FINAL SCORE: UMass Lowell 2, Vermont 1
BURLINGTON, Vt. – Jacques Bouquot gave Vermont (3-11-2, 2-6-2 HEA) an early lead, but UMass Lowell (10-3-3, 8-2-1 HEA) rallied back to take a 2-1 victory over the Catamounts on Saturday night at Gutterson Fieldhouse.  The Hockey East matchup was the Dee PT Diaper Drive Night.
 
RELATED LINKS
Postgame Press Conference: Coach Woodcroft
Box Score
 
COACH'S QUOTE
"I don't know how we could play any better," head coach Todd Woodcroft said. "We as a coaching staff are so proud of this team. Sometimes it gets hard for players to hear about how well they played when they don't get rewarded for the win. But, with the building blocks that come from a series like we had against Lowell this weekend, we will be paying dividends for the future."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• UVM struck first when Bouquot notched his third goal of the season 5:36 into the game. Philip Lagunov set up the game's first goal when he shrugged off a UMass Lowell defender, circled the net, and centered a pass to Bouquot for the one-timer that beat Owen Savory (35 saves) glove side. Porter Schachle was credited with the secondary assist.
• The River Hawks countered with 2:42 left in the opening frame on a wrist shot from Matt Crasa. UML center Reid Stefanson won a faceoff back to Crasa where he fired a wrister from the top of the left circle past Tyler Harmon (23 saves).
• In a back-and-forth period, in which Vermont had an 11-9 shot advantage, Crasa netted his second goal of the night for the game-winner. The rookie crashed the net and buried a rebound that was created by an Owen Cole shot. Marek Korencik had the secondary assist on the go-ahead goal that came with 1:58 remaining in the middle frame.
• The Catamounts outshot the River Hawks 19-13 in the third period, searching for the equalizer. Harmon was pulled with 0:55 left in regulation as Vermont brought on the extra attacker. UVM tallied three shot attempts, including an attempt by Cory Babichuk at the last second that rang the outside of the goal post.  

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Vermont's 35 shots on goal are the fourth-highest total of the season and second-highest in league play.
• Joel Maatta led UVM in faceoffs, going 12-7 (63.2%) at the dot. The Catamounts were 29-26 (53.7%) overall on the night.
• Will Zapernick had a team-high six shots on goal.

UP NEXT
The Catamounts will take two weeks away from game action, before returning to play RPI on Thursday, December 30 in Troy, New York. Puck drop for the final game of 2021 is slated for 4 p.m. at Houston Field House. Fans can tune into the action on ESPN+.
 
Handy Toyota is the presenting sponsor of the 2021-22 men's hockey season