The River Hawks had their first losing weekend of the season in early December, however, because it came against the defending national champions, they weren't harmed by the results too badly.

Lowell recovered at the end of the regular season, sweeping their weekend finale and lifting themselves back into the #15 spot where they at least had a chance to make a tournament bid.

For finishing 2nd (tied) in the conference standings, Lowell received a bye into the quarterfinals and were set against a fairly surprising Merrimack squad.

Lucas Condotta got the Hawks on the board first and the team seemed to carry the balance of play, though they couldn't stop the Pioneers from tying the game near the end of the period.

Lowell managed to kill of three separate penalties in the middle frame, a solid achievement against one of the strongest power plays in the nation.

In less than five minutes, Connor Sodergren netted the River Hawks' second goal and gave hope that Lowell could pull off the upset in front of the partisan crowd.