Making mistakes is bad. Making them against UMass-Lowell, a structurally sound team that rarely makes any mistakes of its own, is even worse. And making them in a conference championship game against UMass-Lowell is worst of all.
The River Hawks scored two goals off New Hampshire mistakes in the first period Saturday night, and that was all they needed to win their second straight Hockey East tournament title. They tacked on two more goals to make it a 4-0 final, ending UNH’s season in the process.
“It’s huge for the program,” said senior forward Joe Pendenza, who had three assists Saturday night. “It’s tough to explain how it’s been and how it feels. After our freshman year, we had our doubts. We won five games. We weren’t sure what was going to happen with a new coach coming in.
“The one common thing coming out of that was that we never wanted to experience that again. We wanted to win. We wanted to do something. We’ve been very fortunate to do something special here.”
Lowell’s first goal came with 7:48 left in the first period. Nick Sorkin failed to clear the zone, and goaltender Casey DeSmith compounded the problem by failing to cover a bad-angle shot from Pendenza. Sophomore forward A.J. White (1 goal, 2 assists) made the Wildcats pay by flipping the loose puck past DeSmith.
The River Hawks capitalized on another mistake three minutes later. UNH defenseman Brett Pesce held onto the puck a split second too long, allowing Josh Holmstrom to tie him up and force a turnover. White grabbed the puck and fed Pendenza on the doorstep, but DeSmith made a great diving save. Unfortunately, no one from UNH was there to clear the rebound, and Holmstrom finished off the play he started.
Lowell didn’t need any more offense after that, but it got two more goals in the second when Joe Gambardella and then Jake Suter found the back of the net. In a perfect illustration of the team’s balanced scoring and offensive depth, the River Hawks ended the weekend with eight goals from eight different players.
“It’s been a point of emphasis since I arrived,” Lowell coach Norm Bazin said of the depth. “I think to have a great team at Lowell, you have to have multiple threats. We don’t have the 50- or 60-point guy, but we have an awful lot of good hockey players. We feel if it can come from any line, it makes us a real threat.”
The four goals were more than enough given the fact the River Hawks had Connor Hellebuyck in net. The sophomore goalie made 30 saves to pick up his second shutout in as many nights, and his third in a row at TD Garden dating back to last year’s championship game against Boston University. The Jets draft pick was named tournament MVP for the second year in a row, making him the first player in league history to earn that honor twice.
“Connor’s stellar. There’s no question that you don’t win a championship without a good goalie,” Bazin said. “He’s provided us with great goaltending all year. Dougie Carr has had an exceptional season also. It’s just that we’ve got Connor. We feel either one of them can give us a great start, and Connor’s been carrying the ball here lately.”
The River Hawks will find out for sure where they’re going for NCAA regionals on Sunday, but they will almost certainly be the two-seed in Worcester (with Boston College the one-seed there).
Here is my full bracket projection:
West Regional (St. Paul)
1. Minnesota vs. 16. Robert Morris
8. Notre Dame vs. 9. St. Cloud State
Northeast Regional (Worcester)
2. Boston College vs. 15. Denver
7. UMass-Lowell vs. 10. Minnesota State
East Regional (Bridgeport)
3. Union vs. 13. Vermont
6. Quinnipiac vs. 11. Providence
Midwest Regional (Cincinnati)
4. Wisconsin vs. 14. North Dakota
5. Ferris State vs. 12. Colgate
Everything is pretty straightforward, except for Vermont and North Dakota. Following strict bracket integrity, Vermont would go to Cincinnati and North Dakota to Bridgeport. But I think the committee will flip them because 1) it saves Vermont a flight, and 2) North Dakota travels well and could boost attendance in Cincinnati, which is the regional that needs the most help attendance-wise.