March 8, 2010

Senior River Hawk goaltender Carter Hutton (Thunder Bay, Ont.) was named the Pure Hockey Defensive Player of the Week by the conference office on Monday. Hutton receives the honor for the third time this season (Jan. 5 and Feb. 15).

In UMass Lowell's (18-14-4, 12-11-4 HE) win and tie with the Vermont Catamounts this weekend, Hutton stopped 42-of-45 shots for a .933 save percentage and 1.44 goals against average.

On Friday, the Thunder Bay native made 25 saves while allowing two goals in the River Hawks' 5-2 win. In addition to facing 14 first period shots, Hutton blanked all six Vermont power plays.

The senior standout followed with another fantastic performance on Saturday, kicking out 17 shots in UMass Lowell's 1-1 tie. The contest marked the ninth time this season Hutton has allowed one or less goals in a game.

Hutton leads all Hockey East goaltenders in goals against average, 2.06, and save percentage, .928. He also currently ranks first with four shutouts.

The Hockey East weekly honor marks the eighth time the River Hawks' efforts have been noted by the conference this season. In addition to Hutton's accolades, Nick Schaus (Buffalo, NY), Chris Auger (Belleville, Ont.), David Vallorani (Hamilton, Ont.), Scott Campbell (Navan, Ont.) and Jeremy Dehner (Madison, WI) have each been named the Hockey East Player of the Week.

With the regular season now over, UMass Lowell will head to the Alfond Arena for a Hockey East Quarterfinal match up with Maine. The best-of-three series begins on Friday, with puck drop scheduled for 7 p.m. each night.