The University of Maine men’s ice hockey team was home at the Alfond Sports Arena this past weekend against the Providence College Friars. The Black Bears won Friday night and lost in overtime on Saturday.
The starting lineup for the Black Bears Friday night was second-year Thomas Freel, fourth-year Lynden Breen, fourth-year Donavan Villeneuve-Houle, third-year David Breazeale, second-year Grayson Arnott, and the starting goalie for the Black Bears was first-year Albin Boija.
In the first period, the Black Bears had a slower start to the period but did not let the Friars take any leads. With about ten minutes left in the first period, first-year Liam Lesakowski was called for hooking. The Friars struggled to get any shots on the net.
Third-year Harrison Scott had a huge opportunity for a goal. However, he met the glove of second-year Phillip Svedbäck. First-year Josh Nadeau had a great shot on the net. With under two minutes left in the first, third-year Guillaume Richard took a penalty for tripping. The period ended with 11 shots on the net for the Black Bears and seven for the Friars.
In the second period, under a minute in, Arnott took a penalty for holding. The penalty was killed, and the Friars had no dice. Continuing, Jamie Engelbert was called for boarding, and Maine ended up challenging the call for a major, but the challenge was denied. A minute into the penalty kill, Josh Nadeau scored on the power play, assisted by Bradly Nadeau and fifth-year Ben Poisson.
With 13 minutes left in the period, Arnott was back in the box for holding. During this penalty kill, the Friars had some shot opportunities but met Boija’s glove.
Friars challenged a play for a potential face mask hit, but the challenge was denied.
With ten minutes left in the period, first-year Anthony Calafiore scored his first college goal, assisted by Arnott and Poisson.
Two minutes later, the Friars finally got on the board, with a goal scored by fifth-year Luke Krys, assisted by fifth-year Craig Needham and second-year Liam Valente.
The Friars ended up on a breakaway, Arnott lifted the Friars’ stick and Boija made a huge save, keeping the Friars from scoring. Boija had several vital saves throughout the game, keeping the Black Bears ahead.
In the third period, the Black Bears came onto the ice charging.
With huge opportunities from both teams, Boija and Svedbäck were ready for every shot on the net.
With 13 minutes left in the game, Josh Nadeau drew a penalty for hooking and the penalty was killed again. With three minutes left in the game, Luke Krys drew a penalty for high sticking.
The final score of the Friday night game was 2-1, with UMaine securing the win.
On Saturday, Feb.10, the Friars and the Black Bears met again at the Alfond Arena.
The starting line for the Black Bears was Poisson, first-year Sully Scholle, Breazeale, Arnott, and Boija were in the net once again.
The first period started off rough, with both teams throwing big hits. Five minutes into the period, Brandon Holt drew a penalty for tripping. The penalty was killed off, with neither team scoring any goals. Villeneuve-Houle was significant in protecting the net and finding a few scoring opportunities but could not get past Svedbäck.
With eight minutes into the period, Providence forward Graham Gamache drew a tripping penalty but it was killed off. Neither team had any luck getting past the goalies.
11 minutes into the period, Black Bear forward Harrison Scott drew a penalty for slashing, but again, the penalty was killed off.
18 minutes into the period, Friars drew their first penalty of the game, Riley Duran, for interference. Black Bears used the power play to their advantage and Josh Nadeau scored, assisted by Bradly Nadeau and Poisson. The period ended 1-0 with Maine in the lead.
Going into the second period, third-year Nolan Renwick was in the box for high sticking, putting Maine at a disadvantage starting the period.
Once the penalty was killed off, Clint Levens drew a penalty for kneeing. The Black Bears had several opportunities to score but could not get past Svedbäck.
Five minutes into the second, Friar Jamie Engelbert tied up the game despite Boija’s multiple efforts.
About 11 minutes into the game, Holt drew a penalty for holding.
30 seconds later, Gamache drew a penalty for interference, making the game 4-on-4 and battling it out for a few seconds before Maine gained the advantage.
At 18 minutes, Levens took a penalty for closing his hand around the puck. A minute into the power play, Poisson scored his fourth goal of the season, assisted by Josh and Bradly Nadeau, ending the period 2-1 Maine.
Less than a minute into the third period, Scholle takes a tripping penalty.
The Black Bears found more opportunities to score on the penalty kill than the Friars on the power play.
About eight minutes into the period, Brandon Chabrier took a penalty for interference. Gamache used the power play and scored again, assisted by Hudson Malinokski, tying the game 2-2.
At 10:37, in the final period, Providence player Taige Harding took a penalty for high sticking, putting the Black Bears on the power play. Chabrier scored his sixth goal of the season, assisted by Scott and Bradly Nadeau.
Fifteen minutes into the third period, Friars tied the game with a goal scored by Malinoski, assisted by Richard and Duran. Breen took a penalty for holding.
The game went into overtime.
Richard scored quickly in overtime, securing the win for the Friars.
The Black Bears will be on the road next weekend, taking on the 17th nationally ranked rival, the University of New Hampshire Wildcats.
