After a 4-1 victory on Friday night, the No. 8 Massachusetts-Lowell River Hawks returned to Tsongas Center on Saturday night to cap their weekend series with nonconference opponent, the Arizona State Sun Devils. For the second night in a row, it was the Sun Devils who drew first blood, but it was the River Hawks who came out on top by a final of 8-1 thanks in large part to the play of C.J. Smith, who recorded a hat trick.
Lowell coach Norm Bazin commended his team’s effort and gave praise to Arizona State following the win:
“Very pleased to get two wins on the weekend; they (ASU) are a first-year program but they work really hard and it showed through their intensity and aggressive style of play the entire weekend,” said Bazin. “I like the effort our guys gave. I though our effort was pretty good and better than what we gave on Friday night. Holding them to 12 shots tonight is commendable.”
At 13:59 of the first period, the Sun Devils struck first, despite being outshot 16-0 to that point by the River Hawks. A broken play in the neutral zone led to ASU’s Cody Gylling feeding a pass to Anthony Croston in the high slot. Croston ripped a snap shot past the blocker of River Hawks goaltender Kevin Boyle off the left post and in to give the Sun Devils a 1-0 lead on their first shot on goal of the game.
Just 1:28 after the Sun Devils took the early lead, Lowell knotted the game when Jake Kamrass slammed home the rebound past the outstretched ASU goaltender Ryland Pashovitz on a goal-mouth scramble at 15:27.
It didn’t take long for the River Hawks to strike again, as at 16:47 Ryan Dmowski’s shot was tipped in front by Ryan McGrath and past the glove of Pashovitz to give Lowell its first lead of the night.
The River Hawks controlled the game and pulled away from the Sun Devils in the second frame thanks in large part to exceptional penalty killing, as Lowell withstood a pair of five-on-three opportunities for the Sun Devils. Kevin Boyle made a pair of excellent right pad saves on a back door pass to ASU’s Garrett Peterson, keeping the game 2-1 in favor of Lowell. Bazin praised his penalty killers and special teams following the win.
“We’re looking to manage the puck and we’re still looking to refine our game, especially in our own end and stick to the game plan,” said Bazin. “I thought our special teams were very strong tonight and that helped us control things late, so hopefully we can continue to improve there and in a lot of other areas.”
After the first five-on-three advantage for the Sun Devils in the second period, Lowell’s Nick Master stole a pass in front of the Sun Devils net and fired a shot on goal. The original shot by Master was stopped by Pashovitz, but Master followed his shot and slammed home the rebound to extend the River Hawks lead to 3-1.
At 13:36, Lowell as again down two men when Smith (slashing) and Michael Fallon (holding) went to the box. Right as Smith’s penalty ended at 15:22, Lowell’s Joe Gambardella riffled a pass into the neutral zone that was caught by Smith right out of the box for a breakaway. Smith’s original shot was saved by Pashovitz, but he buried the rebound to give the River Hawks a commanding 4-1 lead.
Jake Kamrass added his second goal of the night to give Lowell some insurance at 16:32 after he stole the puck in front of the ASU net and fired a shot that squeaked under the arm of Pashovitz, putting Lowell ahead by four at the second intermission.
Kamrass gave much of the credit for his production on Saturday night to teammates Adam Chapie and Nick Master.
“(Nick) Master and (Adam) Chapie have been playing real well and they’ve really helped me form into their line,” said Kamrass. “Getting to the front of the net and the play of those guys has allowed me to get some gritty goals.”
Lowell kept the foot on the gas in the third period, as Smith added two more goals to give himself a hat trick, with Nick Master also adding another. Despite the impressive five-goal weekend from Smith, he still believes there are more areas to improve upon in his game.
“I’m just trying to continue to mature as a player, come in and work hard every day. But yeah, it felt good to get that hat trick.”
