ORONO, Maine -- The University of Maine men's ice hockey team downed Union 3-1 on Friday night at Alfond Arena in Orono, Maine. The Black Bears improve to 9-5-1 overall with the win, while Union falls to 8-6-1 on the season. Maine was led by Tanner House (Cochrane, Alberta) and Brian Flynn (Lynnfield, Mass.) who each notched a goal and an assist.
Maine squandered an early opportunity when House froze the Union goaltender on the right post, then wrapped around the backside of the wide-open goal only to hit the post. Union scored at 8:58 into the first period to take the early lead 1-0. Stephane Boileau fed a pass to the blueline that teammate Lane Caffaro fired at the net. Just before it arrived forward Adam Presizniuk tipped the shot to send it past goaltender Scott Darling (Lemont, Ill.). It was Presizniuk's eighth goal of the season.
The Black Bears evened the score less than four minutes later, at 12:45 of the first period. Will O'Neill (Salem, Mass.) ripped a shot from the top of the right circle that House redirected to Flynn who was stationed on the left post for the power-play goal to tie the game at 1-1. It was Flynn's fifth goal of the season.
Maine scored again in the first with under four minutes to go. Kyle Solomon (Southampton, N.Y.) won the face off and Chris Hahn (Fort Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan) directed the puck back to Matt Duffy (Windham, Maine) on the blueline. Duffy fired a shot just inside the point that found its way through traffic and past goaltender Corey Milan to put the Black Bears up 2-1. It was Duffy's second goal of the season.
House wasn't satisfied with just an assist, making it a 3-1 score at 10:43 of the second period. House took the faceoff, sending it down to the boards where Gustav Nyquist (Malmo, Sweden) raced to it first. Nyquist tapped the puck to Flynn who arrived just behind him. As Flynn turned back towards the play he spotted House positioned on the goalie's weakside. House connected on the pass for his fifth score of the season.
The teams would skate through a scoreless third period. Maine had a commanding 38-23 advantage in shots in the game, including seven by House, who was named the first star of the game. The Black Bears were 1-for-7 on the power play, while Union finished 0-for-7.
Maine goalie Scott Darling finished the game with 22 saves. He improves to 7-3-1 on the season. It was the sixth time this season that he has allowed one goal or less in a game. Corey Milan made 35 saves for Union. He falls to 8-6-1 on the season.
Maine returns to action on Saturday, Dec. 13 when it concludes its two-game series with Union. Puck drop is schedule for 7 pm. Tickets remain for the game and can be purchased at the door.