The University of Maine men’s hockey team took on conference rival the University of New Hampshire in the Buffalo Wild Wings Border Battle on Feb. 14 and 15. Maine swept the weekend.
Four minutes into the period, second-year defensemen Bodie Nobes went into the penalty box for tripping. The Maine penalty kill kept the game scoreless during the penalty. The Wildcats played stronger throughout the period, but Maine could not find their rhythm despite many opportunities to score.
In the second period, the Black Bears continued their strong start. Halfway through the period, the Black Bears began to lose momentum. With saves by second-year goalkeeper Albin Boija, the game stayed scoreless. Boija and the defense kept the Black Bears in the game. The period ended scoreless.
Three minutes into the third period, third-year Owen Fowler took a hooking penalty. The Wildcats took advantage of the power play and scored the game’s first goal. Fourth-year forward Conor Lovett scored the goal with assistance from fourth-year forward Connor Sweeny and third-year forward Kristaps Skrastins.
A penalty on New Hampshire put the Black Bears on the power play. The powerplay came up short despite multiple shots on the net. Third-year goaltender Jared Whale made multiple saves for the Wildcats.
With two minutes left in the game, the Black Bears pulled Boija for the extra attacker. Fourth-year forward Harrison Scott scored, tying the game, assisted by fourth-year David Breazeale and fourth-year Taylor Makar. The Black Bears were finally finding their groove.
The Wildcats and the Black Bears could not break the tie in overtime, and the game went into a shootout. The Wildcats could not score against Boija. Both second-year forward Sully Scholle and Scott scored against Whale for the extra point.
On Saturday, the Black Bears looked for the sweep against the Wildcats. In the first period, Maine was dominant to start. Maine went on the powerplay with about eight minutes remaining in the period, but the Wildcats were able to kill off the powerplay.
With three minutes remaining in the period, Boija made a huge save, keeping the game scoreless. A second penalty on New Hampshire, a hooking call, sent the Black Bears onto another powerplay, which Maine came up short on. The period ended scoreless.
Eleven minutes into the second period, third-year defensemen Brandon Holt notched his fourth goal of the season for Maine. A minute after the goal, New Hampshire went onto the power play, the Wildcat’s first power play of the season. Second-year forward Ryan Conmy capitalized, scoring his 14th goal of the season.
New Hampshire went back onto the power play with seven minutes left in the period. Nobes with a vast block to kill off the final seconds of the penalty kill. Skrastins scored the minute after the power play, and the Wildcats led 2-1. Conmy got a late breakaway, causing a massive save by Boija right before the period ended.
The Black Bears came out stronger than the first two periods, building momentum to try to tie the game.
With 16 minutes remaining, the Black Bears went onto a power play. The call was a minor, and the referees immediately went to review the play. The call stood as a minor for elbowing. Maine had the opportunity to score, but Whale came up with a few saves.
The power play was unsuccessful, and the minute it ended, second-year forward Charlie Russell scored, tying the game. The goal was assisted by Nadeau and second-year forward Frank Djurasevic.
With eight minutes left in the game, Russell was sent to the penalty box for hooking. The Black Bears went back onto the penalty kill. The Black Bears blocked all shot attempts.
With five minutes remaining Scholle scored, assisted by Nadeau and Nobes. Maine now led 3-2, thanks to Scholle’s second goal of the season. Seconds later, third-year forward Thomas Freel scored, assisted by Scott and Nadeau, extending their lead to two.
New Hampshire went onto a power play after the Black Bears scored. After another Maine penalty, the game became a five on three with three minutes remaining. With many saves by Boija, the first penalty was killed off. Nadeau came out of the box and quickly scored the dagger, putting the Black Bears up 5-2.
After the Black Bears killed off the second penalty, Maine won the game 5-2, sweeping the series against their heated rivals. The Black Bears will travel down to Connecticut to take on UConn on the road next weekend.
