UML stuns top-ranked BC
River Hawks overcome 3-goal deficit to move into Hockey East final
A funny thing happened on the way to the coronation.
UMass Lowell staged the upset of the season with a stunning 6-5 double-overtime victory over top-ranked and No. 1 seed Boston College in the Hockey East semifinals on Wednesday evening at Kelley Rink.
Junior defenseman Seth Barton set up sophomore right wing Matt Brown for the game-winner at 12:00 of the second extra frame. The tally was Brown’s fifth of the season and most important of his college career.
“Our team did a great job of working the puck around the zone,” said Brown. “Seth Barton put it in front and I was able to bat it in.”
The No. 7 seed River Hawks denied the Eagles a record 17th trip to the Hockey East championship game. UMass Lowell improved to 10-8-1 and will play UMass Amherst, which beat Providence, in the championship on Saturday night at 7 p.m. BC will still receive a favorable draw and a No. 1 regional seed in the East when the NCAA sets its hockey bracket on Sunday night.
“It is not a season-ending loss for us,” said BC coach Jerry York. “We have a chance now to go to the national tournament so that is going to be our catalyst now and we are certainly not going to dwell on this game for long.”
Sophomore center Alex Newhook led BC with two goals and three assists while his linemate, right wing Matt Boldy, had four assists for 20 on the season. Senior defenseman Anthony Baxter was the hot hand for Lowell with two goals. BC goalie Spencer Knight, the Hockey East goalie of the year, made 43 saves but allowed the most goals in a game this season. Lowell freshman goalie Henry Welsch made 34 saves for his sixth win of the season.
“We are obviously very pleased to be moving on,” said UML coach Norm Bazin. “It is exciting to be able to play for a championship this year and these guys were resilient.”
UMass Lowell rallied from a 4-1 third-period deficit to force the extra frame while the Eagles provided aid and comfort with six straight minor penalties. The River Hawks cut the lead to 4-2 when Brown set up center Reid Stefanson with his fifth at 10:25.
Andre Lee made it a onegoal game with his seventh at 15:32. UMass Lowell completed the comeback when Lucas Condotta’s sixth of the season tied the game 4-4 at 16:39.
BC appeared back in control when Marc McLaughlin poked a Boldy rebound in at 17:53. Lowell goalie Welsch was exiting the ice for an extra skater when senior defenseman Anthony Baxter tied the game 5-5 with his second of the contest at 18:34.
“We had no puck luck in the third, some of their goals were off sticks and crazy types of goals,” said York.
BC scored a four-on-four goal in the quarterfinals against UNH and gave an encore performance at 7:34 of the first against the River Hawks. Newhook began the sequence with a pass from Boldy at the top of the circle. Boldy closed on the UML cage and fed Marshall Warren for an easy redirect. It was Warren’s third tally of the season and Boldy’s 17th assist.
BC had just killed off a penalty when a huge scoring opportunity materialized in the neutral zone at 3:43 of the second. Newhook led a three-on-one break into the UML zone before feeding
Boldy below the left circle. Boldy found right wing Mike Hardman in the low slot and the sophomore from Hanover wristed it by Welsch for his 10th of the season.
BC went ahead 3-0 at 12:40. Hardman won a puck battle on the end boards and fed Newhook in the low slot. Newhook beat Welsch with a wrister glove side for his sixth of the season.
UMass Lowell made it 3-1 on an unassisted goal by Baxter at 13:01. Baxter advanced the puck into the high slot and beat Knight on an unscreened shot to the stick side. BC struck back when Boldy set up Newhook for his second at 18:47.