Hockey Axemen fall short in 4-3 loss to UMass

LOWELL, Mass. -- The UMass Lowell Hockey team edged Acadia University, 4-3 in exhibition play on Sunday afternoon at the Tsongas Center. 

Junior co-captain Ryan Lohin (Chadds Ford, Pa.) put the game away for the River Hawks with a power play marker off a tip from a Mattias Goransson shot from the right point with 4:04 to go in regulation. Goransson was the only player with multiple points on the day, registering two assists for the River Hawks in the victory.

"We had a good third period, I thought we got a little bit better as the game progressed, which is what you want to see." said UMass Lowell Head Coach Norm Bazin. "I thought we got a lot of different guys in the lineup and now we find out which guys can play at this level. There is a lot of discovery going on right now and we will watch the film."

UMass Lowell finished the game 3-for-10 on the power play. The River Hawks outshot Acadia, 30-27 for the game, including a decisive 11-4 advantage in the third period.

Owen MacDonald scored to give Acadia the 3-2 lead just 4:08 into the third and Charlie Leveque (Russell, Ont.) evened the game at 3-3 with 6:31 to play in the third stanza.

UMass Lowell junior forward Colin O'Neill (Odenton, Md.) opened the scoring in the game with 6:11 to go in the opening frame on the man advantage. Jackson Houck responded for Acadia less than two minutes later to tie the game at 1-1, then Chris Schutz (Keller, Texas) scored with 2:07 left in the first frame to give UMass Lowell a 2-1 lead at the end of the first period. Acadia's Jack Flaman tied the score at 2-2 in the middle frame.

Senior forward Ryan Dmowski (East Lyme, Conn.) totaled a game-high five shots on goal for the River Hawks, while Lohin added four shots on net. 

Junior goalie Tyler Wall (Leamington, Ont.) amassed 24 saves it the victory, while Dawson Carty managed 26 saves in the losing effort. 

UMass Lowell now owns a 4-0 all-time record vs. Acadia in exhibition play.

The River Hawks open the season officially on Homecoming Weekend against RIT on Friday, October 12th. Game time from the Tsongas Center in Lowell, Mass. is 7:15 p.m.

Axemen return to AUS regular season action on Wednesday at StFX and then home on Friday versus Dalhousie.