The No. 20 University of Maine men’s hockey team bounced back from a 3-2 loss Friday night with a 4-2 win the following evening to split their two-game series with the University of New Hampshire this past weekend.
It was the first home-and-home series between the two rivals since March of 1995.
The Black Bears – 12-9-3 overall, 6-4-2 in Hockey East play – lead the all-time series with a record of 60-51-6. They get back on the ice with a two-game set at Notre Dame University Feb. 7-8 after having next weekend off.
The Wildcats – 14-13-1 overall, 6-6-0 in Hockey East – host the Irish in a two-game set of their own Jan. 31 and Feb. 1
Black Bears still winless on the road after 3-2 loss to UNH
UNH used two second period goals, the eventual game-winner coming from junior forward Jay Camper, to best UMaine 3-2 in the first game of the rivals’ home-and-home series at the Whittemore Center in Durham, N.H. Friday night.
The loss drops the Black Bears to 0-8-2 away from the Alfond this season. They have been outscored 32-15 in road games in 2013-14.
Camper’s first goal of the season came less than three minutes into the third period to extend the Wildcats’ lead to 3-1 off a feed from freshman forward Tyler Kelleher on a three-on-two.
UMaine senior goaltender Martin Ouellette got the start between the pipes, stopping 24 of the 27 shots he faced in the loss. Junior Casey DeSmith earned the win for the Wildcats after mustering 34 saves at the other end.
UNH senior forward Nick Sorkin and UMaine sophomore forward Will Merchant each scored in the opening three minutes of the first period to set the tone.
Sorkin’s 14th goal of the season came just 47 seconds after puck drop on a two-on-one with senior center Kevin Goumas. Sorkin elected to keep it himself, beating Ouellette at the far post to open the scoring.
Merchant’s first official tally of the year came just under two minutes later when he capitalized on a fortunate deflection in the slot following a wrist shot from freshman forward Josh Henke. Merchant used the heavy traffic in front of the crease to wire one past DeSmith and knot the score at 1-1.
UNH senior defenseman Eric Knodel would give the Wildcats the 2-1 lead with just over seven minutes remaining in the second period despite a dominant territorial edge by the Black Bears.
He took a pass from sophomore blue-liner Brett Pesce at the center dot and hammered one towards the net, catching Ouellette off guard and finding the net for his sixth goal of the season.
UMaine senior forward Mark Anthoine would bring the Black Bears within one once again with Ouellette pulled in favor of the extra skater, stuffing the puck past DeSmith on the doorstep with 54.7 seconds to go in regulation, but that is as far as the comeback would go. It was Anthoine’s seventh goal of the year.
The two teams played in front of a sell-out crowd at the Whit, UNH’s fourth straight sell-out game.
The Black Bears outshot the Wildcats 34-27. Both teams finished 0-1 on the power play.
Shore’s four points leads UMaine to 4-2 comeback victory over UNH
ORONO, Maine – After going pointless in the first game of the home-and-home against the Wildcats the previous night, UMaine sophomore forward Devin Shore responded in a big way at the Alfond on Saturday.
Shore – one goal, three assists – had a hand in all four Black Bear tallies to lead UMaine to a 4-2 comeback victory over UNH to earn the split in Game Two.
“Devin Shore is one of the elite players who have played here,” UMaine head coach Dennis Gendron said. “The kid is a special player. He’s even more special because of his leadership qualities – the way he takes care of himself, how he conducts his business on a daily basis.”
The Wildcats, who took a 2-1 lead into the final period, gave up three third period goals to the Black Bears Saturday night. They had been 12-0-0 when leading after 40 minutes this season, while the Black Bears had been 0-6-1 when trailing after two periods.
“That’s a tough thing to do,” Gendron said. “If you look at the stats, I think that’s the first time this year where we’ve come back from being down going into the third period to win a game. There’s only a few [in Hockey East] where teams have won after being down after two periods. That’s a testament to these kids and what they did tonight.”
The Wildcats began the scoring on the power play less than five minutes in on a goal by Pesce before Shore answered him a little over two minutes later.
Sorkin would find the twine to give UNH the 2-1 lead with just under six minutes to go in the second period before UMaine freshman defenseman Eric Schurhamer’s tally early in the third tied it and Lomberg’s eventual game-winner gave the Black Bears their first lead of the series with around 10 minutes to go in regulation. Freshman forward Brian Morgan would convert on an empty-net chance in the final minute to seal it for the Black Bears.
UMaine was able to carry the play throughout in terms of time on the puck and shots despite being down heading into the final 20 minutes. They finished with a 37-25 edge in shots.
“I think just as an entire team we wanted to elevate our intensity [going into the third],” Shore said. “We were playing well, we were battling, but we needed to start willing the puck into the net no matter [what it took].”
Ouellette and DeSmith got the start between the pipes once again for the two rivals. Ouellette finished with 23 saves on 25 shots while DeSmith mustered 33 saves in defeat.
Pesce’s goal came via a one-timer after a Knodel feed from the point. He was able to beat Ouellette low on the stick side to begin the scoring. Goumas also earned a helper on the play.
Shore tied it at one off assists from sophomore defenseman Ben Hutton and Lomberg after corralling his own rebound. He managed to beat DeSmith with a wrister from just inside the left circle for his 12th goal of the season.
Sorkin’s goal came despite sustained pressure from the Black Bears in the attacking zone with less than six minutes to play in the middle period. He took an Agosta feed and managed to get off a snap shot that beat Ouellette with a little help from the post to take a 2-1 lead into the final frame.
Schurhamer’s goal ignited the Black Bear comeback 2:29 into the third on a wrist shot from the left point following a slick cross-ice pass from Shore through the slot.
Lomberg’s eventual game-winner came off another great effort from Shore, who stole the puck in the attacking zone before finding his linemate for the one-timer from the right slot to put UMaine up 3-2.
“I got the initial shot away and their guy picked it up on the other side of the net,” Shore said. “He looked up ice, and fortunate for us, he wasn’t expecting me to come in behind him and I was just able to catch him off guard. Ryan made an unbelievable shot.”
“Coming into the third period, I thought we were in good position,” UNH head coach Dick Umile said. “But Maine came back and that [Lomberg] goal was a killer for us.”
Shore’s fourth and final point came on Morgan’s empty-netter after he managed to fight through a few Wildcat defenders in his own zone before finding the freshman forward up ice. UNH had pulled DeSmith in favor of the extra attacker with 1:09 to go in regulation.
It was Morgan’s fifth tally of the year.
The Wildcats were without two of their top scorers in defenseman Trevor Van Riemsdyk and forward Grayson Downing, while the Black Bears were minus first line winger Steven Swavely and junior center Stu Higgins.
The two teams played in front of a sellout crowd of 5,125 people, UMaine’s first sellout since their 5-1 win over Boston College on Nov. 23.