University of Massachusets Athletics
LIVE GAME BLOG: UMass Hockey vs. UMass Lowell
November 15, 2008 | Hockey
Nov. 15, 2008
Good evening everyone and welcome to the live game blog for the UMass vs. UMass Lowell men's ice hockey game. All you can say about the doozie last night is WOW! What an atmosphere and what a win. Now it is 24 hours later and the team has to put that behind them and move on to tonight's match-up against UMass Lowell. The same can be said for the River Hawks who pounded No. 6 New Hampshire 8-3 last night. Tonight's match-up will be a testament on which team can remain focused and take care of business on a daily basis.
If you are joining us tonight, below are some helpful links for your enjoyment of the game:
A big thank you to Jared Sharpe who handled the blogging duties last night. He did a fantastic job up here in the press box. Tonight's special guest blogger will be Jillian Jakuba - our assistant SID who works with women's soccer, women's basketball, baseball and cross country/track & field. Speaking of women's basketball, make sure to join us tomorrow afternoon as the Minutewomen host Manhattan at 2 PM.
If you didn't make it out to the Mullins Center last night, you missed a rowdy atmospher as 7,212 fans were on hand to witness the Minutemen take out No. 1 Boston University, 5-1. It was a strange night in college hockey as the No. 1, No. 3, No. 4, No. 6 and No. 8 teams in the country lost. No. 5 Boston College earned a tie at Merrimack, while No. 9 Notre Dame also earned a tie against Lake Superior, but earned points by winning the shootout.
As a reminder, next weekend is a huge series against defending national champion Boston College. On Friday night, UMass will head to Conte Forum, while on Saturday night, the Eagles will visit the Mullins Center - You can get your tickets for Saturday here, but hurry as there is a huge number already pre-sold!. This will also be the annual OPERATION 8K night so help us sell out the Mullins Center!
5:05 PM Two hours until the opening face-off...back soon with more.
6:30 PM We have tonight's starters...
For the Minutemen: #24 Alex Berry at left wing, #12 Cory Quirk at center, #19 James Marcou at right wing, #5 Topher Bevis at left defense, #4 John Wessbecker at right defense and #31 Paul Dainton in goal.
For the River Hawks: #18 Patrick Cey at left wing, #21 Ben Holmstrom at center, #22 Paul Worthington at right wing, #2 Jeremy Dehner at left defense, #5 Nick Shaus at right defense and #1 Nevin Hamilton in goal.
6:59 PM HERE COME THE MINUTEMEN...
7:05 PM UMass wins the opening face-off.
7:08 PM Fans road in displeasure at the non-call on Chris Davis being interfered with entering the River Hawks' zone.
7:10 PM The River Hawks post the first shot on goal of the night fore either side and Dainton makes a routine kick save.
7:13 PM Casey Wellman is taken down in the slot and the Mass Attack goes on its first power play of the night. The man charged for the River Hawks was Maury Edwards. He goes to the box for tripping at 6:16.
7:16 PM A high shot by Danny Hobbs was sticked aside by Hamilton, Lowell's netminder. UML kills off the penalty.
7:18 PM A shot by River Hawks' winger Michael Budd hits iron as the old saying proves true that posts are a goalie's best friend. Lowel leads in shots, 4-3.
7:21 PM The Mass Attack goes on the power play as Kory Falite goes off for hooking at 11:37. The Minutemen are 0-13 on their last 13 power plays.
7:24 PM Casey Wellman has a shot cleared off the goal line with the last few seconds of the power play ticking off the clock, make that now 0 for the last 14 power play attempts.
7:26 PM Lowell goes on the power play. Berry is off for hooking for the Minutemen at 15:59.
7:30 PM UMass kills the penalty and is now 28-for-28 on the penalty kill in a streak dating back to Oct. 21 at RPI.
7:32 PM The first period has come to a close with the teams deadlocked at 0-0. Shots are 8-6 in favor of the Minutemen. Lowell is 0-1 on the power play and UMass is 0-for-2. Now let's check in on some other Hockey East games....
UNH 2, Boston College 0 - 1st period
Maine 0, Providence 0 - 1st period
7:48 PM The second period gets underway with Lowell winning the opening faceoff. The crowd is up chanting "Let's go UMass".
7:56 PM A scramble in front of the River Hawks' net yields a pair of shots for the Minutemen, but still we remain scoreless with 12:40 to play in the second period.
7:59 PM Wellman comes flying into the River Hawks' zone and gets an open shot off in the slot but sends it wide of goal.
8:01 PM It's now 1-0 Lowell. Michael Budd scores on a tough-angle shot from the right-hand side as the puck found it's way through the five hole of Paul Dainton. Credit the assists to David Vallorani and Nick Monroe.
8:03 PM UMass power play. The River Hawks' penalty is on Ben Holmstrom for hitting from behind at 10:02.
8:05 PM Now that we have a brief stop in the action, it gives me the chance to tell you that a new blog posting from the Minutemen'sDan Meyers will be coming tomorrow...stay tuned to see what movies he reviews this week.
8:12 PM Lowell power play. Michael Lecomte goes to the box for contact to the head, high sticking, at 17:04.
8:14 PM With the help of a pair of saves by Dainton, UMass kills its 29th consecutive penalty, but the Minutemen will have to get some offense going in the third as the team heads to the locker room for the second intermission down, 1-0.
8:29 PM While we still have a few minutes before the start of the third period, let's check the other Hockey East scores...
Boston College 5, UNH 3, 2nd period
Maine 1, Providence 0, 2nd INT
8:32 PM The third period has begun with UMass winning the opening face off.
8:34 PM A close-range shot by Casey Wellman is stopped by Nevin Hamilton, keeping his shutout alive.
8:36 PM Scott Crowder delivers a hard hit behind Lowell's net, but UML gains possession of the puck.
8:37 PM T.J. Syner is tripped up by Nick Schaus along the far boards in Lowell's zone. Schaus goes to the box at 4:21, UMass goes on the power play.
8:39 PM An abslolute rocket by Alex Berry hits the post! The Minutemen have come close on several occasions tonight, with no luck. The power play comes to an end.
8:45 PM River Hawks go on the power play after a hit by Justin Braun behind the UMass goal. Braun will serve his two minutes for interference at 10:47.
8:48 PM With 45 seconds left on the power play a hard shot by Scott Campbell from directly in front of Dainton goes in for Lowell's second of the night at 12:03. David Villorani and Nick Schaus collect the assists on the play. 2-0 UML.
8:51 PM Another solid crowd at Mullins tonight...the attendance was just announced as 4,239.
8:59 PM Dainton comes off with a mintute to go and the extra skater is on for UMass.
9:00 PM Two solid chances by Chris Davis and James Marcou in one-on-one with Nevin Hamilton are turned aside followed by a shot by River Hawks' Mark Roebothan that hit the pipe of UMass' empty net at the other end as the game draws to a close. Your final score: Lowell 2, UMass 0.
9:04 PM This concludes tonight's edition of the blog. Be sure to come out to Mullins Center next Saturday when the Minutemen will host defending National Champion Boston College at 7 p.m.
And until next time....GO UMASS!
