Men's Hockey Tripped Up in Opener, 5-2

Friday, October 10

Lowell, Mass.

7:00 PM

Boston College

0-1, 0-1

UMass-Lowell

1-0, 1-0

Team	1	2	3	F
Boston College	1	1	0	2
UMass Lowell	3	0	2	5

Ryan Fitzgerald scored late in the second to make it a 3-2 game heading into the second intermission

October 10, 2014 | Men's Hockey

Box Score

Oct. 10, 2014

Box Score

LOWELL, Mass. - The Boston College men's hockey team suffered a 5-2 setback in the season opener on Friday night at UMass Lowell despite sophomore Chris Calnan's early tally in the first period.

Following Calnan's strike, the River Hawks netted three in the frame and never looked back.

In a game that featured a low shot count, UML edged the Eagles, 24-21. 

Sophomore goaltender Thatcher Demko stopped 19 shots in his season debut while UMass Lowell's Kevin Boyle steered away the same number of pucks.

Second-year forward Ryan Fitzgerald made things interesting with a late tally in the second period and make it a one-goal affair, but Lowell pulled away with a marker midway through the third and added an empty netter with 38 seconds left.

The Eagles attacked quickly on the rush as Doherty quarterbacked the play from the left side to set up BC's early opening tally at 2:26 of the first period.

Doherty pounced on a loose puck down low and trigged on Suter on the near post. Suter kicked the puck back out to the slot where Calnan banged it back in to draw first blood and a 1-0 advantage.

Following back-to-back exchanges, Evan Campbell knotted it up, 1-1, on an odd-man rush at 7:57 of the first frame.

Zack Kamrass dug the puck out of UML's end and linked up with A.J. White in the neutral zone. White and Campbell sandwiched BC's defense and Campbell buried White's crisp one-timer on the far post.

Following a Fitzgerald slash at 11:17 of the first, Michael Fallon took advantage and put the River Hawks ahead at 12:10, 2-1

UMass Lowell possessed the duration of the power play and Joe Gambardella's inital shot from the point trickled to near post where Fallon stashed it back in with ease for the power play marker.

Just over two minutes later, Lowell attacked on the rush again and grabbed a 3-1 lead at 14:43 of the opening period.

C.J. Smith skated the puck the distance down the right side of the sheet and carved BC's defense with cross-ice pass to Michael Lauria on the near post. Lauria batted it in with the backhand to give the River Hawks a two-goal lead through the opening frame.

Fitzgerald stopped the bleeding late in the second immediately after UML head coach Norm Bazin hailed for timeout.

On the ensuing draw to Boyle's left, the River Hawks won the draw but Fitzgerald burrowed into the pile and lifted the disc while Cangelosi provided some help in the scrum.

Fitzgerald ducked the defense and crashed the net, wiring it through Boyle's pads at 18:19 to cut into UML's lead heading into the second intermission, 3-2.

Robert Francis regained UML's two-goal edge at 7:48 of the third frame as the River Hawks capitalized in transition once again.

Ryan McGrath started the scoring play deep in Lowell's end and hit Chris Maniccia on the stretch pass. With another two-on-one situation, Maniccia took his chance and Demko made the original block, but the puck caromed to the near side where Francis pounced on the loose disc and roofed it for a 4-2 lead.

Lowell sealed the contest with a late Joe Gambardella empty-netter with 38 seconds to ice the 5-2 count.

Boston College stays on the road next weekend for its first non-conference bout of the season. The Eagles travel to Rochester, N.Y., to take on Rochestern Institute of Technology at Blue Cross Arena, home of the AHL's Rochester Americans. Game time against RIT is scheduled for 7 p.m.