The St. Lawrence University men's hockey team received third-period goals from
Nicholas Beneteau and first-year
Ihnat Pazii, but UMass Lowell earned a 4-2 victory on Saturday afternoon at Tsongas Center in Lowell, Mass.
The Saints fell to 0-3-0 on the season, while the River Hawks improved to 1-1-0.
UMass Lowell opened the scoring just 3:54 into the contest. After a St. Lawrence penalty, Jak Vaarwerk converted on the power play to give the home team a 1-0 lead.
The Saints responded by generating opportunities on their first power play of the afternoon.
Jacob Bernadet and
Cooper Pierson each tested goaltender Austin Elliott, but the River Hawks maintained their advantage.
Midway through the opening period, UMass Lowell doubled its lead on an even-strength goal from Cole Lonsdale. St. Lawrence continued to push back, earning another power-play opportunity late in the frame.
Isaac Tremblay,
Luke Posthumus and
Andrew Brown all recorded shots during the advantage, but Elliott helped preserve the two-goal lead heading into the first intermission.
The Saints settled into the game during the second period and generated several chances.
Cayden Casey forced multiple saves from Elliott, while
Gunnar Thoreson and
Luke Santilli each put pucks on target as St. Lawrence searched for a breakthrough.
A pair of penalties interrupted the Scarlet and Brown's momentum midway through the period, and UMass Lowell extended its lead to 3-0 at the 13:38 mark on a goal from Thomas Stewart.
Colin Winn continued to keep the Saints within reach, making several key stops over the remainder of the frame.
St. Lawrence faced adversity to begin the third period, killing off a five-minute major penalty. The Saints successfully worked through the penalty kill and quickly turned the momentum in their favor.
After Tobias Pitka was whistled for hooking at 5:47, the Saints capitalized on the ensuing power play. The scoring play started with
Andrew Brown sending the puck down low to
Gabe Westling, who found Beneteau on the doorstep for the finish. Beneteau's first goal of the season came at the 6:33 mark and cut the deficit to 3-1.
The River Hawks regained a three-goal cushion midway through the period on a goal from Jacob MacDonald, but St. Lawrence continued to push late in regulation.
With the extra attacker on the ice,
Jake Rozzi collected a Pierson faceoff win and sent the puck back to Posthumus at the blue line. The first-year fired a shot on goal that Pazii redirected home for his first collegiate goal with 1:51 remaining in regulation to make it 4-2.
The River Hawks, however, held on for the 4-2 victory.
Winn finished the afternoon with 23 saves, while Elliott stopped 15 shots for the River Hawks.
The Saints went 1-for-6 on the power play, while UMass Lowell outshot St. Lawrence 27-17 and finished 1-for-7 with the man advantage.
St. Lawrence will have next week off before returning to action in a rare Tuesday contest against LIU on October 20 at Appleton Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Â
