Orono, Me. - Tyler Sims had 22 saves on Saturday night to lead the Providence College Friars to a 1-0 victory over the Maine Black Bears. Nick Mazzolini scored the lone goal of the game 12:08 into the second period. Maine's Ben Bishop (Des Peres, Mo.) finished the game with 33 saves.
The Maine defense played well early in the game, blocking a plethora of Providence shots. Ben Bishop stopped seven shots in the first seven minutes of the game. With just under six minutes to play in the first, Bishop had to dive from his left to right across the crease to make a sensational blocker save to keep the game scoreless.
Play was even through the second period until Providence got a major penalty. With 13:06 left in the second period, Providence forward Ian O'Connor (Londonderry, N.H.) received a five minute major and game misconduct for hitting from behind. Maine had the momentum but could not put one past Sims. Shortly after the major penalty expired, Pierce Norton (South Boston, Mass.) chased the puck into the Maine corner and fed a trailing Nick Mazzolini (Anchorage, AK) who beat Bishop and gave the Friars the 1-0 lead.
The third period saw several great scoring chances by both teams, but neither team was able to find the back of the net.
Bishop finished the game with 33 saves. He falls to 4-4-1 on the season. Sims stopped 22 shots in the game to record the shutout. He improves to 2-4-0 on the campaign.
The Black Bears continue play next weekend with two games against Merrimack, beginning Friday, Nov. 16 at 7 PM. The two teams will play the next night at the same time. Providence returns to action when it hosts Lowell on Friday.