Despite a spirited comeback and allowing just 17 shots, the UMass Lowell hockey team fell just short of defending its Cactus Cup title Saturday night in Palm Springs, Calif.
Trailing 3-0 after two periods, UMass Lowell (7-12-0) scored twice, but the second goal came with just 3.4 seconds left on the clock, as the River Hawks fell 3-2 to St. Cloud State.
Freshman Josh Mori (Richmond, B.C.) collected his first collegiate goal to get the comeback started. Senior Dillan Bentley (Peoria, Ill.) scored his team-leading 10th goal of the season and the third of his weekend after UML pulled goaltender Samuel Richard (Sainte-Catherine, Quebec) for an extra skater.
Picking up an assist each were freshman Luke Shipley (Powell River, B.C), freshman David Adaszynski (Burnaby, B.C.), junior Sean Kilcullen (Kensington, Md.) and sophomore Dominic Payne (North Vancouver, B.C.).
UML put 23 shots on net. Richard made 14 saves. St. Cloud went 0-for-3 on the power play, while UML went 0-for-1 with the man advantage.
The River Hawks advanced to the title game by upsetting 14th-ranked Minnesota State, 3-1.
UML returns to Hockey East next weekend, playing UConn at PeoplesBank Arena on Friday in Hartford at 7 p.m., before hosting the rematch Saturday at 7:05 p.m. at the Tsongas Center in Lowell.