Spartans fall at home to UMass-Lowell

By Alyssa Girardi –

EAST LANSING — Following Friday’s game, Spartan head coach Tom Anastos told his team that to be successful, it takes finding what you’re good at and consistently bringing it to the table.

After MSU (0-2-0) lost its home opener, 4-1, to UMass-Lowell (2-3-0), the team still has some searching to do until it finds regular success.

“To become a good team, you have to do things with consistency and you have to be ready to do it at a high level everyday, every time you play,” Anastos said. “That’s something that we have to learn how to do.”

Freshman forward Mackenzie MacEachern (Troy) scored the Spartans’ only goal, and sophomore goaltender Jake Hildebrand stopped 29 of 33 shots in the loss.

UMass-Lowell forward Joe Gambardella tallied the River Hawks’ first goal after he picked up a rebound off a shot from the point and spun with the puck, shooting it through traffic.

About midway through the second period, UMass-Lowell forward Stephen Buco carried the puck into Spartan territory and passed it to linemate Terrence Wallin, who managed to maintain possession despite losing his footing. He returned the puck to Buco in the slot, who buried it to put the River Hawks up 2-0.

“They’re a hard-working team,” Hildebrand said. “They got a couple good bounces; we just didn’t get the bounces tonight. We’re going to get back to work (Saturday).”

In his first collegiate game at Munn Ice Arena, MacEachern picked up the puck on a clearance by redshirt freshman defenseman Rhett Holland and took off on a breakaway, beating UMass-Lowell goaltender Connor Hellebuyck glove-side high.

“It definitely helps a lot,” MacEachern said of scoring his first goal. “You get the monkey off your back so you don’t really have to worry much about it. You can just go worry about your game and what you can do to help the team to win.”

The energy on the bench and in the arena heightened following the Spartan tally, but River Hawk forward Joe Pendenza silenced the excitement with UMass-Lowell’s fourth and final goal of the game. He scored on a breakaway following a turnover.
The UMass-Lowell win also marked a trip home for three River Hawks: Michigan natives Adam Chapie (Oxford), A.J. White (Dearborn) and Hellebuyck (Commerce).

MSU will look for its first win at 7 p.m. Saturday at Munn Ice Arena against Boston University.