No. 19 of 20 River Hawks Surge Back to Take Down UNH, 3-2, OT

DURHAM, NHThree-point night from the senior Jake Stella (Karlstad, Sweden) helped No. 19/20 UMass Lowell men’s hockey team (14-9-1, 8-5-1 Hockey East) bounce back for a 3-2 overtime win against New Hampshire (7-18-). 1, 2-13-1 HEA) on Saturday night at the Whittemore Center.

“I thought we had spurts in this game where we did very well. Anytime you get 40 shots on the road, it’s an outstanding game. It all went right to the end,” said the head coach. Norm Bazin.

Stella led the River Hawks to victory with two assists and the game-winning overtime layup with just 51 minutes remaining in the bonus frame. His three points marked a season-best haul and brought his weekend tally to four after picking up an assist in Friday’s 6-2 rout at home. Sophomore defenseman Isaac Jonsson (Ängelholm, Sweden) continued his stellar weekend with another two-point night, which included his second goal of the weekend. Jonsson was also given an assist in Stella’s follow-up strike. Key role on both ends of the ice, graduate student Jon McDonald (Livonia, Mich.) scored a critical tie in the final moments of regulation to add a block to his stat line on the night. Seniors Zach Kaiser (Orangeville, Ontario) and Marek Korencik (Zilina, Slovakia) and a second-year student Matt Crass (South Setauket, NY) completed the scoring for UMass Lowell with an assist.

Earns first call-up in 2023, junior Henry Welsh (Lakeville, Minn.) stopped 32 shots on goal, including 15 in the first period alone, to improve to 7-5-0.

“I didn’t like the game. I thought we played pretty well for most of it. But they’re a very good team. They’re well-coached. We’re just relieved to be able to get points from the game,” noted Bazin.

A slower first half kept both sides in the hunt throughout the 20 minutes as they traded positions. With the Wildcats dominating shots on goal with 14 to UMass Lowell’s seven, defense proved to be the name of the game for the River Hawks. However, Welsch rose to the challenge and knocked down all 14 shots that came her way to keep a clean sheet at the break.

The River Hawks turned up the intensity as they skated into the middle frame. On the rebound, UMass Lowell controlled possession and logged plenty of offensive zone time as they worked to foul David Fessenden. The pressure finally paid off for the River Hawks at 8:19 of the second period. Jonsson ripped a long shot as he tried to find the thread, but hit just left of the near post. Stella worked quickly to pick up a deflection off the boards and regain possession for a second chance. When there was enough time, Stella contacted Jonsson, who positioned himself under the blue line again. This time, a defender’s shot broke the silence and lit the lamp to get the River Hawks on the board.

A big penalty against the River Hawks turned the tide in favor of the home side. UNH’s Cy LeClerc tied the score at 1-1 at 16:02, setting up back-to-back power play goals to make it 2-1 in favor of the Wildcats at the end of 40 minutes.

After the window of opportunity closed on the return, the River Hawks burst into action. Stretch pass from junior Brehdan Ingum (Burnsville, Minn.) got the game going that would eventually send the teams into overtime. With Rehu settling in the neutral zone, Crasa tapped it to Stella as McDonald bombed the center of the ice. The captain wasted zero time, finishing and scoring to tie the game just 3:29 into regulation to force overtime.

Both teams tore up and down the ice in search of the wire, no different in the previous sixty minutes. A close call by the Wildcats nearly slowed the pace early and sent the River Hawks back to Lowell with a loss, but Welsch’s timely reaction kept UMass Lowell alive long enough to return the favor. With just 51 seconds left on the clock, Stella took a drop pass from Kaiser and swung it behind the net. Fessenden closed the gap to the near post as Stella worked, but the senior held onto the puck just long enough for the lane to open up and hit the winner.

The River Hawks will face Massachusetts next Friday, January 27th for the final time of the 2022-23 campaign. Puck drop is set for 19:00 at the Tsongas Center.