Scott Morrow kept pushing. After the UMass defenseman gained control of the puck in the neutral zone late in the third period against UMass Lowell on Sunday at Tsongas Arena, he shed one defender to gain the blue line then toe dragged to open a clean look at River Hawks goalie Owen Savory.
Savory stopped the initial attempt but couldn’t corral the puck. Morrow followed the shot and served up a sweet backhand with 2 minutes, 48 seconds left that proved the game-winner. The Minutemen rallied from three deficits and scored two goals in the third period to win just their second game in Lowell in a decade, a 4-3 victory.
“That was a huge win for our team in a lot of ways,” UMass coach Greg Carvel said. “I think for the first time this year I felt like I saw the identity of this team and what it needs to be.”
The victory earned three crucial points in Hockey East for the Minutemen (13-8-3, 10-4-3 HE), who now trail UMass Lowell (15-6-4, 11-5-4) by just a point for the conference lead. The River Hawks have 34 points, while the Minutemen are back on their tail with 33 after dropping their last two games.
“Dropping two, especially in Hockey East, is tough. It’s tough to play here against a Lowell team that’s very well coached,” UMass captain Bobby Trivigno said. “We earned this victory for sure.”
The slide followed the Minutemen up I-495 to open the game, as Andre Lee put UMass Lowell ahead 1:38 in from Carl Berglund and Sam Knoblauch.
“You don’t want to get in here and let them get going,” Carvel said.
Lucas Mercuri helped the Minutemen put the brakes on less than two minutes later. He settled a pass from fellow freshman Ryan Ufko before flinging it with his backhand bouncing past Savory, who finished with 27 saves. Ty Farmer also picked up an assist on the play.
The River Hawks regained the lead with 4:57 left in the first period on a Lucas Condotta goal.
Then UMass’ captain continued his scoring tear to knot the game at 2. UMass Lowell’s Ben Meehan was whistled for hooking 14:51 into the second. Trivigno picked the corner from a ridiculous angle on the left side of the zone from Ufko and Morrow 1:01 later. It was his fifth goal in the last four games and extended his point streak to eight games. The goal was his 13th, a career-high. His previous was 12 as a freshman in 39 games. UMass has played just 32 this season.
“The kids kept pushing. It felt like we got to to a point where enough’s enough,” Carvel said. “Let’s be what we’re going to be this year, and I feel like we were for the past two periods.”
UMass Lowell’s Matt Crasa put the River Hawks on top again with a power play goal with 9:31 left. He also had two goals in the team’s previous matchup at Tsongas.
It only took 3:10 for the Minutemen to respond again. Taylor Makar won the race to a loose puck kept in the zone, sized up Savory the ripped a shot by him to the short side. That was Makar’s first collegiate goal.
“I’ve said all along Taylor is figuring it out and when he figures it out he’s going to be a real good player,” Carvel said.
He appeared to have one in the second period to give UMass a 2-1 lead, but it was waived off because referees ruled the puck was under Savory. Makar’s tally in the third made it 3-3 from Aaron Bohlinger and Eric Faith.
“Can’t do it without any of the boys, the team. It felt good to get that off my chest,” Makar said. “It’s always nice scoring a goal, haven’t for a while.”
Three of UMass’ four goals came from freshmen: Mercuri and Morrow are also in their first year in Maroon. Ufko added two assists.
“It’s the time of the year where your freshmen should stop being freshmen and should be impactful players,” Carvel said.
There was still 2:48 on the clock after Morrow’s backhand, and Lowell pulled Savory with 1:32 remaining for an extra attacker. UMass defenseman Matthew Kessel went to the box for hooking with 55 seconds remaining, but it wasn’t the worst penalty to take because down a man, the Minutemen could clear the puck wherever and however they wanted without fear of an icing penalty.
“That’s one of the top wins I’ve had since I’ve been at UMass,” said Carvel, who has guided the Minutemen to a national title, conference championships and road victories over No. 1 teams. “Very proud our group.”
Kyle Grabowski can be reached at kgrabowski@gazettenet.com. Follow him on Twitter @kylegrbwsk.