LOWELL, Mass. – College hockey teams spend all week preparing for Friday night.
But sometimes the game plan gets tossed out the window and proceedings go down an unexpected path. Such was the case in a 6-5 home win for UMass Lowell over Vermont on Friday night at the Tsongas Center, securing two vital Hockey East points.
“I thought it was an ugly hockey game that was reminiscent of the 80s and 90s,” UMass Lowell head coach Norm Bazin said after the game in which 11 players scored on a combined 54 shots on goal. “It was whoever got the last shot would get the two points, so we're fortunate to get the points here tonight.”
It wasn’t a masterpiece, but a win is a win for Bazin’s club. They all count the same.
Vermont head coach Kevin Sneddon felt similarly about how the game transpired, though it ended in a fourth consecutive loss for his team.
“I will say — and I think Norm probably feels the same way — that I was completely shocked that this turned out to be a 6-5 hockey game," Sneddon said, "with the way (UMass Lowell junior goaltender Christoffer) Hernberg and (Vermont’s Stefanos Lekkas) were playing and the way both teams were playing defensively, quite honestly. … It's usually a close, one-goal affair, but not at 6-5.”
The River Hawks are in the midst of a season-long, four-game win streak and sit alongside Providence in a fifth-place tie in the league standings with a 6-4-1 mark. They hadn't won more than two straight games in 2018-19 prior to last weekend’s non-conference sweep at Colgate.
In addition to Hernberg’s goaltending, a key to Lowell’s recent success has been balanced scoring. Six different River Hawks found the back of the net vs. Vermont, with senior Ryan Dmowski (East Lyme, Conn.) scoring the winner 13:10 into the third period. Prior to Friday, seven players scored goals across Lowell’s last three consecutive wins.
Junior Ryan Lohin scored Lowell’s third goal after assisting on its second off the stick of senior captain Connor Wilson, marking the scoresheet for the third straight game and 11th time in the last 13. Lohin has logged six points over the last three of the River Hawks’ four wins and leads the team with a 9-10-19 line.
Contributing to the offense is nothing new for Lohin, whose NHL rights belong to the Tampa Bay Lightning. He said helping his teammates push the reset button at the semester break was important to changing the team's fortunes.
“The guys have come back strong after Christmas,” said Lohin, a junior from Chadds Ford, Pa. “The freshmen have been stepping up, which is good to see, and (Hernberg) has been having a good stretch.
“... It's just the overall maturity of the group (that has built recent confidence). As leaders it's our job to calm the guys down. Especially in a back-and-forth game like that it's tough, but we were able to kind of get the last shot and come away with the win.”
The River Hawks have never relied on star players or one line to carry the scoring under Bazin. Depth has always been a factor for Lowell teams, and it has become one this season as 22 players have at least a point and 17 have scored goals.
Re-building that trait in 2018-19 took time with a nation-leading 13 freshmen on the roster. Now, a playoff chase is the perfect time to feel comfortable in rolling four lines capable of producing offense.
Good things, as they say, come to those who wait.
“The depth is important,” Bazin said. “I can't tell you where the goals are going to come from, whether it's the Lohin unit or (freshman Lucas) Condotta's unit or (sophomore Charlie) Levesque's unit. So it's gone around the horn.”
While the balanced attack was a key to the River Hawks improving their overall record to 12-8-1, Bazin pointed to the remaining centerman as one of the team’s best contributors on the night.
“I thought one of our best hockey players tonight was Nick Master and he didn't get rewarded with any points,” the eighth-year coach said. “He was very good in the faceoff circle (19-6) and really saved us a lot of defensive zone time.”
That’s a positive sign for the River Hawks. Sneddon’s team found those as well, though senior Conor O’Neil’s slashing penalty led to a power-play goal against and a failed faceoff coverage led to another. “Things like that can kill a hockey especially when we're trying to crawl back and save a season,” Sneddon said after his team slipped to 1-9-1 in league games.
Vermont’s offense was spread out after being held to one or two goals in three consecutive games. The fourth line of O’Neil, freshman Johnny DeRoche (Lynnfield, Mass.), and sophomore Ace Cowans (Beverly, Mass.) all contributed two points against the River Hawks.
“We need some help offensively, so to get contributions from them was important,” said Sneddon. “O'Neil can fly, DeRoche is probably our fastest player, and Ace can scoot, too, when he gets going. I liked their compete level tonight, I thought they finished checks and created quite a buzz. They're getting better and better, so hopefully that's a good sign.”
After a back-and-forth shootout, UMass Lowell and Vermont will meet again Saturday night in a rematch at the Tsongas Center.
“There's a little less thinking. You have so little time to react in a game like that when on one mistake they're going the other way for a break, and we saw that tonight both ways,” said Lohin. “It was a fun game, probably not what Coach would have wanted, but we were able to come away with the win.”
