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Lead by a collection of fresh faces and the usual suspects, the University of Maine men’s ice hockey team swept Niagara in the second straight homestand of the year.
For the Black Bears, the weekend series announced the emergence of Derek Damon as the Black Bear’s newly-found scoring weapon. Damon collected three goals on the weekend and catapulted the Black Bears to a 6-2 victory on Saturday. In the second game, Damon shared the spotlight with freshman goalie Matt Lundin, who picked up the win in his first collegiate start. The first game of the series, on Friday, saw the Black Bears hold on in the final moments for a slim 4-3 victory. UMaine was able to escape with the win after a ferocious Purple Eagle rally in the final 15 minutes nearly pulled the squads even. After the match, head coach Tim Whitehead spoke of the match’s importance coming off last weekend’s losses.
“I think our guys learned last weekend that there is a very fine line between teams,” said Whitehead. “Respect for your opponents is paramount. You have to play the same way every time you play, no matter who you play.”
Defense man Mike Lundin believed it was a great chance for the team to respond to last weekend.
“It was really good for us to bounce back after North Dakota,” said Lundin.
Niagara, a vastly underrated squad in college hockey, was able to give the Black Bears a unique set of troubles throughout the weekend. However, Whitehead believes it was his teams’ ability to enter the games with a different attuide that made the difference.
“We had a different attitude,” said Whitehead. “I’m impressed with our guys.”
Saturday night’s game was highlighted by the impressive showing in net by Lundin.
“I went out there and made the first save and then it was fine going from there. The boys made it easy for me,” said Matt Lundin. “It’s hard to take out the best goaltender in the nation, but I am happy with how I performed.”
The appearance in net was not lost on brother and fellow UMaine player Mike Lundin.
“He’s been working hard. I was very proud and happy for him to get a chance here,” said Mike Lundin. “For his first college hockey game, he played awesome.”
On Saturday night the Black Bears struck first in the opening period, when Damon registered a rebound goal at 13:05. The play began when Lundin passed the puck to Billy Ryan, who proceeded to fire a rocket on net. Damon leaped on the rebound for the tally. After the game, Whitehead talked about Ryan, the catalyst of the first goal.
“Billy Ryan looked so much more composed than in his first few games,” said Whitehead. “He’s going to be an elite player for us.”
UMaine ended the first period with a slight advantage in the shot department, outshooting Niagara 12-11.
UMaine increased their advantage at the start of the second, when Jon Jankus recorded a goal at 4:22. Jankus was able to poke in the shot after a soft pass directly in the front by Josh Soares. Mike Hamilton recorded a assist on the play as well. Niagara fired right back with a goal of their own a minute later at 5:21 when Mike Maier was assisted by Time Madsen and Cliff Ketchen.
The Black Bears responded at 13:14 on a power-play goal by Damon. The play saw Damon recover a wide-open rebound pass and proceed to fire a low shot in on Van Nynatten. He was assisted by Leveille and Mike Lundin. The Black Bears added another at 14:25, when Ben Murphy took a shot from the slot after Mike Hamilton fed him a beautifully placed pass. Brent Shepheard also recorded an assist on the play. UMaine finished the second period outshooting Niagara, 14-11.
Niagara registered a power-play goal 50 seconds into the third period when Clark scored with assists coming from Kris Wiebe and Sean Bentivoglio. However, the lead became too much for the Purple Eagles when Jankus and Leveille added goals halfway through the third period. On the Leveille score, Moore and Leveille broke, with Leveille getting the shorthanded goal at 5:11 of the period. UMaine was outshot in the period 12-11.
“We had a full, complete game from everybody tonight,” said Whitehead.
In goal for UMaine, Matt Lundin recorded 28 saves en route to victory, while Van Nynatten had 21 saves before being replaced by Allen Barton, who finished with nine saves in one period. Barton gave up two goals in the game.
After the game, Whitehead talked about Lundin’s performance.
“I was very proud of Matt Lundin tonight,” said Whitehead. “He really rose to the occasion tonight. He was tested and was up for the the challenge and competed hard.”
UMaine finished Saturday’s game with 10 penalties, while Niagara recorded 11 on the evening. Both squads went 1 for 8 on the power play, respectively, while the Black Bears outshot Niagara, 36-30.
On Friday night, the Black Bears began the game with a sluggish start that saw Niagara dictate the pace for the better half of the first period. UMaine was unable to convert on several early plays and didn’t register their first shot until five minutes left in the first half.
Both teams recorded only two power-play opportunities in the first period. UMaine was able to capitalize on their second power play in the final moments of the first period. After a feverish attack on the Niagara net in the closing 30 seconds, UMaine’s Michel Leveille tipped in a Jeff Mushaluk shot from the point for a goal. Damon was also credited with an assist on the play.
“In the first period, we were a little tight and nervous, but got the key goal at the end of the period,” said Whitehead.
UMaine carried a 7-5 lead on shots into the locker after the first period.
The Black Bears responded to the stagnant first period with a quick goal to open the second period. Damon rifled a swift shot from the point for his fourth goal of the season 1:18 into the period. Brent Shepheard added an unassisted goal for the Black Bears only seven minutes later at 11:36. The play saw Shepheard pick off a pass across the zone and fire a shot over the right shoulder of Niagara goalie Van Nynatten. The goal was Shepheard’s first of the season.
The Purple Eagles responded with 8:09 remaining, when Ehgoetz scored on a 5-on-3 situation. Ehgoetz registered the tally after firing a one-time from the corner over Howard’s glove. The shot deflected off the glove and bounced into the back of the net. Pat Oliveto and Andrew Lackner recorded assists on the play.
“We began the second period with another key goal and played a strong second period,” said Whitehead.
UMaine continued its trend of scoring goals late in the period, when, with three seconds remaining, Greg Moore jumped on a juicy rebound in the front right circle. Moore was able to pounce on the rebound and fire a shot past Nynatten for the late second mark. It was the Black Bears fourth goal of the season to come in the final five seconds of a period. UMaine outshot Niagara 19-9 in the period.
“I think, in this game, the second period was a good indication of what we can do,” said Whitehead.
Once again, the steady line of Josh Soares, John Ronan and Ben Murphy highlighted the play in the second period.
“They are very consistent players,” said Whitehead.”They have been our glue for our first few games.”
In the third period, Niagara was able to respond early on with a power-play goal by Ehgoetz at 9:53. The tally went unassisted. At 10:26, Niagara continued to quietly chip away at the Black Bear advantage, when Aaron Clarke recorded a goal. Sean Bentivoglio and Kris Wiebe provided assists on the play.
Niagara continued to rally late in the game, pulling Van Nynatten with 1:24 remaining in the game. After a series of near misses in front of Howard, the Black Bears were able to clear the puck out of the zone for the remaining 30 seconds. Niagara was never able to get back in to force the tie. Both teams ended with nine shots on goal in the final period.
“Niagara had a really strong third period,” said Whitehead. “It turned into a great hockey game with a lot of swings in momentum.”
UMaine’s Jimmy Howard recorded the victory in net after surrendering three goals. He picked up 20 saves on the day. For the Purple Eagles, Van Nynatten picked up 31 saves en route to the defeat. UMaine registered seven penalties, while Niagara merited six. On the power play, UMaine finished the night 1 for 6. Niagara went 2-7, with the extra-man advantage.
UMaine returns to action Friday against St. Lawerence in their third straight homestand. The game begins at 7 p.m.
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