LOWELL, Mass. – Junior forward Cy LeClerc of Brentwood and senior forward Robert Cronin each scored for the Wildcats but the No. 10 seed University of New Hampshire men’s hockey team fell to No. 7 seed and No. 19 nationally-ranked UMass Lowell, 3-2 in overtime, in the opening round of the Hockey East Tournament on Wednesday night at the Tsongas Center.

Scout Truman scored the game winner in overtime for the River Hawks.

Senior goalie Rico DiMatteo made 39 saves for UNH.

The Wildcats conclude the season with a 13-16-6 record, while the River Hawks improve to 16-15-4 and advance to the quarterfinals and will play at No. 2 seed Maine on Saturday, March 15 at 6 p.m.

At 3:38 of overtime, Truman scored the game winner when he stole the puck and then sent a shot to the upper corner of the goal.

At 9:33 of the first period, Chris Delaney fired a loose puck from the slot to give the River Hawks a 1-0 lead.

The Wildcats then tied the game at 10:58 when LeClerc blasted a one-timer to the glove side of the net from a pass by senior defenseman Luke Reid (Warman, Saskatchewan). Junior forward Morgan Winters (Osprey, Fla.) also posted an assist on the goal. The goal by LeClerc was his eighth of the season.

UNH went out to a 2-1 advantage at 12:27 with a power play goal by Cronin as he controlled a pass by sophomore forward Ryan Conmy (Alexandria, Va.) and sent a shot to the back of the net. LeClerc also added his second assist of the night. The goal was Cronin’s team-leading 17th of the season.

The River Hawks evened the game at 2-2 at 11:23 of the second period when Matt Crasa scored on a wrist shot from the faceoff circle to the upper corner of the net.