River Hawks soar into Boston
Umass Lowell nips Uconn in 2-1 quarterfinal victory
Next stop, Boston.
It wasn’t easy, there were several white-knuckle moments in the final minutes, but fifth-seeded Umass Lowell punched its ticket to the Hockey East semifinals with a tough 2-1 win over fourthseeded Uconn on Saturday in Storrs, Conn.
It was only the sixth-ever game played at the 2,600-seat Toscano Family Ice Forum and UML goaltender Gustavs Davis Grigals put on a show during the program’s first visit to the arena.
“We’re excited to be moving on.
Certainly, it was no easy task. We came into a hostile environment with a great facility. It’s the first time we’ve played in this facility,” said UML head coach Norm Bazin. “We had the start we were hoping for tonight. I thought we defended our net front fairly well. Our goaltending was strong, and we found a way.”
Named the game’s No. 1 star, Grigals made 40 saves as Umass Lowell (18-14-3) upset the Huskies (20-12-3) on the road. The Latvia native was cool, calm and collected when he had to be.
Umass Lowell made the most of its 17 shots on net. The River Hawks received first-period goals from senior Blake Wells and sophomore Owen Cole to take a 2-0 lead. Grigals and a staunch defense took over from there, ruining Uconn’s first playoff game at its on-campus arena.
Uconn was held off the board until 1:29 left in regulation — about a minute and a half after coach Mike Cavanaugh elected to pull goaltender Arsenii Sergeev for a sixth skater. Grigals thought he had tied the puck up, but no whistle blew. Ultimately, Nick Capone sent a shot past Grigals.
Grigals argued his case and the play, which was ruled a goal on the ice, underwent a lengthy re
view. The goal was allowed to stand and there were some anxious moments for River Hawks fans when Sergeev skated to the bench again for a sixth skater.
UML almost iced the game, but freshman and Tewksbury native Owen Fowler fired just wide of the empty net. In the final seconds, with Uconn looking for the equalizer, Fowler blocked a shot. The River Hawks flew off the bench when the final horn sounded and engulfed Grigals.
Uconn threw everything but the kitchen sink at Grigals in the third period, as the hosts outshot the River Hawks 15-1.
Bazin continued to work his playoff magic behind UML’S bench. He took a 24-13 playoff record into the game as Hockey East’s winningest (.649) current coach in the playoffs.
The River Hawks took a 2-0 lead after one period.
An unlikely source scored the game’s first goal. Wells tallied his second goal in 21 games this season when he redirected a terrific cross-ice pass from defenseman Ben Meehan into Uconn’s net at the 8:59 mark.
Meehan carried the puck down the left side and uncorked his pass as he approached the goal line. Wells outfought a Uconn player at the right post and poked it past Sergeev. It was Wells’ seventh goal in 76 career games. Wells has battled injuries this year, as he’s done for much of his time at UML.
Cole made it 2-0 at 14:35.
Cole won the draw, Jake Stella tipped the puck to the left point and defenseman Jon Mcdonald fired a shot which Sergeev stopped. He was unable to clear the rebound, however, and the puck sat on the ice for a couple of seconds.
Seeing the loose puck, Cole got around defender Hudson Schandor and chipped the puck past Sergeev as he fell to the ice. The hustle play resulted in Cole’s sixth goal of the season and gave the upset-minded River Hawks a two-goal advantage.
Uconn held a slim 1312 shots advantage in the opening period.
In the second period, with Connecticut on the power play, defenseman Brehdan Engum sprung Fowler for a breakaway, but his shot was stopped by Sergeev.
In the third period, with about five minutes left, and UML trying to land
a knockout punch, sophomore Matt Crasa was also sent in alone on Sergeev. Crasa made a nice move and switched to the backhand, but his shot rang off a post, keeping the Huskies in the game.
Umass Lowell was coming off a weekend in which it played extremely well in defeating 15th-ranked Northeastern, 3-1, at home before suffering their worst loss of the season, 7-3, to the Huskies the next night in Boston.
The River Hawks improved to 7-8-1 on the road this season. Uconn narrowly earned the right to home the host when UML lost at Northeastern and the Huskies edged Boston College last Saturday. That’s all in the past now.
Now it’s on to Boston and the TD Garden, where Bazin guided the River Hawks to Hockey East championships in 2013, 2014 and 2017.