LOWELL — For the better part of two tightly contested periods, highlighted by great goaltending at both ends of the ice, 10th-ranked UMass-Lowell had battled top-ranked Boston College to a scoreless stalemate. The River Hawks even outshot the defending NCAA national champions, 27-15.

“They were hard to get, the goals, that’s for sure,’’ said BC coach Jerry York after his Eagles tallied a hard-fought 1-0 victory over the River Hawks before 6,003 at the Tsongas Center. “And the first goal was certainly a very, very important goal for us.’’