Hockey East Friday Night Recap: UNH defeats Lowell, Northeastern edges UMass

Northeastern 1 at UMass 0

A late second period short-handed goal from Adam Reid lifted the Huskies over the hosting Minutemen Friday night at the Mullins Center in Amherst, Mass. in a 1-0 victory. With the win, the Huskies improve to 5-7-1 (3-6-1 in Hockey East). With the loss, the Minutemen ends a two game unbeaten streak and drops to 4-6-2 (3-6-1).

With 2:37 left in the second period, Reid netted a shorthanded goal past UMass goaltender Kevin Boyle to give the Huskies a one goal advantage. The goal was assisted by fellow penalty killer Dustin Darou, giving the freshman three assists on the year.

Northeastern senior goaltender Chris Rawlings finished the night with 31 saves, giving him his second shutout of the season. The two sides will travel east to Matthews Arena to complete the latter half of their home and home series Saturday night.

at #2 UNH 5, UMass-Lowell 2

Kevin Goumas and Grayson Downing each contributed two points to a 5-2 victory for the Wildcats over the Riverhawks Friday night in Durham. Downing now has seven goals on the season, including five in the past two games. Goumas now leads Hockey East in points with 22 on the season.

The win brings the Wildcats to 10-1-2 (7-1-1), moving them to within one point of passing BC for the top spot in the league. The loss, however, brings Lowell’s two game win streak to an end, dropping the Riverhawks to 4-6-1 (2-5-1).

UNH got out to a fast start, scoring the first four goals of the contest. Two goals from Downing, one from both Goumas and John Henrion all occurred within the first two periods. UNH netminder Casey DeSmith finished the game with 34 saves for the Wildcats.

Providence 3 at Merrimack 2 (OT)

Senior forward Tim Schaller scored with 37.5 seconds remaining in overtime to lift the Friars over the Warriors 3-2 Friday night in North Andover, Mass. With the win, Providence improves to 7-5-1 (5-3) while Merrimack falls to 4-7-2 (3-4-1) on the year.

Midway through the first frame, the Friars’ Noel Acciari netted his third goal of the season to give his team a 1-0 edge on the Warriors. Just four minutes later, Rhett Bly of Merrimack evened the game at one with a goal of his own.

Following a game misconduct to senior defenseman Kyle Bigos (Edmonton Oilers) for hitting with contact to the head, the Friars took advantage on the powerplay to get a 2-1 edge on Merrimack.

Then just 40 seconds into the final frame, Connor Toomey netted the game tying goal. The two sides went back and forth until regulation ended, leading to Schaller’s overtime heroics.

Vermont 2 Maine 1

Despite allowing the first goal, the Catamounts scored twice to defeat the Black Bears 2-1 on the road. With the win, Vermont snaps their three game losing streak and brings their record to 3-7-2 (3-5-2). The loss brings Maine’s hopes of turning things around to a close, for they could have achieved a three game winning streak with a victory Friday night. Their record is now 2-10-1 (1-6-1).

Joey Diamond scored a power play goal late in the first period to give the Black Bears a 1-0 advantage going into the first intermission. Early in the second frame, Yvan Pattyn scored the equalizer for Vermont off an assist from Jacob Fallon. Midway through the third frame, Robert Polesello scored his first goal of the season, giving Kevin Sneddon’s squad a 2-1 advantage. Vermont point leader Chris McCarthy assisted on the play, giving him five helpers on the year.