LOWELL, Mass.– Sun Devil Hockey scored the first goal of the game, but it wasn't enough as the No. 8 UMass Lowell River Hawks stormed back to claim a 4-1 victory.
Things started off well for ASU, as Ryan Stevens scored his third of the season at the 5:16 mark of the first period on a one-time feed from Garrett Peterson. Anthony Croston also had an assist. ASU held a 6-4 shot advantage at the six-minute mark.
Then the River Hawks flexed their muscles as the nation's No. 8 team. It took just 23 seconds to tie the game back up at 1. Then 3:13 later they scored again, and again 6:27 after that. At the end of the first period UMass Lowell held a 3-1 lead.
The River Hawks added one more in the second to bring the game to its 4-1 final score.
ASU and UMass Lowell have their rematch Saturday at 5:00 p.m. MT at the Tsongas Center in Lowell. ASU then heads up to North Andover for a 2:00 p.m. MT clash with Merrimack.