NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. -- The No. 10/12 UMass Lowell River Hawks lead 2-0 on top of the No. 17 Merrimack College Warriors after one period on Sunday afternoon at J. Thom Lawler Arena. Lowell held a 14-7 shots on goal advantage in the stanza and was greatly in control territorially.
The River Hawks took a 1-0 lead at the 6:58 mark of the opening stanza as junior Josh Holmstrom tipped in an initial shot from classmate and Hamilton College transfer Joe Houk for his second goal in three games and ninth of the season overall.
Holmstrom extended the lead to two as he found the back of Merrimack sophomore Rasmus Tirronen's net on the power play at 11:20 for his second goal of the game, taking the feed from sophomore Scott Wilson.
Lowell freshman Connor Hellebuyck, who posted his fourth shutout of the season in a 4-0 home win on Friday, made stops on all seven shots he faced in the period.
Joshua Kummins covers Hockey East for SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKummins.