Riverhawks Roust Red Raiders
 
 The Lowell Riverhawks were firing on all
cylinders in the 7-1 rout of the ECAC
 powerhouse Red Raiders of Colgate. Sophomore
sniper Greg Koehler (Scarborough,
 Ont.) led the attack with a hat trick and two
assists as junior goalie Scott
 Fankhouser (Littleton, Colorado) backstopped the
Lowell win with 31 saves. The
 Riverhawks broke their seven game winless streak
by outskating the visiting
 Colgate squad. It was a high-flying game that
fizzled out a bit after Lowell had
 assembled an insurmountable seven goal lead.
 
 Lowell scored four goals in the first period
while outshooting Colgate 17-13.
 The Red Raider sophomore goalie Shep Harder
(Wayzata, Minn.) looked strong early
 on and really could not be held too accountable
for the final result. The
 relentless Riverhawk attack coupled with
Colgate's inability to clear rebounds
 was too much for the backup goalie to handle.
Meanwhile, Lowell backup
 Fankhouser was putting in a stellar performance
for the second straight game and
 looks to be solidifying a possible role as
Lowell's #1 goalie. Fankhouser had 36
 saves during Lowell's last game, a 3-3 tie with
the Maine Blackbears three weeks
 ago. The well-rested Riverhawks showed crisp
passing and good speed throughout
 while the Red Raiders were still showing signs of
trouble on the heels of a
 somewhat weak tourney performance last weekend.
 
 Koehler started the goal scoring spree on
Lowell's first power-play. Junior
 forward-turned-defenseman Doug Nolan (Quincy,
Mass.) took the puck down deep
 from his point position and fed a pass back to
Koehler inside the blueline. The
 sophomore netted a wrist shot through a screen
for the 1-0 lead. A few minutes
 later, a Colgate defenseman manhandled a Lowell
forward in front of Harder with
 the resulting scramble pushing Harder out of the
net. Nolan potted a shot from
 the left point which stood for a 2-0 Lowell lead
despite the vehement complaints
 by the Colgate goalie.
 
 Colgate got their first power shortly thereafter,
however Lowell would get a
 backbreaking goal. Greg Koehler rushed a Colgate
blueliner in an attempt to
 block a shot. The Red Raider would allude the
sophomore but the following feed
 down to the slot would be intercepted and with
Koehler already outside the zone,
 sophomore Anthony Cappelletti would bank a pass
off the far boards which Koehler
 was able to gather just outside the Colgate
blueline. Koehler broke in alone
 from the right side, came down deep, deked left
and flipped a backhander over
 Harder's outstretched pad for a 3-0 Lowell lead.
 
 Colgate got a few strong opportunities of their
own. They had several chances
 during the remaining power play and the two teams
traded some strong offensive
 spurts. At one point, Lowell's Fankhouser made
four spectacular sprawling saves
 off Red Raider sticks right on his doorstep. The
inability of the Colgate
 forwards to get the puck off the ice was clearly
evident as the top half of the
 net stood wide open during the whole barrage.
 
 Koehler completed his hat trick at the 19:50 mark
on another power-play. Senior
 defenseman Chris Libett took a slapshot from the
point which Koehler deftly
 redirected for a 4-0 Lowell lead. It was
Koehler's 13th goal of the games well
 as his 8th power play goal putting him in a tie
for second for the nation's
 best, one behind the nine tallies by Bret Meyers
of MTU.
 
 Lowell added three more goals in the first half
of the third period to put the
 game out of reach and glided safely to the final
7-1 result. Freshman Neil
 Boulanger scored his 6th goal when he aptly
batted home a lofted pass from
 freshman linemate Kyle Kidney. Lowell senior
forward Shannon Basaraba added a
 couple of goals, the first on a rebound and the
second a tip of a Wil Tormey
 shot from the point. Koehler assisted on both
Basaraba's goals for a total of
 five points on the night.
 
 Colgate scored their only goal during a
power-play late in the second period.
 Senior Tim Loftsgard put home the second rebound
after a Mark Holdridge slapshot
 and a scramble out front.
 
 Lowell outshot Colgate 17-13 in the first and
19-12 in the second. The two teams
 traded 7 shots in the third.
 
 The win makes Lowell 7-8-2 while Colgate drops to
10-5.  Lowell plays a league
 game at home on Sunday against the neighboring
Merrimack Warriors while Colgate
 visits another HockeyEast team Providence.
 
HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey;  send information to
[log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.