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| The
Friars’ Patrick Moynihan celebrates his game-tying second- period goal. No. 7-ranked Providence was upset by the UMass Lowell River Hawks in OT. |
By Bob Murphy
PROVIDENCE—OK, so this may not have been like Joe
Namath leading the Jets over Earl Morall, Johnny Unitas and the Colts in Super Bowl III. Nor
was it like Ken Norton breaking Muhammad Ali’s jaw and defeating “The Greatest.”
Nor was it comparable to the New York Mets coming from the dregs of the
National League to win the World Series against the Baltimore Orioles in 1969. But
it was definitely an upset.
A big upset.
Senior goalie Tyler Wall tied a career-high with 40 saves to lead UMass Lowell to a 3-2 overtime victory over the No. 7 ranked Providence College Friars in a Hockey East match-up before 2,665 fans at Schneider Arena on Saturday night.
The Friars jumped on the board first when right winger Tyce Thompson, a sophomore from Milford, notched his fifth goal of the season on the power play at 8:56. Jack Dugan fed Thompson at the top of the left circle, and Thompson fired a shot inside the right post with Greg Printz setting a screen in front. The River Hawks answered with 5:24 remaining in the opening stanza when freshman forward Matt Brown scored his third career goal on the power play.
UML took a 2-1 lead when freshman forward Zach Kaiser scored his second career goal unassisted 3:47 into the second stanza. But the River Hawks’ lead wouldn't last long as Patrick Moynihan took a feed from Callahan and blasted a one-timer under Wall’s blocker to knot the score at 2-2 less than a minute later.
After a scoreless third period, the game was sent into overtime. Providence had a great chance at the beginning of the extra period on a scramble in front of the River Hawks crease, but a loose puck was just pushed past the post to foil that golden opportunity.
The River Hawks ended matters with 39.7 seconds left in the extra session when freshman forward Carl Berglund scored the game-winning goal—his third marker of the season—with UMass Lowell on the odd-man rush. Brown’s shot rebounded to Bergland, and the Hammaro, Sweden native sent a one-timer past Providence netminder Michael Lackey to give the River Hawks the upset victory and send the partisan Friar crowd home unfulfilled.
“It was an exciting game,” said UMass Lowell Head Coach Norm Bazin. “I thought I thought we came out well. There was a 10-minute stretch in the second period that wasn’t us in the sense that we weren’t at our best. In the third period we were definitely the better team. I thought we took it to them in the third period.”
Wall amassed 10 saves in the first period and 12 in the second frame, to go along with 18 stops in the third and overtime for the River Hawks. Lackey turned aside 29 shots between the pipes for the Friars, with 22 of them coming in the third period and overtime.
With the win UMass Lowell improves to 4-2-2 overall (1-0-1 Hockey East) while Providence falls to 4-2-0 overall and 2-1-0 in Hockey East play.
Next up the Friars will entertain ECAC Hockey rival Colgate on Friday.
Slap Shots
Senior goalie Tyler Wall tied a career-high with 40 saves to lead UMass Lowell to a 3-2 overtime victory over the No. 7 ranked Providence College Friars in a Hockey East match-up before 2,665 fans at Schneider Arena on Saturday night.
The Friars jumped on the board first when right winger Tyce Thompson, a sophomore from Milford, notched his fifth goal of the season on the power play at 8:56. Jack Dugan fed Thompson at the top of the left circle, and Thompson fired a shot inside the right post with Greg Printz setting a screen in front. The River Hawks answered with 5:24 remaining in the opening stanza when freshman forward Matt Brown scored his third career goal on the power play.
UML took a 2-1 lead when freshman forward Zach Kaiser scored his second career goal unassisted 3:47 into the second stanza. But the River Hawks’ lead wouldn't last long as Patrick Moynihan took a feed from Callahan and blasted a one-timer under Wall’s blocker to knot the score at 2-2 less than a minute later.
After a scoreless third period, the game was sent into overtime. Providence had a great chance at the beginning of the extra period on a scramble in front of the River Hawks crease, but a loose puck was just pushed past the post to foil that golden opportunity.
The River Hawks ended matters with 39.7 seconds left in the extra session when freshman forward Carl Berglund scored the game-winning goal—his third marker of the season—with UMass Lowell on the odd-man rush. Brown’s shot rebounded to Bergland, and the Hammaro, Sweden native sent a one-timer past Providence netminder Michael Lackey to give the River Hawks the upset victory and send the partisan Friar crowd home unfulfilled.
“It was an exciting game,” said UMass Lowell Head Coach Norm Bazin. “I thought I thought we came out well. There was a 10-minute stretch in the second period that wasn’t us in the sense that we weren’t at our best. In the third period we were definitely the better team. I thought we took it to them in the third period.”
Wall amassed 10 saves in the first period and 12 in the second frame, to go along with 18 stops in the third and overtime for the River Hawks. Lackey turned aside 29 shots between the pipes for the Friars, with 22 of them coming in the third period and overtime.
With the win UMass Lowell improves to 4-2-2 overall (1-0-1 Hockey East) while Providence falls to 4-2-0 overall and 2-1-0 in Hockey East play.
Next up the Friars will entertain ECAC Hockey rival Colgate on Friday.
Slap Shots
- The Friars held the Riverhawks to just nine shots through two periods, but UML pushed in the third with 19 shots on goal.
- Thompson has posted four goals and four assists during his four-game points streak.
- Moynihan finished the night with a goal and a game-high six shots.
- The loss snapped a six-game winning streak over the River Hawks for the Friars.
- This was the fourth straight overtime game for the River Hawks—the longest such stretch in program history.
—With staff reports
@FriarsHockey / #HockeyEast / @RiverHawkHockey / @riverhawknation
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