Hockey East Roundup: No. 4 UMass Lowell Upended By Penn State 4-1

No team is safe in the Hockey East this season.

One night after No. 16 Providence handed No. 10 Vermont its second loss of the season, unranked Penn State (6-2-2) traveled to UMass-Lowell (7-2-2) and handed the River Hawks a 4-1 loss.

The Nittany Lions came roaring out of the gates, opening up a 2-0 lead less than 10 minutes into the game thanks to back-to-back goals from Casey Bailey, both off assists from Taylor Holstrom. Penn State added a third goal from Eric Scheid with 13 seconds remaining in the first period and opened the second frame with a goal from Tommy Olczyk less than a minute into the period to take a 4-0 advantage.

Yet Bailey’s second score would prove to be enough, as UMass-Lowell managed only a goal from Zack Kamrass halfway through the third period.

River Hawks goaltender Jeff Smith was taken out of the game after allowing his fourth goal; backup netminder Kevin Boyle recorded 17 saves in 39:07 minutes of action to finish the game.

UMass will look to bounce back next Thursday night when it travels to South Bend to take on Notre Dame. Penn State will return to league play next Friday when it heads to Ann Arbor to take on Michigan.

Around the League:

Merrimack 4, Notre Dame 1: The Warriors (7-3-1) avenged Friday night’s overtime loss by scoring four unanswered goals to start the game against the Fighting Irish (6-5-1). Freshman forward Mathieu Tibbet scored two of Merrimack’s goals, while goaltender Rasmus Tirronen stopped 20 of Notre Dame’s 21 shots.

Northeastern 2, New Hampshire 1: The Huskies (1-8-1) picked up their first win of the season thanks to third-period goals from Ryan Rosenthal and Nolan Stevens. Goaltender Clay Witt stopped 35 shots, including 18 in the second period, to limit the Wildcats (4-6-0) to just one goal from forward Kyle Smith.

Vermont 2, Providence 1: The Catamounts (7-2-1) got back on the winning track, holding off a late comeback from the Friars (4-5-1) to remain in first place in the Hockey East standings. Malcolm McKinney and Mario Puskarich gave Vermont a 2-0 advantage in the first period, and goaltender Mike Santaguida made 32 saves to preserve the win.

Photo via Facebook/Penn State Men’s Hockey