The No. 11 UMass Lowell hockey team defeated No. 6 Notre Dame, 3-1 on Saturday.
UMass Lowell got by the top-ranked penalty killing unit in the country; scoring three power play goals to win its second game in a row.
Connor Hellebuyck had a stellar game, saving 34 of the 35 shots he faced for the River Hawks. Notre Dame entered the game having surrendered just four power-play goals and having a 93 percent kill rate entering the game. But the red hot UMass Lowell power play continued its dominance by scoring three times.
Defenseman Zack Kamrass opened up the scoring on a laser through traffic to give UMass Lowell the lead. Ninety-three seconds later, freshman forward Michael Kapla added his first collegiate goal to give the River Hawks a 2-0 lead going into the break.
Notre Dame came out and cut the deficit in half behind Bryan Rust’s goal. He snapped Hellebuyck’s shutout streak at 179:21. Joseph Pendenza closed the door on a Notre Dame comeback, scoring a power play/empty net goal to close out the two-game sweep for UMass Lowell.
Late goal earns BU tie
A third-period goal from Boston University freshman Robbie Baillargeon erased North Dakota’s lone lead of the contest and eventually sent both teams to a 3-3 draw.
BU’s sophomore goaltender Matt O’Connor had a career-high 55 saves in the game, 24 of which came in the third period. The Terriers also received goals from senior Garrett Noonnan and freshman Nick Roberto in the out-of-conference affair.
BU opened the scoring behind Noonnan’s power-play goal at the 6:57 mark in the first, but UND scored the equalizer with just under two minutes left when Bryn Chyzyk’s put one past O’Connor.
BU took a 2-1 lead in the second when Roberto notched his fourth goal of the season on a one-timer from the right circle. Fourteen seconds later, UND retaliated with a goal of their own. Stephane Pattyn converted from the low slot and put it passed O’Connor to tie the game. UND took their only lead into the third until Baillargeon tied it for BU.
In overtime, BU put pressure on late but did not manage to pull out the win.
UNH squeaks by PC
The New Hampshire hockey team won a hard fought game in overtime over No. 3 Providence by a score of 4-2 on Friday.
Down two goals going into the third period, the Friars battled back to tie the game and force overtime. But just 15 seconds into the extra period, Wildcats junior forward Matt Willows handed the Friars their first home loss of the season.
UNH held a two-goal lead going into the third off goals from Nick Sorkin and Grayson Downing. But that lead was cut in half when Friars redshirt sophomore Noel Acciari fired home a goal 6:28 into the third period. Sophomore Mark Jankowski tied it up with his seventh goal of the season at 14:12 to force the game into overtime.
The Wildcats scored both of their goals in the first 20 minutes of the contest. A tip-in by Sorkin off a Willows blast gave UNH the early lead. With only 21 seconds left to play in the opening period, Downing doubled the lead for the Wildcats.
UNH goaltender Casey DeSmith had 29 saves in the winning effort. Providence sophomore Jon Gillies and freshman Nick Ellis combined for 26 saves in the loss for the Friars.
Tyler Fielder can be reached at [email protected].
