LOWELL, Mass. — As the Hockey East playoff race draws to a close, points are at a premium. On back-to-back nights, Providence played its best hockey at the right time and grabbed crucial league points against a UMass Lowell team battling for postseason positioning.
Junior Erik Foley and sophomore Josh Wilkins each scored a goal in the final 2:01 of regulation to break a tie game, lifting the Friars to a 3-1 win Saturday night at Tsongas Center and their second league sweep of the season.
“It was a really good hockey game tonight,” said Providence head coach Nate Leaman, whose team moves to 20-9-4 overall and 13-6-4 in Hockey East play with the victory, clinching its program-record fifth straight 20-win season. “A slow start to it just like last night’s game, but big third periods in both games.”
Similar to the start of Friday’s 5-2 Friar win at Schneider Arena, the teams combined for just nine shots on goal in a defensive struggle of a first period. The visitors broke the scoring drought with a goal less than halfway through the second.
Sophomore Kasper Bjorkqvist opened the scoring at the 5:20 marker of the middle frame, creating a third opportunity following defenseman Vincent Desharnais’ point shot and senior linemate Brian Pinho’s initial rebound try. Bjorkqvist tucked the loose puck inside Lowell goaltender Tyler Wall’s right post for his 13th goal of the season.
The visitors held an 18-9 shot advantage in the middle period and could have easily added onto their lead after hitting a pair of posts behind Wall. Bjorkqvist’s other linemate Josh Wilkins wound up hitting two in the game, while Erik Foley hit one square from the slot in the third.
“We go up 1-0 and then hit those posts,” Leaman said. “All our pucks last night went in, and it didn’t seem like another one was going to go in for us.”
The River Hawks’ second-year stopper, Wall made 17 of his 28 stops in the second, keeping his team’s deficit at just one goal.
“Ice was tough to gain,” Lowell head coach Norm Bazin said. “It was a game of inches all night long. I thought both teams played well defensively, both goalies stood tall. … (Wall) had a tough start, and that’s hard on anybody. But push the statistics aside, since Christmas he’s been a very, very good goalie, and he’s coming back into form.”
As it turned out, the posts Providence hit were not the only missed opportunities of the game. The hosts pushed back with a 14-shot third period, hitting two posts of their own on a power play with less than nine minutes left in regulation.
At the 17:17 mark, the River Hawks finally cracked the goal column and tied the score at 1-1. Defenseman Chris Forney threaded a wrist shot from the point, beating Providence netminder Hayden Hawkey through traffic for his sixth goal of the season.
“I thought we could score another one because we had a lot of momentum,” Bazin said following his team’s fourth consecutive loss. “It stings to them, having been through this lull. They want to snap out of it. This dressing room is full of character, and I love the guys. I think things will turn for them because they’ve been playing pretty decent hockey with nothing to show for it the last few weekends.”
The Friars took the lead back in quick fashion as freshman Greg Printz set Foley up for a one-time shot from the right circle with 2:01 to play in regulation. It was the junior Foley’s team-leading 15th goal of the season.
“They made a heck of a push in the third period there and we found a way,” Leaman said. “That’s a big shift after a goal with Foley doing what Foley does, finishing a great play there.”
Then, Wilkins added insurance to the visitors’ lead with an empty-net goal at 19:09.
The Friars also clinched home ice in the Hockey East quarterfinals and at least the tournament’s No. 3 seed with their third straight win and fourth in six games. They have one game remaining this season, next Saturday at UMass.
Hawkey picked the perfect time to shine, making exactly half (13) of his 26 saves in the third. He has recorded all but one of Providence’s decisions this season.
“He’s playing his best hockey at the right time of the year,” Leaman said. “He made some big saves last night when they went up 2-1, and he made a couple for us tonight. He’s been our workhorse. I thought he had a great weekend.”
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