Freshman forward Blaine Byron netted the Black Bears third power play goal of the night with less than four minutes to play in regulation and senior goaltender Martin Ouellette came up with some timely saves to propel the University of Maine men’s hockey team to a 4-2 win over the No. 6 University of Massachusetts-Lowell Riverhawks at Alfond Arena Sunday afternoon.
UMaine – 7-6-1 overall, 4-2-1 in Hockey East – jumps UMass-Lowell to move into fourth place in the early conference standings.
The Riverhawks, who came in riding a six-game winning streak, move to fifth with an overall record of 11-5-0, 4-2-0 in Hockey East. They had been 6-1-0 on the road this season entering Sunday’s contest.
“Obviously our power play came through today getting us three goals, which was huge,” UMaine head coach Dennis Gendron said. “I thought we played a pretty good defensive game overall. There were still errors, and when they were made Marty [Ouellette] came up with a few phenomenal saves.”
Byron’s eventual game-winner came on a slap shot from the left side that seemed to have eyes as it trickled through UML sophomore netminder Connor Helleybuck’s pads. Freshman defenseman Eric Schurhamer and senior forward Mark Anthoine assisted on Bryon’s fifth tally of the year.
“I just got the puck along the half-wall, Schurhamer made a good play to get it down to me, and I saw a lane to the net and saw a little bit of traffic there and I thought just to get a shot on net and hope for the best,” Byron said. “Fortunately, it went in.”
The Black Bears began the scoring on the power play less than six minutes in. Freshman forward Cam Brown wired a slap shot from the inside edge of the right circle past Helleybuck for his second goal of the year, assisted by Schurhamer and senior defenseman Brice O’Connor.
The goal broke up a string of nine consecutive goals by UMaine’s sophomore class dating back to their 5-1 win over then-No. 7 Boston College Nov. 23. The Black Bears finished 3-5 with the extra skater on Sunday.
“I think we just got the puck moving fast,” Byron said. “We try to create time and space for each other and get the D moving around. They’re a very good team and we were able to get them moving around. We just tried to create chances for lanes and open ice for our teammates. We were fortunate enough to get some good bounces and find the back of the net tonight.”
“A lot of the [power play] goals we scored weren’t kind of on our set plays,” UMaine sophomore forward Devin Shore said. “The best way to get a power play goal is just to get pucks on net.”
The Riverhawks, who had been converting on their power plays at a 32.6 percent clip in their last 46 chances, finished 1-2 with the extra skater.
UMaine made it 2-2 on the power play four minutes after Brown’s goal to put them up 2-0 on a great effort-play by sophomore center Steven Swavely. UML sophomore forward Adam Chapie looked to have a shorthanded breakaway, but good hustle by Swavely denied him with a timely poke check. The Black Bears were able to counter with a three-on-two the other way, ending in sophomore defenseman Ben Hutton’s seventh goal of the year.
“We lost the puck and they had a semi-breakaway, and Steven Swavely not only got back to kill the play but didn’t take a penalty doing it,” Gendron said. “And then we go back on the ensuing counter attack and Hutton busts his tail to get up ice and make it a three-on-two. That’s a big-time play, but it started with Steven Swavely. He deserves a lot of credit for how that happened.”
“It could’ve been a two-goal swing there and he made an amazing play on the backcheck, and we were fortunate enough to get a three-on-two,” Shore said. “If you give Ben Hutton the puck in the slot, odds are it’s going in.”
Hutton, who was assisted by Shore and junior forward Connor Leen on the play, now leads all Division-I defenseman in goals this season. Both Shore and Hutton upped their point streak to five games on the play.
The Riverhawks cut into the deficit with just over five minutes remaining in the first period on senior forward Derek Arnold’s seventh tally of the season on a scramble around the blue paint. Arnold took advantage of the confusion, shoveling one over Ouellette, who had laid out to try and cover the puck. He was assisted by junior forward Scott Wilson and freshman forward Joe Gambardella.
Ouellette finished with 26 saves on 28 shots to earn his seventh win of the season. Helleybuck falls to 6-4 despite making 34 stops on 37 shots.
After an evenly fought second period that didn’t see many quality offensive looks from either side, UML tied it up on the power play with less than a minute remaining in the frame on sophomore forward Ryan McGrath’s sixth goal of the season. He was assisted by Arnold, who now leads the team in points with 12, and senior forward Joseph Pendenza.
Ouellette was forced to come up with some critical saves early in the third to keep the Riverhawks from taking the lead. His biggest came on a one-on-one opportunity by senior forward Josh Holmstrom after UMaine was caught in the middle of a line change around the 16-minute mark. Ouellette fell for the initial deke but got his glove up in time as he fell to the ice to deny Holmstrom’s snap shot and preserve the 2-2 tie.
“That was our weakest moment of the game, the start of the third period,” Gendron said. “Marty made two or three saves in the third period, especially early, that were legit. Again, if they score on those plays, the whole complexion of the game is different.
“A lot of it is doing things at the right time,” he added. “You make a big save at the right time, it can lead to victory.”
“The third period was our best period in my mind,” UML head coach Norm Bazin said. “You have to finish on some of those chances, and we had an opportunity. It just wasn’t meant to be.”
The Riverhawks responded with a flurry of chances in the closing minutes following Byron’s go-ahead goal but could not get one past Ouellette.
UMaine senior forward Jon Swavely netted his first goal of the year after UML pulled Helleybuck in favor of the extra skater to seal the 4-2 win.
The win marks the Black Bears second victory against a top 10 opponent this season, the first coming two weekends ago against BC. UMaine leads the all-time series with UML with a record of 78-44-3, including a 42-18-1 mark at home.
“That’s a huge win for us,” Shore said. “To only have one game on a weekend, it’s kind of all or nothing. Against a top ten team like them — they’re a great team and it’s a tough battle so that was big.”
UMaine hosts American International College in a two-game set Dec. 13 and 14. The Riverhawks get back into action in the Vermont Catamount Cup Dec. 28 and 29.
Video by Taylor Emhart