UMass-Lowell 8, Massachusetts 2
The River Hawks offense entered the evening in the bottom half of the nation, but certainly broke out at Mullins Center as they erupted for eight goals in a blowout of the rival Minutemen. Senior captain Riley Wetmore buried three goals over the first 35 minutes of the contest, becoming the first UML skater to turn the trick since David Vallorani on Dec. 5, 2009. After hitting the seven-goal mark twice last season, the River Hawks posted an additional score for the first time since doing so in a win over Bentley on Jan. 25, 2011 at Tsongas Center. Additionally, junior Joseph Pendenza posted two goals for UML and sophomore Scott Wilson doubled his previous point total so far this season with a goal and two assists. UMass scored two of the final four goals in the contest, beating junior Doug Carr (24 saves) off the sticks of junior Michael Pereira and senior Rocco Carzo. Following the beating, the River Hawks return to Tsongas Center next Saturday afternoon for a post-holiday date with ECAC Hockey foe Princeton. UMass has a quick turnaround with its annual Tuesday match with Vermont, taking place in Amherst.
Vermont 3, Northeastern 2
Junior alternate captain Chris McCarthy scored twice in two periods and rookie netminder Brody Hoffman made 33 saves as the Catamounts toppled the visiting Huskies in the 50th all-time meeting between the two teams at Gutterson Fieldhouse. With the win, UVM snaps a four-game losing streak in the series, but has still dropped at least one point to the Huskies in five of the last seven games. Freshman Kevin Roy was the offensive star for the visitors as he scored both NU goals in the final four minutes of regulation, while senior Bryan Mounain made 22 stops in his third start and loss of the season. After Roy cut the deficit to one at 15:20, Catamount senior Brett Bruneteau buried a breakaway goal past Mountain less than 90 seconds later for the winner, lifting UVM to its second win of the year. The Huskies look for their third non-conference win in as many attempts as St. Lawrence visits Matthews Arena on Friday in the first head-to-head meeting in ten years.
Earlier today, New Hampshire beat Boston University for the second time this season with a 3-1 win at Agganis Arena. Junior Kevin Goumas scored twice for the Wildcats.
Joshua Kummins is the Hockey East beat writer and a weekend editor for SB Nation Boston. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKummins.