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PORTLAND — Playing their annual game at the Cumberland County Civic Center, the University of Maine men’s hockey team 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.
UMaine junior forward Adam Shemansky led the way for the Black Bears, scoring twice for his first multi-goal game of the season.
The Black Bears had the lead going into each intermission, scoring two in each of 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 head coach Casey Jones. “I thought we had a real good third period. [We] 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.”
UMaine junior defender Mark Nemec got things started with a shot wide of the net.
The Black Bears got their best opportunity 2-and-a-half minutes into the first period after junior forward Joey Diamond found senior defender Will O’Neill at the point. O’Neill fired toward Clarkson senior goalie Paul Karpowich, who made a great save on both 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 junior center Klas Leidermark was called for tripping, freshman center Stu Higgins put UMaine on top with his second goal of the season.
After a nice pass from junior defender Nick Pryor in UMaine’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 into 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.”
The Black Bears managed two power-play goals along with the short-hander.
“It was tightly officiated, no doubt,” said UMaine head coach Tim Whitehead. “But with the short-handed goal and the two power-play goals, that was big for us to win the special teams game.”
UMaine sophomore goalie Dan Sullivan kept the Black Bears’ lead after saving a barrage of Golden Knights shots.
After Clarkson killed off a UMaine power play, each team went to four-on-four hockey after UMaine junior forward Matt Mangene and Clarkson freshman 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. Senior center Louke Oakley made it 1-1 with 7 minutes left in the first period off assists by senior forward Nick Tremblay and freshman defender Sam Labrecque.
Diamond had a great chance to put UMaine ahead 2-1 but couldn’t finish on the fast break.
However, just 20 seconds later, Shemansky put the Black Bears ahead after a nice centering pass from junior 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 found me in front, and I just had to spin around,” Shemansky 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 sophomore defender Alex Boak.
An excellent cross-ice pass by senior forward Spencer Abbott found Shemansky 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 [senior center 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 Clarkson senior forward Jake Morley off the centering pass from senior 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 sophomore Allan McPherson found the net past Sullivan.
After a Clarkson penalty with 2 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 UMaine the 4-3 lead 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.”
“[Mangene] had a great night. I thought [Pryor was great too. On that game-winning goal, both Pryor and Mangene at the point were very poised.”
Unlike the first two, the third period was devoid of scoring. 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,’” 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.”
The Black Bears travel to Burlington this weekend to take on the University of Vermont in a two-game series. It’s the first meeting of the year between the Black Bears and the Catamounts. Both games on Friday and Saturday are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
Bangor Daily News