Friday night’s lopsided defeat for the No. 5 Massachusetts-Lowell River Hawks came as a result of several penalties, and as coach Norm Bazin put it, not playing a full 60 minutes. Saturday, they struck first and battled back and forth to the end of the third period for a 4-2 win.
“The good start is always helpful,” Bazin said. “We weren’t focused on the first goal, we really thought we didn’t put forth a strong effort last night. We wanted to play 60 or 65, whatever it took, so that was our focus today.”
It was the veteran players who executed at the right time to get the River Hawks out of Omaha with a series split. It was a response that was both anticipated and needed by Bazin.
“I expected it actually tonight; I thought several newcomers and rookies played well but the upperclassman took over and that’s what you want to see as a coach,” Bazin said. “You want to see the upperclassmen taking it personally. And last night’s loss didn’t sit well with the guys, and they took it personally and I thought they came back with a good effort against a very strong team.”
The upperclassman who scored when it mattered most was John Edwardh, who took a pass from fellow linesman Joe Gambardella on an Omaha turnover in the Omaha zone to backhand the game-winning goal in at 15:42 in the third.
“Me and Joe [Gambardella] were just in on the forecheck and Joe made a great play, he’s a great player, picked off the pass and kind of [found] me in on the partial break and I was lucky enough to get the backhand for the game-winner,” Edwardh said.
While the juniors and seniors took care of the scoring, it was freshman goaltender Tyler Wall that also chipped in with 25 saves for a well-rounded team effort.
“I think everyone contributed in this win, underclassmen and upperclassmen,” Edwardh said. “It was a good team win.”
It was the first time Omaha had not scored first this season, which paired with Friday’s outcome made the first goal of the game a point of significance.
“It’s huge, kind of like a weight lifted off our shoulders,” Edwardh said. “The response we needed early in the game.”
Omaha saw its two goals come from the sticks of Frederik Olofsson and David Pope, both coming on the power play, who each scored their first goals of the season.
Pleased with Omaha’s overall effort despite the loss, saying the team got better in several areas, Omaha coach Dean Blais also praised Pope for his play in the series.
“David Pope may have had the best game since he was a freshman and I’m not even counting the goal,” Blais said. “He didn’t lose many board battles tonight or last night. The last two games against the fifth-best teams in the country, we dominated the boards and the loose pucks so guys showed a lot of intensity by doing that.”
The Mavericks will kick off conference play next week when Colorado College comes to Omaha, while Lowell will face Vermont at home next week for a Hockey East matchup.
NCHC roundup
Bowling Green 4, at Miami 1
Miami struck first but the Falcons answered big, scoring the next four on 37 total shots for a 4-1 win.
No. 2 Minnesota Duluth 3, No. 1 North Dakota 0
Karson Kuhlman and Kyle Osterberg scored short-handed goals and Hunter Miska made 30 saves to get a Saturday win and series sweep over the top-ranked Fighting Hawks.
No. 10 St. Cloud State 5, Alabama Huntsville 2
Five different players scored for the Huskies and the St. Cloud defense only allowed 12 shots on goal in their fourth consecutive victory.
No. 3 Denver 4, Western Michigan 2
Western Michigan took the lead at 2-1 in the second period, but Denver scored three consecutive goals to win 4-2 for the series sweep.
