The No. 19 University of Maine men’s hockey team is still searching for their first road win of the season following a two-game trip to Massachusetts this past weekend.
The Black Bears earned a hard fought draw against the University of Massachusetts-Lowell before getting beat down by Boston College the following night. UMaine – 11-8-3 overall, 5-3-2 in conference – remains in fourth place in the Hockey East standings with two games in hand on the first-place Eagles.
They’ll look to put Saturday night’s loss behind them when they take on the University of New Brunswick in an exhibition bout Tuesday night in Alfond Arena before matching up with archrival University of New Hampshire in a home-and-home set next Friday and Saturday night.
Ouellette, Lomberg boost No. 19 men’s hockey to 1-1 draw with No. 10 UMass-Lowell
The 19th-ranked University of Maine men’s ice hockey team needed a career-high 39 stops from senior goaltender Martin Ouellette and a timely third period goal from sophomore forward Ryan Lomberg to escape the Tsongas Center with a 1-1 draw against the tenth-ranked University of Massachusetts-Lowell Riverhawks Friday night.
UMaine takes the season series against the Riverhawks following their 4-2 win in the Alfond back on Dec. 8. UMass-Lowell – 14-6-2, 4-3-1 in conference play – sits in fifth place in the Hockey East standings with three games in hand on first-place BC following their victory over the struggling Boston University Terriers the following night.
Lomberg’s seventh goal of the season came with less than two minutes remaining in regulation on a backhand shot that beat UMass-Lowell sophomore netminder Connor Hellebuyck high on the glove side to send the game to extra time. He was assisted by sophomore defenseman Ben Hutton, whose slap shot from the blue line created Lomberg’s chance in front with Ouellette pulled in favor of the extra skater.
Junior forward Stu Higgins had a golden chance to win it with 10 seconds left, but Hellebuyck’s desperation save denied him to extend the game.
Hellebuyck finished with 28 saves on 29 shots.
UMass-Lowell junior forward Scott Wilson had a chance to win it less than two minutes into extra time before Ouellette’s left pad denied him.
Riverhawk sophomore forward Adam Chapie opened the scoring with less than three minutes to play in the first period. Freshman forward Joe Gambardella won the puck in the neutral zone before relaying it to Chapie over the blue line. Chapie’s wrist shot from the right circle beat Ouellette high on the blocker side for his eighth tally of the season that put UML up 1-0.
UMaine freshman defenseman Eric Schurhamer’s potential game-tying shot was denied by the post midway through the second period for the Black Bears best chance at equalizing before Lomberg’s goal in the final moments of the third.
The Riverhawks outshot UMaine 40-29 overall, including a 6-1 advantage in the overtime period.
The two teams combined to go 0-5 on the power play.
UMaine sophomore forward Devin Shore failed to find the score sheet, snapping his 11-game point streak that dates back to the Black Bears’ 7-0 victory over BU on Nov. 15.
UML travels to Rhode Island for a two-game set against Providence College Jan. 24-25.
Hayes, Gaudreau help BC get revenge, top Black Bears 7-2
Eight different players found the score sheet for No. 3 Boston College Saturday night, including two five-point performances from senior forward Kevin Hayes and junior forward Johnny Gaudreau, to propel the Eagles to a 7-2 win over the No. 19 Black Bears at Kelley Rink.
BC – 16-4-3 overall, 10-1-1 in Hockey East – sits atop the conference standings with 21 points in 12 games, six points ahead of second place Northeastern University. They are now unbeaten in their last nine games.
Hayes netted his first career hat trick to go along with two assists in the contest, extending his point streak to an NCAA-best 18 games. Four other Eagles had multi-point performances Saturday night, including Gaudreau with five assists, senior forward Patrick Brown with two power play goals and one assist, senior forward Bill Arnold with one goal and two assists and freshman defenseman Scott Savage, who tallied two helpers of his own.
Higgins and senior forward Jon Swavely found the twine for the Black Bears.
BC struck just 70 seconds after puck drop following a UMaine chance at the other end. Hayes was set up on a nice two-line pass from Gaudreau at the right post before his initial shot attempt was denied by Ouellette. Hayes was able to put home the rebound, however, to give the Eagles the early lead.
The Black Bears would tie it up with just .9 seconds remaining until the first intermission following a video review by the referees. Swavely would eventually get credited with his second goal of the season after jamming the puck past BC freshman goaltender Thatcher Demko following a scrum in front of the net.
Arnold would put the Eagles back on top with Lomberg in the penalty box less than five minutes into the middle stanza after a nice passing display from Hayes and Savage.
Brown would add an insurance marker less than a minute later off a feed from Gaudreau from below the goal line, with the secondary assist going to Arnold. Brown would beat Ouellette five-hole following a scrum in front to put BC up 3-1.
Freshman defenseman Ian McCoshen would make it 4-1 52 seconds after that on a feed from Brown. McCoshen hammered home a one-timer from the slot, with the secondary assist going to freshman forward Ryan Fitzgerald.
Ouellette would be pulled in favor of fellow senior netminder Dan Sullivan following the McCoshen tally. He finished with 12 saves on 16 shots while Sullivan managed 13 saves on 16 shots in relief.
Higgins would cut it to two on the power play after capitalizing on a rebound in front following a Shore shot from the right circle.
Brown made it 5-2 off another assist from Gaudreau on the power play less than two minutes into the final stanza.
Demko, who finished with 23 saves in the win, picked up a secondary assist on BC’s sixth goal with less than five minutes to play. He left the puck for Gaudreau in the corner who sent a long pass up to Hayes, creating a two-on-one chance. He elected to shoot the puck himself, beating Sullivan top shelf for his second goal of the game to put the Eagles up by four.
He would complete his hat trick on the power play a little over two minutes later with the help of a deflection in front to cap the scoring at 7-2.
The Black Bears finished 1-7 on the power play, while BC managed a 3-7 showing on the man advantage. The Eagles held a 32-25 edge in shots Saturday night.
The Eagles have a quick turnaround as they take to the road to take on Merrimack College Jan. 21 at 7 p.m.