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Men’s Ice Hockey wins 6-0 in home opener against AIC

On Oct. 5 the University of Maine men’s ice hockey team took on American International College (AIC). Maine won 6-0 in front of a sold-out crowd in the home opener. Maine starts the season nationally ranked No.12, and hopes to improve after a dominant victory.

Before this game, Maine and AIC met previously, and Maine holds the record 7-0-0. Albin Boija earned his third career shutout with 17 saves. Maine is now 3-1-0 in season openers with Head Coach Ben Barr.

The starting lineup for the yellow jackets included fourth-year forward Oscar Geschwind, third-year forward Brett Rylance, third-year forward Casey McDonald, fifth-year defenseman Lauri Sertti, third-year defenseman Brett Bamber and third-year goalie Chase Clark who started in net.

The Black Bears’ starting lineup included second-year forward Sully Scholle, fifth-year captain and forward Lynden Breen, second-year forward Josh Nadeau, second-year defenseman Frank Djurasevic, fourth-year defenseman David Breezeale and second-year goalie Boija.

Within the opening two minutes of the game, fourth-year UMass Amherst transfer Taylor Makar scored his first goal as a Black Bear, assisted by fourth-year forward Nolan Renwick and third-year defenseman Brandon Holt. About seven minutes into the period, Yellow Jacket second-year defenseman Theo Angesved took a trip to the penalty box for hooking. The Black Bears put good effort into the power play, but could not get a goal.

18 minutes into the game, third-year forward Thomas Freel went into the box for holding, ending the period with a penalty kill. The Black Bears led 1-0, with eight shots on net, while the Yellow Jackets had two. 

At the start of the second period, the Black Bears killed off the penalty. Four minutes in, Makar scored again, assisted by Renwick and fifth-year forward Ross Mitton. Boija made multiple saves that kept the momentum. 

Six minutes into the first period, second-year Yellow Jacket Douglas Andersson went into the box for slashing. Yellow Jacket goalie, Clark, stopped the flurry of shots and AIC killed off the penalty. Soon after, Fourth-year forward Harrison Scott scored his first of the season, assisted by Nadeau and third-year defenseman Brandon Chabrier.

After a few more penalties were exchanged, the second period ended with the Black Bears leading 3-0.

At the beginning of the third period, Renwick scored his first goal of the season, assisted by Djurasevic and Mitton. The Yellow Jackets’ backup goaltender, first-year Adam Manji, started in the net for this period. This gave the Black Bears a 4-goal lead. Two minutes after Renwick’s first goal, he scored another, assisted by Mitton and Makar. 

Boija made many saves, and the Black Bear defense was also ready for any scoring attempts by the Yellow Jackets. Seven minutes into the third period, Yellow Jacket forward Casey McDonald received a penalty for face masking. The call was reviewed, and ultimately turned into a 5-minute major, ejecting McDonald from the game.

Two minutes into the Black Bear power play, Freel scored his first goal of the season, assisted by Djurasevic and Holt. 

The game ended with an emphatic start to the season, a 6-0 win for the Black Bears. Maine will look to continue the win streak against Army West Point in an exhibition game next Saturday, Oct.12.


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