Men’s Hockey: Terriers drop series-opener to Lowell at home
By Patrick Donnelly
Junior forward Andre Lee had two goals and an assist as the UMass Lowell River Hawks (3-1-1, 1-0-0 HE) beat the No. 19 Boston University Terriers (3-4-0, 2-3-0 HE) 3-0 at Agganis Arena on Friday.
“I liked our energy tonight,” UML head coach Norm Bazin said. “I certainly thought we had flashes of being a very good hockey team. We started off a little slow, got better in the second period, and I thought the third period was our best period.”
Senior forward Reid Stefanson had a goal and an assist, while senior defenseman Jon McDonald and junior forward Carl Berglund each had an assist. Senior goaltender Owen Savory had 29 saves for the River Hawks.
“I thought [Savory] was very good,” Bazin said. “He was timely and sometimes that’s more important stopping a high number of shots. He certainly saved us when he needed to.”
Sophomore goaltender Drew Commesso made 19 saves for BU.
“Overall, I thought it was a pretty even hockey game,” BU head coach Albie O’Connell said. “We had plenty of opportunities to score. There were some positives to what we did, but it just wasn’t good enough.”
Lee opened the scoring at 7:49 of the first period. The Terriers outnumbered the River Hawks on an unsuccessful odd-man break into the offensive zone, and the rebound jumped to the neutral zone, affording Lee a breakaway that he finished top shelf on Commesso.
“[Lee] is certainly developing,” Bazin said. “He’s turning into a complete player. I thought [his line] played well off each other.”
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Lee doubled UML’s lead at 10:41 of the second for his third goal of the year. Off a set face off play, McDonald drove down the half wall before zipping a pass across the crease to Lee, who one-timed it home.
“Lee had two high-end goals,” O’Connell said. “You have to tip your cap. On that breakaway he made a great move and finish, then off to the side of the net he deposited it.”
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Stefanson gave the River Hawks added insurance at 17:51. Berglund found Stefanson streaking in off the rush, and Commesso got a piece of the shot, but not enough as it trickled in through the five hole.
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UMass Lowell held a 9-6 shot advantage in the third. Both teams went 0-for-3 on the power play.
“On our power play we were individualistic instead of doing what we wanted to do and what we’ve been practicing,” O’Connell said. “We went off the rails. So, we’ve just got to stick to team hockey and stick together.”
Before the game, the Terriers honored Travis Roy on the one-year anniversary of his passing, wearing Roy’s No. 24 jersey during warmups in addition to a pregame ceremony with Roy’s parents.
“It was a great event for Travis,” O’Connell said. “I wish we could have played better on a night like tonight.”
BU and UML will rematch tomorrow evening at Tsongas Center. Puck drop is set for 6:05 p.m.
“We’re excited to play them tomorrow,” O’Connell said. “If we had to sit on this all week it would be pretty frustrating… We need to be better.”
Featured Image by Patrick Donnelly