Just a few notes on the UMass-Lowell and UNH home-and-home series this past
weekend.  (Each team won at home.)
 
*  UNH won at their rink on Friday night on the strength of *six* power play
   goals (out of seven).  Lowell has traditionally been good on the special
   teams under Bruce Crowder but the Wildcat's powerplay pummelled Lowell,
   consistently making the quick move to the man on the weak-side circle.
 
*  IMO Lowell goalie Martin Fillion had a good game despite giving up
   seven goals.  On most of the six power play goals he had no chance at all.
   Additionally, he made several positively unconscious saves to keep Lowell
   in the game.
 
*  The game at UNH started a half hour late due to the bad weather.  I
   personally appreciated this since I got there a half hour late and didn't
   miss a thing.  It took somewhere between two and two-and-a-half hours to
   get to UNH from the Andover area!
 
*  The new UNH rink is truly a great one.  I must admit, though, that I like the
   concessions prices at Tully a lot better.  Were the concessions prices as
   high at the old Snively?  The chocolate chips cookies, though, were really
   good according to my eleven-year connoisseur.  :-)
 
*  You know a school (UNH) backs its team strongly when people have season
   tickets all the way into the visitors section at the corner of the rink.
   I bought seats in the visitors section and was vocal in my support
   of Lowell throughout the game.  Nothing vulgar or inappropriate; just one
   loud brilliant insight after another.  :-)  I heard one season ticket holder
   grumble about why their seats had to be in the middle of "the bad guys".
 
*  Back at Lowell on Saturday night, Lowell won 5-4.  I missed all of the first
   period and the early parts of the second because of my son's game, but UNH
   almost came back to tie this by use of a sixth skater.  At somewhere around
   two and a half minutes left they pulled Cavicchi while trailing 5-3.  They
   got to within one with a six-skaters goal with about a minute left.  Putting
   Cavicchi back in until they got the puck into the Lowell zone, the Wildcats
   created a good potential tying opportunity with about fifteen seconds left,
   again using six skaters.
 
DaveH
 
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