Worthington, Wetmore and Goers look to continue with winning way

#16 UMass Lowell (14-9-2, 8-6-0 HE) will face Northeastern (10-11-1, 6-10-1 HE) for the fourth time this season at Matthews Arena on Friday night at 7 p.m. The River Hawks are 2-1-0 against the Huskies in 2009-10 and already clinched the season series.

After 95 previous meetings, UMass Lowell leads the series 53-35-7 and has been successful on the road, with a 28-18-5 record at the Huskies' home sites. The programs are quietly developing an intense rivalry after a series of electrifying games over the past two seasons, highlighted by their Hockey East playoff game last year.

The last time the two programs clashed, the River Hawks pulled off a 6-5 overtime win live on NESN in the Matthews Arena on Jan. 9. UMass Lowell held a 4-1 lead after two periods on goals by Chris Auger (Belleville, Ont.), Paul Worthington (Penndel, PA), Jeremy Dehner (Madison, WI) and Scott Campbell (Navan, Ont.). The big lead slipped away and the teams eventually skated to a 5-5 tie at the end of regulation. Michael Scheu (Buffalo, NY) played the hero, tapping in a dramatic sliding goal with less than 30 seconds left in the extra frame.

The River Hawks are fresh off of a 3-1 win over Boston College last Saturday. Campbell scored on a hesitation move to put UMass Lowell up, 1-0, in the second. Boston College's Ben Smith evened the score early in the third, setting the table for a dramatic ending in front of 5,711 fans in the Tsongas. With about seven minutes remaining, Michael Budd (Burlington, Ont.) hit Worthington with an excellent pass as he emerged through the neutral zone on a breakaway. Worthington skated in on goaltender John Muse and, as he was tripped from behind, the senior forward slide the puck through Muse's five-hole for the win. River Hawks' goaltender Carter Hutton (Thunder Bay, Ont.) stopped 25-of-26 shots to improve to 8-6-0.

In addition, Dehner was named the Hockey East Athletic Republic Player of the Week for collecting four points and a +4 rating over the weekend.

Tonight is UMass Lowell's lone contest of the weekend, leaving time to prepare for the impending arrival of Boston University, on Feb. 5. Tickets are still available by visiting the Tsongas Arena box office or by calling Ticketmaster at (617) 931-2222. Have a group of 20+? Call Scott Donnelly at 978-934-4988 for ticket information and group rates.