Boston College at UMass-Lowell Final: Eagles Fall 5-2 to River Hawks in Opener
By Joe Micik
Boston College at UMass-Lowell Final: On Friday night at the Tsongas Center in Lowell, the #17 UMass-Lowell River Hawks defeated the #4 Boston College Eagles, 5-2, in the season opener for both teams.
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The first period for the Eagles began well, with the Eagles holding the puck in the Lowell zone for long stretches and Chris Calnan getting the first goal of the Boston College season just under two and a half minutes into the game.
Following that, however, it was all downhill for the maroon and gold. The River Hawks struck for three in a row thanks to Evan Campbell, Michael Fallon, and Michael Louria. Good passing and some major Boston College defensive breakdowns were featured in most or all of them. Simply put, as the period wore on, Lowell made the Eagles look bad.
Boston College was able to restore some order in the second period, locking down on defense, including two successful penalty kills that featured an Eagles offensive chance or two. UMass-Lowell began the second with a 9-1 advantage on shots for the period, but Boston College showed signs of gradual improvement on offense. It took over half the period, but eventually, the Eagles began sustaining pressure.
With less than two minutes left in the second, Ryan Fitzgerald stripped the puck in the offensive zone, not far from the Lowell net, and beat Kevin Boyle to pull the Eagles to within one.
The momentum would continue for Boston College into the third period, where the Eagles were able to sustain longer stretches of offensive zone pressure. Yet, of all things, a flat power play stalled out their momentum, and minutes later, Robert Francis beat Thatcher Demko to help UMass-Lowell regain a two-goal lead.
Boston College at UMass-Lowell Final: Goal Chart
| BC | Chris Calnan | 2:26 1st | Doherty | BC 1 | UML 0 |
| UML | Evan Campbell | 7:57 1st | White, Kamrass | BC 1 | UML 1 |
| UML | Michael Fallon (PP) | 12:10 1st | Gambardella | BC 1 | UML 2 |
| UML | Michael Louria | 14:43 1st | Smith | BC 1 | UML 3 |
| BC | Ryan Fitzgerald | 18:19 2nd | Cangelosi | BC 2 | UML 3 |
| UML | Robert Francis | 7:48 3rd | Maniccia, McGrath | BC 2 | UML 4 |
| UML | Joe Gambardella (EN) | 19:22 3rd | Kamrass | BC 2 | UML 5 |
Boston College at UMass-Lowell Final: Bottom Line
For the number four team in the nation, Boston College did not resemble it. UMass-Lowell was the better team for most of the game and they deserved their opening-night victory.
Boston College got beaten by a good team, but these young Eagles will have to learn from this experience. The type of performance they put forth on Friday night is not going to get the job done going forward, and even though it’s only the first game, to see Boston College get outplayed is sobering.
Boston College at UMass-Lowell Final: Next Game
The Eagles will return to action next Saturday, October 18, as they travel to Rochester to face RIT in a non-conference game.