C.J. Smith

The No. 14 UMass Lowell hockey team used a fast start and never looked back to defeat Notre Dame 5-0, in the first game of the Hockey East quarterfinals Friday night at the Tsongas Center in front of 4,137 fans.The shutout marks the third consecutive for the River Hawks in Hockey East postseason play, marking the first time a team has done that in conference history."We're happy with the effort tonight, obviously things went our way. We had contributions from all four lines, we had some good goaltending, and we're pleased to get off to a good start," said Head Coach. "We realize how tough a series is to win in Hockey East, it has been all year, it's going to be a tough game two and today was a good start."The River Hawks (19-10-6) took the 1-0 lead 62 seconds into the game when(Des Moines, Iowa) snuck a shot underneath Cal Peterson's armpit.(Wexford, Pa.) shoveled the puck off apass from the blue line, and the freshman was there to put the puck home. Smith's first career playoff goal is also his team-leading 15of the season.(Yardley, Pa.) doubled the lead at 8:12 of the first when he put home a rebound off of's original shot. The puck bounced off of Petersen's pads and through a pair of defenders to the waiting senior, who wasted no time with a one-timer into the net.With 2:12 remaining until intermission(San Diego, Calif.) gave UMass Lowell the 3-0 lead on a tip on a(San Diego, Calif.) shot. Francis gathered the puck and fired it in off a(Regina, Sask.) blocked shot, Campbell was all alone in front and used a quick stick to extend the advantage.Playing with a 3-0 lead, the River Hawks came out in the second period with a goal 1:41 into the period courtesy of(Staten Island, N.Y.). Smith sent a pass to the sophomore as Peterson came out to cut down the angle and Gambardella had a wide open net to chose from.(Dearborn, Mich.) extended the lead to 5-0 65 second later at 2:46 when he sent a ice level shot five-hole after receiving in the neutral zone and getting the angle on two defenders.Kapla and Louria each had two assists to be the only players with multiple points. Louria's total set career-highs in points and assists, both coming February 28 against Vermont.(Manalapan, N.J.) made 21 saves for his third shutout of the season, and his first since January 16 at Maine.Peterson made 17 saves on 22 shots before being pulled to start the third period. Chad Katunar made seven saves in the final 20 minutes for the Fighting Irish (17-18-5).Game two between the teams is tomorrow night with the opening faceoff set for 7 p.m. at the Tsongas Center.