ORONO – The 2023-24 season was a long one for UMass Lowell winger Owen Fowler because he had to sit out with a broken kneecap.
Fowler has since transferred to the University of Maine and Black Bears head coach Ben Barr thought he was UMaine’s best forward in Saturday afternoon’s 5-0 exhibition win over Army.
Junior left winger Fowler figured in three of the five goals, scoring once and getting two assists.
Linemates Oskar Komarov, Anthony Calafiore and Thomas Pichette also figured in the scoring as freshmen Komarov (1 goal, 1 assist) and Thomas Pichette (2 assists) had two points apiece and sophomore Anthony Calafiore scored a goal.
Because it was an exhibition game, teams are allowed to dress extra players so UMaine head coach Ben Barr rotated the four of them on the fourth line.
Senior left wing and UMass transfer Taylor Makar and sophomore left wing Sully Scholle had the other goals and Albin Boija and freshman Patriks Berzins combined to make eight saves for the shutout.
UMaine outshot the youthful Black Knights, who had 17 freshmen and sophomores in their lineup, by margin of 44-8.
“Owen played the right way,” said Barr. “He is a tenacious, waterbug type of player.”
In addition to playing a regular shift, Fowler also kills penalties and is on a power play unit.
Unfortunately for Fowler and his teammates, none of the statistics count since it was just an exhibition game.
Fowler said there is definitely a process involved with coming back off a season-ending injury.
“It takes time. I thought my game one was pretty good and I took some steps [forward] off of that. I had a good night tonight and I’m looking forward to keep going on to Quinnipiac,” said the five-foot-nine, 190-pound native of Tewksbury, Mass.
He said he moved his feet more than he did against AIC.
“When you miss some game time, you catch yourself standing still a little bit. So I just kept driving my feet. I had chances and my linemates did well, too,” said Fowler, who had five goals and seven assists in 33 games for the River Hawks his freshman season (2022-23) and led the UMass Lowell rookies in assists and blocked shots (23).
Komarov opened the scoring by tipping a Fowler wrister from the midpoint past freshman goalie J.J. Cataldo with 2:35 left in the first period. Pichette set the screen in front and notched an assist.
Cataldo stopped 13 of 14 shots in the first period.
Makar made it 2-0 at the expense of another freshman goalie, Jacob Biron, 35 seconds into the second period when he neatly tucked a wrist shot under the crossbar after his initial shot was blocked.
Fowler and Grayson Arnott assisted.
Scholle made it 3-0 30 seconds later when he intercepted an ill-advised cross-ice pass by a Black Knight and beat Biron to the near side past his blocker.
Calafiore scored at the 15:58 mark by sweeping home a Jack Dalton rebound and Fowler scored with 25 seconds left in the period off a wraparound.
Biron, son of longtime National Hockey League goaltender Martin Biron, made 10 saves on 14 shots before sophomore Gus Holt stopped all 16 shots he faced in the third period.
“Our work ethic has been pretty solid through two games and that is going to be our identity. It always has been. But it has to be [the same] for this team to keep moving forward and accomplish things we want to accomplish,” said Barr, who has now received goals from eight different players in the two games.
Brian Riley, who is retiring after this season, his 21st as the head coach at Army, praised Barr and his Black Bears.
“I told our guys sometimes you think you’re going hard but that team right there, they were so hard on the pucks for 60 minutes. I was so impressed,” said Riley, a long-time friend of Barr’s. “I go way back with [Barr] so I knew his team would play like that. They play the right way.
“They aren’t [a team with] 15 NHL draft picks but they are a team that plays with will. They obviously have skill. I love those types of teams that play to an identity,” Riley added.
Makar is the only NHL draft choice on the UMaine roster. He was a seventh round pick (220th overall) of the Colorado Avalanche where his older brother, Cale, is an NHL All-Star defenseman.
UMaine, 10th in one national poll and 11th in another, will host eighth-ranked Quinnipiac (Conn.) on Friday night at 7 and Saturday night at 7:30 while Army will travel to Holy Cross for Saturday (7) and Sunday (5) night games.
