1st period went well last night. Thought they did a great job pressuring puck carriers and played a very aggressive and heavy forecheck in the first frame. Better breakouts during 5 on 5 play and the power play as well. They 1st PP saw some solid puck retention and zone time. Was really happy to see Knoblauch get off the snide and back on the scoring sheet, it's been a trying year for him. He made a couple of good retention plays to keep zone time alive for Lowell. Stuff like that doesn't show up on the scoring sheet, but should be noted.
Not sure what happened in the 2nd. UNH flipped the script on the Hawks and Lowell seemed to have no answer for the pressure. Saw way too many turnovers in the 2nd coming out of the defensive zone and at the offensive blue line. I believe it was Chase who took the slashing call in the 2nd, but Baxter left him no choice by turning over the puck right at the blue line.
Third period I thought Lowell did a great job at building momentum leading up to the 6 on 4 goal. They returned to hounding puck carriers and the game got stuck for a while in the neutral zone. What kind of captain takes a hooking call with 2 minutes left in a one goal game? UNH really goofed on that one and it was nice to see Lowell score a goal from 45' feet out....
Huge game tonight, this is a must-win if they want home ice...