Playing their annual game at the Cumberland County Civic Center, the University of Maine men’s hockey picked up a 4-3 victory over Clarkson University, halting their streak of five straight games without a win.
The Black Bears improve to 4-6-2 on the season, while the Golden Knights fall to 7-5-3 this year.
Maine forward Adam Shemanksy led the way for the Black Bears, scoring two for his first multi-goal game of the season.
The Black Bears had the lead going into each intermission, scoring two in the first two periods to hold off Clarkson.
Even with a late barrage of shots by Clarkson, the Black Bears outshot the Golden Knights, 37-33.
“It was one of those nights where both teams were creating a lot of chances,” said Clarkson coach Casey Jones. “I thought we had a real good third period. Gave it everything we had to tie it up. We thought one was in. We had them back on their
heels.”
The lack of official replay might have cost Clarkson a chance at tying things up late in the third during an offensive rush. The game took place at the home of the America Hockey League’s Portland Pirates, and the AHL does not have official replay available.
“I don’t know how a game of this magnitude doesn’t have official replay,” Jones said. “It’s unfortunate.”
The Black Bears got their best opportunity two and a half minutes into the first period after forward Joey Diamond found defender Will O’Neill at the point. O’Neill fired it toward Clarkson goalie Paul Karpowich, who made a great save on the initial shot and Diamond’s follow up.
The Black Bears managed to break through while on the penalty kill. Less than a minute after center Klas Liedermark was called for tripping, Maine center Stu Higgins put Maine on top with his second goal of the season. After a nice pass from defender Nick Pryor in Maine’s defensive zone, Higgins broke free with no defenders in front of him. Higgins took the puck to the right of the net before firing it in the left corner.
“We chipped it out and I had a lot of free space,” Higgins said. “I was looking to pass at first, and I think that helped freeze the goalie for a second, and I went for a low shot and it happened to go in.”
Maine freshman goalie Dan Sullivan kept the Black Bears’ lead after saving a barrage of Golden Knight shots.
After Clarkson killed-off a Maine power play, each team went to four-on-four hockey after Maine forward Matt Mangene and Clarkson defender Kevin Tansey were booked for hitting after the whistle.
While the Black Bears controlled the early portion of the four-on-four, the Golden Knights managed to tie things up after breaking free. Center Louke Oakley made it 1-1 with seven minutes left in the first period off assists by forward Nick Tremblay and defender Sam Labrecque.
Diamond had a great chance to put Maine ahead 2-1, but couldn’t finish on the fast break.
However, just 20 seconds later, Shemanksy put the Black Bears ahead after a nice centering pass from center Kyle Beattie. Mangene also picked up an assist, as the Black Bears took the 2-1 lead into the first intermission.
“Beattie got some good pressure and Matty [Mangene] found me in front and I just had to spin around,” Shemanksy said.
The second period was riddled with penalties, as the whistle blew seven times for infractions, with three of those resulting in goals.
The Black Bears stretched their lead to 3-1 after an interference penalty by Clarkson defender Alex Boak.
An excellent cross-ice pass by forward Spencer Abbott found Shemanksy in the slot, where he put it past Karpowich for his second goal of the game.
“It was great puck movement,” Shemansky said. “Abbs made a great pass, and I just wanted to get it on net, because I knew Joey and [Brian Flynn] were coming in for the rebound.”
Three and a half minutes later, the Black Bears turned the puck over behind their net, resulting in an easy goal for forward Jake Morely off a centering pass from center Corey Tamblyn.
The Golden Knights tied things up midway through the period after Abbott was called for holding. Less than a minute into the power play, Clarkson’s Allan McPherson found the net past Sullivan.
Even with a Clarkson penalty with two minutes remaining, it appeared things were going to be knotted up going into the third period.
However, after a shot from the point by the Black Bears, a scrum ensued in front of the net before Mangene was able to poke the puck through to give Maine the lead, 4-3, heading into the final period.
“I was able to pull off a quick move and get to the middle and get it through,” Mangene said. “You’ve got to get a good shot off, but the main thing was to get the puck to the net and the guys at the net did a great job screening. It happened to
slip through.”
Unlike the first two, the third period lacked scoring, as the goals stopped with the second period. The penalties kept coming, as Diamond and Boak were booked for hitting after the whistle, and each received a 10-minute misconduct call.
“We said between periods ‘We don’t care if it’s 4-3 or 7-6; let’s come out on top,'” Maine coach Tim Whitehead said.
The Black Bears fended off a strong offensive period by the Golden Knights, as Clarkson fired 14 shots toward Sullivan.
“Our third period tends to be our best,” McPherson said. “We lost this game in the first period. We gave them too many grade-A chances, and they capitalized. They have a lot of skill.”
