The No. 7 UMass-Lowell hockey team moved into first place in the Hockey East Association after defeating Merrimack 3-1 on Sunday.
The River Hawks (21-9-2, 15-8-2 HEA) were led by junior winger Josh Holmstrom, who tallied two first-period goals, one of which was on a power play. Freshman defender Gregory Amlong was the other goal scorer for UMass-Lowell, recording his first goal as a River Hawk in the second period to increase the lead to 3-0.
The loss for the Warriors (14-14-6, 12-10-3 HEA) extended their winless streak to five games. Junior forward Shawn Bates was the lone goal scorer for Merrimack, scoring 22 seconds into the third period.
After leapfrogging New Hampshire for first place in the HEA standings, UMass-Lowell will finish off the season with a two-game series against Providence this weekend. The Warriors, who are five points out of first place, will take on Massachusetts this weekend in a home-and-home series to end the regular season.
Providence beats Boston College
One day after losing 3-2 to No. 6 Boston College, No. 18 Providence College defeated the Eagles 5-1 in front of a sellout crowd on Saturday in Chestnut Hill, MA.
Leading only 1-0 going into the third period, the Friars (14-11-7, 12-7-6 HEA) went on a tear, scoring four straight goals within the first six minutes of the final period on Boston College (19-10-3, 14-9-2 HEA) goalie Parker Milner, who was being honored for Senior Night.
Freshman winger Noel Acciari was the leading scorer for the game, scoring two of Providence’s five goals. Two power-play goals for the Friars put the game to bed early in the third period, and were then followed by two more goals, including a shorthanded tally from Acciari. Freshmen Nick Saracino and Tom Parisi and senior Chris Rooney also recorded goals for the Providence.
Sophomore Quinn Smith scored the only goal for the Eagles, tallying his seventh of the season.
Boston College will finish the season this weekend with two games against Vermont. Providence concludes its regular season schedule this weekend when it takes on UMass-Lowell.
Vermont overpowers Boston University
The Vermont hockey team defeated No. 19 Boston University 5-2 on Saturday, just one day after losing 3-1 to the Terriers.
The Catamounts (11-16-5, 8-12-5 HEA) used a balanced scoring attack to defeat the Boston University (16-15-2, 13-10-2 HEA), as five different players scored a goal. The Terriers were never able to tie the game, as Vermont would answer with a goal as soon as they cut the deficit to one. The Catamounts started off the game with a bang, getting two goals from junior forward Matt White and Senior forward Brett Bruneteau to make it 2-0 just six minutes, 35 seconds into the game.
After a short-handed goal by Boston University, defender Garrett Noonan cut Vermont’s lead to 3-2 with 12:31 left in the third period. Catamount Sophomore Kyle Reynolds recorded his ninth goal of the season to make it 4-2 with 1:38 left in the game. Junior Chris McCarthy followed it up with an empty-netter to make it 5-2.
Vermont, which is clinging to 7th place in the HEA standings, will end its season with two tough games against Boston College. The Terriers wrap up their regular season with a home-and-home series against Northeastern on Friday and Saturday.
Jason Kates can be reached at [email protected].
