LOWELL, Mass. – Sophomores Filip Engarås (Stockholm, Sweden) and Eric Esposito (West Haven, Conn.) each recorded a goal as the University of New Hampshire men's hockey team tied the No. 12 UMass Lowell River Hawks, 2-2, at the Tsongas Center on Friday night.
The Wildcats are now 15-13-3, (9-10-2 HEA) on the season, and the River Hawks are 16-10-6, (10-7-5 HEA).
UP NEXT:
The Wildcats will conclude the two-game series versus the River Hawks on Saturday, Feb. 29 at 7 p.m. at the Whittemore Center for Star Wars Night presented by Army ROTC. The first 2,500 fans will receive a Baby Wild E. stadium cup, plus 100 special edition Baby Wild E. t-shirts will be used for t-shirt tosses during the game. Individual game tickets with affordable options that start as low as $9 and a convenient six-ticket flexible miniplan can be purchased for the season by calling the Whittemore Center Box Office at (603) 862-4000 or by visiting UNHWildcats.com.
At 4:36 of the first period, junior Eric MacAdams (Salem, Mass.) almost put the 'Cats on the board first when he skated from his own blue line and fired a shot from the right face-off circle that ricocheted off the cross bar
UML took the first lead of the game at 17:41 when Colin O'Neil fired a shot from the point, and Sam Knoblauch was able to get a stick on the puck in traffic, tipping it in.
UNH quickly responded with 30 seconds left in the first to tie the score 1-1 with a power play goal from sophomore Engarås. Sophomore Jackson Pierson (Zionsville, In.) sent the puck from the point to junior Max Gildon (Plano, Texas) at the right face-off circle. Gildon was able to send a one-time pass to Engarås who blasted a shot to get the equalizer.
UML outshot UNH by a margin of 9-4 in the first period. UNH went 1-1 on the power play, while UML went 0-2.
At 11:40 of the second, Esposito stole the puck at center ice, and outskated two UML defenders for a breakaway where buried the puck to the lower glove side of Tyler Wall.
In the second period, UNH had 15 shots and UML had five. UNH and UML both went 0-2 on the power play.
UML pulled it's goalie in favor of an extra attacker, while also on the power play to make it a 6-4 advantage against UNH. John McDonald was able to find the back of the net with a blast from the point to tie the score 2-2 with 57 seconds remaining in regulation.
The OT period was scoreless as the game ended in a 2-2 tie.
Patrick Grasso (Photo by Richard Gagnon)
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Mike Robinson (Photo by Richard Gagnon)
Junior Mike Robinson (Bedford, N.H.) made 27 saves and Wall recorded 24.
UML outshot UNH by a 29-26 margin.
The Wildcats went 1-3 on the power play and the River Hawks went 1-5.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
Engarås has tallied 14 points in the last 15 games, with seven goals and seven assists
Gildon has posted one goal and six assists for seven points over the last eight games.
This season, UNH is 8-4-1 after a loss.
The Wildcats are 5-2-2 versus nationally ranked opponents this season.
UNH is 5-2-3 in overtime this season.
STAY CONNECTED
There are numerous ways to stay connected with the UNH men's hockey team. Follow the Wildcats on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
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