ORONO, Maine - The University of Maine men’s ice hockey team dropped a 3-2 decision to UMass Lowell on Friday night at Alfond Arena in Orono, Maine. The Black Bears got goals from Robby Dee (Plymouth, Minn.) and Spencer Abbott (Hamilton, Ontario) in the loss, while Dave Wilson (Caledon East, Ontario) made a career-high 35 saves in goal. Maine falls to 10-12-3 on the season with the loss and 5-9-3 in Hockey East play, while UMass Lowell improves to 12-12-0 on the season and 9-8-0 in conference play.
OTHER LINKS: Blaise MacDonald Audio (mp3) - Mark Roebothan Audio (mp3)
After a scoreless first period, the River Hawks got onto the board at 5:32 into the second when Paul Worthington took a Sammy D’Agostino pass around the back of the net and tried to force the puck in at the edge of the post. Goaltender Dave Wilson stonewalled the shot, but the rebound bounced out to Matt Ferreira who flipped it over Wilson’s shoulder, still crouched on the post. The goal was Ferreira’s fifth of the season.
The Black Bears answered back just under four minutes later when Josh Van Dyk (Woodstock, Ontario) slide a pass to Simon Danis-Pepin (Vaudreuil-Dorion, Quebec) stationed at the blue line to the netminder’s left. Danis-Pepin’s shot ripped through traffic, hit Dee’s shinpad and went past UMass Lowell goaltender Carter Hutton at 9:03 into the second period. The goal was Dee’s third of the season and made it 1-1.
At 12:51 into the second, a Ryan Blair tripping call gave Maine the man advantage. While working on entering the River Hawk zone, the Black Bears turned it over in neutral ice to Nick Monroe. Monroe passed the puck up ice to Mark Roebothan who fired a shot on the Maine net. Wilson thought he trapped the shot with his upper body, but the puck laid motionless in the crease to his right. Seeing the opportunity, Roebothan doubled back and knocked the puck in for his fourth score of the season
The Black Bears evened the score early in the third on Spencer Abbott’s fourth goal of the season. Brian Flynn (Lynnfield, Mass.) set up Danis-Pepin to the goalie’s left, who quickly shifted it to Abbott positioned to the goaltender’s right. Abbott one-timed the pass before Hutton could react and the puck raced unabated into the back of the Lowell net.
The River Hawks were able to get the game-winner at 6:26 of the third period. Defensemen Maury Edwards and Barry Goers teamed up on the blueline on the power play. Goers found Kory Falite just outside the right face-off circle and he was able to beat Wilson for his 12th goal of the season.
The Black Bears finished 2-for-7 on the power play, while UMass Lowell was 1-for-6. The River Hawks had a 38-16 advantage in shots on goal.
Dave Wilson made a career-high 35 saves in goal. He falls to 2-5-0 on the season. Carter Hutton stopped 14 shots. He improves to 5-7-0.
The Black Bears return to action on Sunday, Feb. 1 when they host UMass. The puck will drop at 4 p.m. at Alfond Arena. Tickets remain available and can be purchased at the door or by calling the Black Bear ticket office at 207-581-BEAR or 1-800-756-TEAM.