid Privitera collected the assists on the game's first tally at the 54-second mark.
 
Eight minutes later, UMass Lowell equalized when Adam Chapie found space in the slot after an offensive zone faceoff. Chapie wristed a low shot under Mike Santaguida's pads as he was falling to the ice and knotted the score at one apiece.
 
After a Lowell timeout in the second period, the River Hawks took their first lead on a transition rush. Michael Lauria centered a pass into the slot for Michael Fallon, who whipped a wrist shot inside the left post to beat Santaguida at the 9:00 mark.
 
The squads combined for just four shots for the majority of the final frame, but Brendan Bradley made a play from below the goal line to set up the game-tying goal with under three minutes left. Bradley slid a pass into the left wing circle near the dot for Paliotta, and the senior tucked a one-timer into the upper right corner for his team-best 31^st point of the year. Alexx Privitera grabbed the secondary assist for a multi-point game.
 
Kyle Reynolds was hooked from behind on a partial breakaway with 1:19 on the clock and UVM carried a power play into overtime. UMass Lowell kept Vermont at bay and Santaguida made a right pad save on a low attempt near the left post to preserve the point.
 
"We certainly had our chances to win even after we tied the game and in overtime," said Sneddon. "Goals were hard to come by for both teams and it's a great prelude going into the playoffs."

UVM won the shot battle 26-15 and the teams combined to go 0-for-4 with the man advantage. Santaguida stopped 13 shots in his sixth consecutive start.
 
Vermont and Maine begin the Hockey East Opening Round with Game 1 at Gutterson Fieldhouse on Friday (Mar. 6) at 7:05 p.m. Game 2 and Game 3 (if necessary) will also face off at 7:05 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday night.

All the action will be streamed on a pay-per-view basis through HockeyEastOnline.TV. Pre-game radio coverage for every game begins at 6:30 p.m. on WVMT 620-AM and SportsJuice.com with Alastair Ingram on the call.