ESTERO, Fla. -- The University of Maine men's ice hockey team skated to a 6-6 tie with Princeton on Tuesday night in the first round of the Florida College Classic. Maine won the shootout 3-2 to advance to the championship game on Wednesday.
Maine took a 1-0 lead at 7:58 of the first period when Adam Shemansky (Robbinsville, N.J.) scored a power play goal. He collected the rebound of a Josh Van Dyk (Woodstock, Ontario) shot and beat Princeton goalie Zane Kalemba. For Shemansky, it was his ninth goal of the season. David deKastrozza (Toms River, N.J.) also assisted on the goal. Robby Dee (Plymouth, Minn.) gave the Black Bears a 2-0 lead less than three minutes later when he ripped a shot from the slot past Kalemba. Gustav Nyquist (Malmo, Sweden) and Will O'Neill (Salem, Mass.) both assisted on the goal which put the Black Bears up 2-0.
Princeton answered back with a tally by Taylor Fedun at 13:45. He beat Maine goalie Scott Darling (Lemont, Ill.) with a shot from the left face-off circle. Maine regained its two goal advantage when Van Dyk scored his first career goal at 16:36. He received a pass from Klas Leidermark (Gavle, Sweden) and then skated in, firing a shot past Kalemba.
Nyquist extended Maine's lead to 4-1 when he tapped home a Tanner House (Cochrane. Alberta) pass just off the right post. For Nyquist, it was his team-leading 12th goal of the season. Dee also added an assist on the goal.
Princeton then scored three straight power play goals to tie the game at 4-4. Dan Bartlett pulled the Tigers to within two goals when he scored at 4:53 of the second period. Mark Magnowski then scored two goals in 1:17 to tie the game at 4-4.
Theo Andersson (Gothenburg, Sweden) then scored on a scramble on the left of the goal, giving Maine a 5-4 lead. He stuffed the puck past Kalemba for his second goal of the season. Leidermark and Kevin Swallow (Stanwood, Mich.) also assisted on the goal by Andersson. Dee then gave Maine a 6-4 lead at 4:03 when he fired a shot from the right face-off circle past the Princeton netminder. For Dee, it was his second goal of the game and seventh of the season.
Princeton pulled to within one goal when Kevin Lohry scored his second of the season at 11:45. The Tigers tied the game at 6-6 when Matt Arhontas scored on a shot from the slot. The game-tying goal was the third of the season for Arhontas.
Neither team was able to score the remainder of regulation or during the five minute overtime period. The game went to a shootout to determine who would advance to the championship game. The Black Bears got goals by Robby Dee, Brian Flynn (Lynnfield, Mass.) and Jeff Dimmen (Colorado Springs, Colo.) to win the shootout 3-2.
Maine sees its five game winning streak snapped, but the Black Bears extend their unbeaten streak to seven games. Princeton outshot Maine 41-35 in the game. The Black Bears were 3-for-6 on the power play, while Princeton finished the game 4-for-8 with the man-advantage.
Maine goalie Scott Darling made 35 saves in goal. He moves to 9-3-2 on the season. Princeton goalie Zane Kalemba stopped 29 shots. He moves to 2-5-2 on the season.
Maine advances to the championship game of the Florida College Classic where it will face third ranked Colorado College. Puck drop is at 7:35 at Germain Arena in Estero, Fla. Princeton and #4 Cornell will play in the consolation game at 4 pm.