AMHERST, Mass. – The No. 7 seeded UMass Lowell hockey team (10-9-1) fell, 1-0, at No. 3 Massachusetts (16-5-4) in the Hockey East Championship game on Saturday evening.

“I’m proud of the guys inside that locker room,” said Head Coach Norm Bazin. “I thought they battled throughout the playoffs. We had some very good games against UVM and BU, and certainly had an epic comeback against BC. I thought tonight we needed a break.

“UMass is a very good team and they’ve had a very good season. Overall, I’m proud of the heart the guys showed this year, and despite all the crazy challenges, I’m very thankful to our administration for allowing us to have a season.”

The game marked the River Hawks’ sixth appearance in the Hockey East title game during Bazin’s tenure. UMass Lowell was also just the second seventh seed to advance to the championship in the league’s history.

Freshman Henry Welsch (Lakeville, Minn.) totaled 21 saves in net in the decision, while Filip Lindberg backstopped the Minutemen in the win, turning away 16 shots. Jake Gaudet tallied the lone goal of the night at 15:32 of the first to lift his team to their first Hockey East Championship.

Sophomore Andre Lee (Karlstad, Sweden) and junior Seth Barton (Kelowna, British Columbia) paced the River Hawks with six shots apiece, including two on goal each. The teams played evenly-matched for the majority of the contest, as UMass Lowell took a 34-31 advantage in faceoffs and Massachusetts led, 44-42, in total shots.

The River Hawks took an early edge in shots on goal and put good pressure on in their attacking zone, but the Minutemen jumped in front in the waning minutes of the first period when Jake Gaudet finished off his own rebound for what would become the game-winner.

Massachusetts then earned the first power play of the night to start the second, but Welsch and the River Hawk defense successfully killed it off to keep the difference at just one. Both sides finished the night with two man-up chances.

The Minutemen threatened to stretch their lead with just over 11 minutes to go in the third, as Zac Jones rang the pipe. Four minutes later, with time in regulation winding down, the River Hawks crashed the net following an initial shot by freshman Brehdan Engum (Burnsville, Minn.). A pileup ensued, forcing a review, but the no-goal call stood, as the home team held on for the closely-contested victory.

Following the game, sophomore Matt Brown (Wood Ridge, N.J.) and senior Anthony Baxter (Oakville, Ontario) were named to the 2021 Steve Nazro Hockey East All-Tournament Team.

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