In just his third collegiate start, Chris Davidson looked like a four-year veteran.
The sophomore netminder stopped a dozen shots in each period, leading UMass-Lowell to a 4-1 win over Colorado College Saturday and a split of their weekend series at the Colorado Springs World Arena.
The loss, before a crowd of 6,081, was Colorado College’s first at home to a nonconference opponent since January 29, 2000, when it dropped a 3-1 decision to Niagara. The Tigers had gone 11-0-1 in such games since then.
Davidson, who allowed six goals and four power-play tallies on just 27 shots in Friday’s defeat, thwarted numerous scoring chances for the Tigers, who outshot the River Hawks in all three periods. Colorado College failed to convert on any of its six opportunities with the man advantage.
UMass-Lowell, meanwhile, capitalized on two of its five power plays, as well as the Tigers’ failure to corral rebounds.
“We had a lot of scrambling in front of the net, and we weren’t able to clear the puck and control rebounds,” said Colorado College goaltender Curtis McElhinney, who finished with 18 saves and saw his collegiate record drop to 7-1-1. “Our penalty killing isn’t real strong right now.”
Despite getting just one shot on goal in the first 10 minutes, UMass-Lowell got on the board first at the 12:30 mark. Mark Concannon fired a wrister that McElhinney saved but failed to cover, and junior Anders Strome was there to convert.
The River Hawks doubled their lead near the end of the period on a similar goal, this time on the power play. Freshman Danny O’Brien backhanded a rebound past McElhinney for his first collegiate point.
CC dictated the tempo for much of the second period, outshooting the visitors 13-5, but saw its deficit increase to 4-0. Geoff Schomogyi and Ed McGrane each scored their second goal in as many games midway through the frame, and each picked up an assist on the other’s tally.
Davidson, meanwhile, denied the Tigers on many high-percentage chances throughout the period. Midway through the frame, he broke up Tyler Liebel’s attempt at a breakaway goal, sprawling on the ice as the puck trickled just wide. With four minutes left in the period, he again denied Liebel a breakaway score, poking the puck away with his stick.
Colorado College finally got on the scoreboard late in the second period, as Scott Polaski split the defense, then found junior Peter Sejna alone on the left side. Sejna slid the puck through Davidson’s legs for his second goal of the season.
The Tigers again controlled play through much of the third period, but couldn’t convert on any of their 12 shots on goal.
“We didn’t play a full 60 minutes, and that’s why we got beat,” said CC junior forward Colin Stuart. “We’re a young team, and hopefully we can take something out of this.”
